Uploading Users in Bulk

Uploading users in bulk is generally carried out when you first upload users into Moodle and then when new users are added each year. Pupil information is typically available in an existing application (for example a school management system, such as S MS!. "ata from this system can be exported to an #xcel spreadsheet and then uploaded into Moodle.

File Format
$efore uploading users, a csv file has to be generated which has to conform to a certain format. #xcel will produce a file in this format and instructions for doing this are provided later in this section, so you don%t need to worry about this. Moodle%s upload function supports three types of data fields& re'uired, default and optional
Field Name Required Default username password institution department city idnumber phone* description htmleditor group)+, Fields firstname lastname country lang email auth time(one

Optional

ic' address mailformat autosubscribe type)+,

phone) url maildisplay course)+, role)+,

Required fields must be included in the first row, and then defined for each user. Default fields are re'uired, but do not have to be specified - if they are not included then the values are taken from the super admin account. Optional fields are completely optional and as we suggest they are not used, they are not dealt with any further in this training. .or suggestions on creating usernames, passwords, email addresses, etc. and the considerations around each of these areas, please see the $est Practice guide.

Creating a CSV File from MS Ex el

/our final excel file should look like this& )0

). 1reate a blank spreadsheet with the following headings in the top row. 2here must be one word in each cell& firstname, lastname, password, username, email (see row ) in the above example!. 3s you complete each stage that follows you can copy the data into this spreadsheet. 4nce you have inserted a formula you cannot copy and paste the contents in the usual way. 2o copy the information in a cell you need to 5copy% and then 5paste special% selecting 5values%. *. #xport a class list from S MS as an #xcel file. /ou need a list of names (first name and last name! and to know the year they will leave, or the year they started, Primary school (this helps to identify a cohort!. 6. f you have more columns of information than you need from S MS, follow the instructions below. Sele ting requested olumns 1reate a new spreadsheet and copy 7 paste re'uired columns across.

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9. f you have a column where both first and last name are in the same cell, follow the instructions below. t may be worth doing this on a separate spreadsheet and copying the names across. Splitting names 3ssuming your 5name% cell is 3* and the first name and last name are separated by a space (e.g. roger :ones! nsert the following formula in a cell in the same row to get the first name& ;<#.2(3*,. ="(> >,3*!! nsert the following formula in another cell in the same row to get the last name& ;? @A2(3*,<#=(3*!B. ="(> >,3*!! #xtend the * new cells downwards and the rest of the names will be changed accordingly. ,. #very user needs a username. @uidance on creating usernames is included in the $est Practice @uide. 2his is one possibility. !enerating user names 3 'uick way to create user names is to use the first name and last name separated by a full stop. 2his works as long as you donCt have a huge list of names, in which case you might end up with some duplicates. Dhen this happens you may have to add a number. nsert the following formula in the cell under 5username% ;3* 7 E.F 7 $* G. !enerating pass"ords f you enter 5changeme% for every user they will enter the password 5changeme% the first time they log on and then be directed to choose their own password for future logins. H. !enerating Email addresses f a school does not use email addresses it is necessary to create dummy emails which are then disabled in the user%s profile.

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4ne

possibility

for

email

addresses

is

the

following

format

usernameJyourschool.lancsngfl.ac.uk 3ssuming your username is in 1*, enter the formula ;1* 7 EJyourschool.lancsngfl.ac.ukF in the cell under 5email% 1opy the new cell downwards and the email addresses will be created accordingly t is possible when doing a bulk upload to give everyone the same email address. 0. Spa es in fields Spaces at the beginning or the end of a field can cause problems. #xcel provides a 2? M(3)! function which removes all spaces from a text string except for single spaces between words. 4nce your data is in the right shape it can be exported as follows&

n Dord *II6 or older, go to .ile Save 3s+ and select 51SK (comma delimited!%. n Dord *IIH, select the 4ffice $utton, go to Save 3s 4ther .ormats and select 51ommaBseparated 2ext .ile (.1SK!.2hen you can give the file a descriptive name and click the Save button. /ou may be warned about formats at this point, but this is

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ok and you should :ust click to continue. 2his file can then be used from within Moodle.

Uploading Users
n order to upload users, you have to be logged in as Moodle administrator and select Users # ounts Upload Users in the Site #dministration block.

Setting File CSV delimiter En oding $re%ie" ro"s

Des ription 2he location of the commaBdelimited text file on your local computer. Dhen you export from #xcel this is usually a comma. <eave this as it is, on U2.B0 =umber of users to be previewed during the upload process so that you can check the format looks right.

Moodle will then preview the users to be uploaded and give you some more choices about settings.

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Setting Upload t&pe

Des ription Most of the time you will want to upload new users and this can be left as 5add new only%. 2here are also options for updating accounts, which should be approached with care.

Ne" user pass"ord

2he 1SK file we created included a password so this can be left. f Moodle creates a password it tends to be very secure but also hard for young children to remember.

Email a ti%ated

f users will not be using email andLor do not have an account, this should be set to 52his email address is disabled%.

4ther settings are optional and can be left as default. 4nce all settings have been specified and the 5Upload Users% button has been pressed, Moodle will start the actual importing process&

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3t the end of the user import, a short message is displayed summarising the upload. t contains the number of users added, the number of users updated and the number of errors which have occurred. f any errors occur, it is recommended to identify the respective users immediately and modify their user settings manually.

C'EO Moodle M(S (ntegration

1<#4 has developed a set of tools which allow the migration of information from S MS to Moodle. 2he process covers two main stages& Moodle S MS.net 1lass 7 User #xport Moodle S MS mport

/ou can further details of these on www.cleo.net.uk in <earning Platform section.

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