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Things to look out for when uploading Schedule CSVs

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CSV (Comma Separated Value) is a file format that contains plain text values separated by commas.

Here are some rules to keep in mind when uploading a CSV file for your schedule.

Tip: Check out our guide on how to create a schedule.

To upload a CSV of your schedule, go to the Venue > Schedule tab of the event dashboard > click on the Upload button. To view the sample template, click on the Download CSV Template button. We recommend using the CSV template as a guide for creating your schedule CSV. 

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Once completed, upload the file back into Hopin and finally click on Import.

Before uploading your schedule, we recommend using a program like VS Code, Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac, or any text editor on your computer to evaluate your schedule before uploading it. This will help you find mistakes you will not easily find when viewed in tabular form.

Here is how the CSV file will look when viewed in an advanced spreadsheet editor like Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, etc:

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When opened in Notepad on Windows, or TextEdit on Mac the same file looks like this:

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Note: if multiple Tags or Speakers names are present in the same cell you will notice that when using an advanced spreadsheet editor such as Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets the quote marks (“...“) are not displayed, for example Tag 1, Tag 2, Tag 3 (as in the first screenshot above, row 2). However, when looking at the CSV file with a default text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit you will then see the quotes, as in the second screenshot in row 2, for "Cat, Dog, Pig". 

Now here’s what to look out for: 

When using a default text editor (such as Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac), there are a few things you should double check to ensure that your file is uploaded correctly. 

Header

The correct header is: Start date,Start time,End date,End time,Schedule name,Schedule description,Segment name,Segment Type,External URL,Open URL in new tab,Tags,Speaker names, Attendance. Here's what they all mean:

  • Start/End Date and Times (1) - These are times and dates each segment is due to start and end
  • Schedule Name (2) - What you choose to title your scheduled segments
  • Schedule description (3) - The description you set for the schedule item to provide some additional information for your attendees
  • Segment Name (Optional) - If you have multiple Stages/Sessions/Expo Booths, this refers to the name of the specific Event area. 
    • Note: The Session must be set to "Scheduled" in the Session settings to be attached to a schedule segment.
    • You can link multiple Sessions to a scheduled segment, however these must be separate by line breaks, not commas. On Windows in Excel, you can do this by using Alt+Enter on your keyboard.

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  • Segment Type (4) - This can be sessions, stage, expo, networking, break or external_url and replay or custom area (Advanced plans only, and if enabled). You must use lower case letters for this section.
  • External URL - This only applies if you have set your segment type to "external url" and you can input the website address here
  • Open URL in new tab - TRUE if you would like a new tab to open when clicking on your URL, or FALSE if you would like it to redirect your attendees away from the Hopin event
  • Tags (6) - Add tags to make your schedule segments easier to find
  • Speaker Names (7) - Add any relevant speakers
  • Attendance (5) - can be either "recommended" or "regular"

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Additional Tips:

  • The header titles must be separated by a comma with no space. 
  • There must be no empty rows in the CSV document.
  • If you decide to change the header title, ensure the fields are matched properly when uploading the CSV within the event dashboard. For example, if the 'Start date' header is changed to 'date' or anything else, ensure the field is matched with 'start date' when uploading the file. Screenshot_2021-06-05_at_13.30.49.png

Data Format

An example of correct data format is 2021-11-15,16:20,2021-11-15,17:20,Keynote Presentation,Listen to our founder and CEO open the event,stage,,,Stage,"Tag 1, Tag 2","Talking Cat, Talking Donkey",regular

If you choose to use an external URL the correct format will be 2021-11-15,16:20,2021-11-15,17:20,External Video Presentation,Follow the link to watch the presentation on our website,external_url,https://hopin.com,true,,,,regular

  • The start and end times of each segment must be within the duration of the event.
  • If a field lacks data - for example, the stage name does not apply for a session - a comma must be present indicating an empty field. 
  • If there are multiple tags or speakers for a segment, they must be within quote marks (“ “) For example, “Tag1, Tag2, Tag3” and make sure there is a space between each one.
  • The schedule name and description must be within 160 characters.

Other things to note:

  • Be sure you have the items separated by a comma, NOT semi-colon or any other symbol.
  • Save the file as .csv format NOT .number or any other format.
  • Be sure the text encoding for the CSV file is set as Unicode (UTF-8), if this is set to anything else you may experience issues displaying special characters. 

Once you follow these rules, you should be good to upload the CSV.

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