Importing cards via a CSV file

If you've come across a useful set of dates that you want to learn, and want to import those into an existing deck, then this feature will help.

Importing cards

When viewing the details of a deck, click the three-dot menu and select "Import Dates(CSV File)" to use this feature. You'll be prompted to select a CSV file that adheres to the structure below.

On success, new cards will be created for each row in the CSV file, optionally being placed in designated categories.

Structuring the CSV file

Here's how to structure the CSV (comma-separated values) file:

1. Use 6 or 8 columns.
2. Do not use a special header row.
3. The first column must hold the title of the card.
4. The second column must hold the description of the card.
5. The third column holds the date.
6. The fourth column holds the date label. It can be empty if you're describing a single date.
7. The fifth column holds the end date, if you're describing a date range, or empty if not.
8. The sixth column holds the end date label, if you're describing a date range, or empty if not.
9. The optional seventh column holds the source title - a short string. It must be present if a URL is present.
10. The optional eighth column holds the source URL.

For an event with just a single date, leave the fifth and sixth column empty. For example:

    "Abraham Lincoln","Description","1865","was shot","",""

For an event with a start and end date, the label columns must be present.

Here's an example:

    "George Washington","Description",30/04/1789,Took office,04/03/1997,Left office,

Here's an example of a row that supplies a date range, as well as the source URL and title:

    "George Washington","1st president.",30/04/1789,Took office,04/03/1997,Left office,Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington"

Date format

The dates should either be in a format that includes just the year, for example 1948 or -100, or in a day/month/year format, like so: 31/03/1970.

Adding categories

When we parse the CSV file, if we find a row that only has the first column with a value, we will use that text as the category name. If your deck has a category with that exact spelling (and case), the new cards will be imported into the existing category. Otherwise, we'll create a new category with that name.

Here's an example of a category:

    "My Category","","","","",""

Example

Here's a complete example of a CSV file that has two cards (and three dates), together with an (optional) category:

"My Category","","","","",""
"George Washington","1st president.",30/04/1789,Took office,04/03/1997,Left office,Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington"
"Abraham Lincoln","Description","1865","was shot","",""

Download this sample.