Import users (Excel)

When you are not using the automatic synchronization from your Student Information System (SIS), users can be imported into Simulise from an Excel file. To link users directly to the correct groups, you need to first create or import the groups. You can then list the names of the groups in a column next to the students/teachers.

Below is a brief example of a simple import file where users are assigned to a single group:

Importing Users and Adding Them to Groups

You can assign users to multiple groups during the import process. This can be helpful for situations where, for example, a teacher is teaching in several groups, or students are part of multiple class groups. You can include multiple groups in the import file in the following ways:

One column per group: Each group gets its own column, with group names listed accordingly.
Single column with all groups: List all assigned groups in a single column, separating each group by either a space or a comma.

When a space is chosen, the advanced option 'no spaces for groups' must be selected in step data mapping.

It is also possible to have group names to which a parent group is linked, such as: 4m.du2 or 4m/du2. In this case, “4m” is the level above 4m.du2. These groups can be imported and separated in du2 under 4m during the import by turning on the advanced option 'hierarchical groups' in the data mapping.

Note: Group names must be UNIQUE. Otherwise the import will not know which group is intended and the user will NOT be placed in any group. If groups nevertheless have a non-unique name, the Simulise ID of the group can also be placed in the CSV file instead of the name. You will find this ID at the top when opening a group.

Start the user import

To import users or groups, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Management module and select Import.
Click + New Import to start a new import process.

Name (required): Provide a name for the import to allow other administrators to easily identify its contents.
Type (required): Choose either Groups or Users. In this case, select Users.
Parent Group: Select the primary group under which the import should search for group names listed in the import file.
Data File (required): Select the file for import. The following file types are supported: .csv, .ods, and .xlsx.

Proceed: Click Continue to begin reading the file. You will then be directed to the Data Mapping screen, where fields in the import file can be matched with corresponding fields in Simulise.

The following fields can be linked from the CSV file to be imported:

External ID	An External ID can be the ID of users from, for example, the student administration system. This ID is used in Simulise as the UNIQUE ID instead of the e-mail address.
Full name	The name can be constructed with the values from multiple columns from the CSV file. So it's no problem to have a first name, last name and prefix field. These are combined when reading.
E-mail	The email address is required when importing users. The user will then receive the activation email and then notifications.
Role (optional, default: student)	The role is optional can be one of the following (case insensitive): student, teacher, teacher. If no role is specified, this is student/student.
Username (optional, default: generated)	If no username is specified, it will be generated from the name, using the following format: first letter first name + last name. So in the case of Jan Jansen this becomes jjansen. When a composite username occurs several times, a number is added.
Group (optional, default: empty)	Placing in a group is only possible if these groups have already been created in Simulise. Placing in a group is done based on the Simulise group name or ID. If the name is matched and there are multiple groups in the system with the same name, it will be ignored.
Different rights: administrator, moderators, or authors (optional, default: No)	matched on the following values (case insensitive): Yes: y, yes, y, yes, 1 No: n, no, no, 0

Once everything is ready, click Save and Continue. The import process will now be prepared, and the status will be set to: Ready for Data Review. Click here to review the data that needs to be imported.

Green: The rows have been correctly read.
Red: The rows have not been read correctly and need to be adjusted. Click the blue square behind this user and choose the "Edit" option. The issue will be displayed, and the error can be fixed on this page so the import can proceed.
Blue: Indicates that the user is already known and may be updated with new information.

Then, click Start Import. The users will now be imported into Simulise. However, a few things can still be adjusted for existing users:

Current user groups: Replace or keep.
- Replace: The user will be removed from all existing groups and only linked to the groups found in the import file.
- Keep: The user will remain in their current groups, and the groups from the import file will be added.
Update Name: If the name of the user in the import file is different, it will also be updated in Simulise.
Update Username: The username will be updated based on the import file.

Once you've made your choices regarding the above, the import will be complete, and the users will be imported into Simulise. You can also specify if an activation email should be sent from the import. If you forgot to do this, you can always resend the activation email later through the "Reset and Mail" option in the import.

Rollback Import

If you made a mistake during the import and would like to undo it, you can do so. Go to the import and click Rollback at the top.