How to Import Files in Inspect Point

Inspect Point offers a convenient drag-and-drop-style method of importing files into your instance. 

Some imports available for download are:

• Alarm Devices
• Building/Contact Import
• Extinguishers
• Proposed Corrections
• Exit Signs

This article will cover how to import files into your instance, map the fields from the file to Inspect Point, and validate the data. The process of choosing the file for import, mapping the fields, and validating the data is the same for all imports. The only difference between imports is where the Import button is located. 

For example, to import extinguishers, navigate to Building → Extinguishers → Import → New Import

To import materials, navigate to Settings → Service → Materials → Import Materials. 

Importing a File

We will be importing alarm devices in this article. To do so, navigate from Building → Alarm Systems → Alarm Devices. 

Here, you will see a button at the top of the screen titled “Import Devices.” 

Clicking this button opens a modal prompting you to drop your file or click to upload. You also have the option to copy and paste table data manually.

To drop a file, find it on your device and drag it into the box. To upload, click the box and find the file on your device. Note: Inspect Point supports CSV, XLSX, and XLS files.

Once uploaded, the data from the file will appear. You have the option to select your text encoding format (defaulted to UTF-8), as well as switch the rows and columns.

Mapping the Columns

Once satisfied, click Next to move on. The next page requires you to map the columns from the import to the fields supported by Inspect Point. 

In the example below, we’ve mapped the Inspect Point field “ID” to the column “Device ID” from our imported file. 

Required fields are denoted by the red asterisk. These are the only fields that need to be mapped at this time. Once uploaded, users can edit these, and the other non-required fields, as needed in the backend.

Continue mapping fields in the import as needed. Once satisfied, click Next to move on.

Validating the Data

The next screen requires verifying the data. Initially, all rows will display. However, filtering by Invalid Rows Only will display the rows that need attention.

Once filtered, the invalid cell will be highlighted in a darker shade of red than the rest of the row. Clicking this cell explains why it is invalid. 

In our example below, the value “Heat Detector Not Restorable” is not a valid value. To resolve this issue, select a valid entry (valid meaning an entry supported on Inspect Point) from the accompanying dropdown. 

If a cell is dark red without any information in it, it is a required field, and a value must be entered before moving on. Again, these fields are denoted on the previous screen with a red asterisk.

To correct this issue, enter a value into the cell. In this example, the field Location does not have any invalid values; it just needs some information in it. 

If your file has hundreds of invalid rows, like our example below, resolving them all would take a substantial amount of time.

However, the button at the top of the screen titled “Remove all invalid rows” will resolve them all, should you want to do them en masse. 

Once the data has been verified, click Submit to import the finalized file. You will then see two prompts - one saying the data is being processed, and the other saying it is being uploaded. 

Once uploaded, the box will close and a pop-up will appear indicating that the file has been successfully uploaded. Because some files can be quite large, it may take several minutes for the data to appear in your instance. 

Importing a File (Copy & Paste Method)

The other way to import files in Inspect Point is to copy and paste table data manually. To do so, click this option on the initial import modal.

The next screen is where you copy and paste the table data. Once you’ve added your data, it will appear in the box. 

Next, select how the data is delineated. In other words, how is each cell in the table separated from each other? The options are listed in the dropdown menu.

Selecting the right option is important. In our example, if we select “colon,” the final product will be inaccurate, since colons do not separate each cell. As a result, each value is lumped into one cell, which is not ideal.

Looking back at what we copied and pasted, each cell is separated by a Tab, so this will be what we select for delineation. When we advance to the next screen, we can see this resulted in a successful import.

With delineation selected, the Copy & Paste method now works the same as the Drag-and-Drop method. Map the columns from the file to Inspect Point, verify the data, submit the finalized data, and the import will be successful. 

Need help? Contact our Support Team at support@inspectpoint.com or submit a support ticket through the "Submit a request" link above.