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Topic: Import wizard - requiring a location?

On the data screen of the import wizard, am I right in thinking that you used to be able to have a empty value in the 'location' column for some rows?

Recorder is telling me "A value must be specified", but I don't have one!

Charlie Barnes
Information Officer
Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

Scratch that - apparently it's working now....

Charlie Barnes
Information Officer
Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

Nope, there's definitely something going on - I'm having the same problem again. What am I doing wrong??

It's a simple XLS import of scientific name, location, grid ref, date with the occasional location missing, but always with a grid ref.

Charlie Barnes
Information Officer
Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

Thought it might be a 6.23 problem, but it also happens with 6.22  Please could a regular user of  the import Wizard confirm that this is what is expected, or has something changed ?

Mike Weideli

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

The Recorder 6 Help says ‘If present [Location column], and Location Name is not present, a Grid Reference column must also be present and both must contain values for every observation’ – see Help: search for ‘supported’ and display Import Wizard – data format. The rules for the columns the Import Wizard will import are listed under ‘Supported columns’. Why it was designed that way I don’t know, but you could try using the vice-counties when you haven’t got a location, or including a location name column.

Sally Rankin, JNCC Recorder Approved Expert
E-mail: s.rankin@btinternet.com
Telephone: 01491 578633
Mobile: 07941 207687

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

Thanks Sally - as far as I was aware no location field is mandatory, it just has to be one of them. The import wizard (when it's following it's own rules!!) appears to be contradictory to the data model (and in also requiring a grid reference)?

Charlie Barnes
Information Officer
Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

It would make sense to be able to leave the Location field blank in the import Wizard. The code behind matching locations and creating new ones is very involved, so it was probably considered too complicated to also allow for blank locations. However, it is something which could be looked at again.There is a request for another complicated change to the processing of locations through the import wizard, which is being investigated to see what the implications and costs would be. Allowing the processing of blank locations could be considerd alongside this.

Mike Weideli

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

It would make sense to be able to leave the Location feld blank in the import Wizard. The code behind matching locations and creating new ones is very involved, so it was probably considered too complicated to also allow for blank locations. However, it is something which could be looked at again.There is a request for another complicated change to the processing of locations through the import wizard, which is being investigated to see what the implications and costs would be. Allowing the processing of blank locations could be considerd alongside this.

Mike Weideli

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

Sorry, come to this late!

Previously the Import Wizard has definitely accepted records without a location name - I've imported loads of data this way previously - if it now insists on a location that is going to be a pain!

Craig

Craig Slawson
Staffordshire Ecological Record

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Re: Import wizard - requiring a location?

As far as I am aware, this part of Recorder 6 hasn’t changed since I last updated the Help for it. When I did that, I did a lot of testing to ensure that it was correct – see the table of supported columns in the topic ‘Import Wizard – data format’. Please let us know if Recorder 6 isn’t operating as specified in that part of the Help.

Sally Rankin, JNCC Recorder Approved Expert
E-mail: s.rankin@btinternet.com
Telephone: 01491 578633
Mobile: 07941 207687