Import Student Data

Prerequisites #

1. You should have a Presto Assistant organization set up.
   • Need to set up an organization? This article will show you how.
2. You should have data in a file using the "Comma-separated Values" CSV format. This could be data that you have exported from a tool like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or others.

Getting Started #

1. From the Dashboard, click the Students item in the left navigation menu.

2. Click the triple-dot "More Actions" icon button at the top right of the table. If you are creating the student data for the first time in this organization, click on Import new students.
   • Don't use this option if any of the student data already exists in this organization. Use "Import student updates" to update the data for students that are already in your organization.

Three Import Options #

Choose one of our three options to add large amounts of data to the Presto Assistant system.

1. Use the Presto Assistant template
2. Use your own CSV file
3. Send your data files to Team Presto

Use Our Template #

Transfer your data to the template that comes with all Presto column headers. Import that file into Presto Assistant.

1. Download the template file and move your data over to this new file.

   • The template file will have all of the column headers for your organization, both REQUIRED and OPTIONAL.
   • You will also see column headers for Dynamic Fields if your district uses that feature of Presto.

2. Drop the updated template CSV file onto the cloud icon.

3. Head to the Preview and Finish Importing section below.

Use Your Own File #

Make sure your CSV file has the correct column headers, and import it into Presto Assistant.

1. Open the target CSV file that contains your data.

   • We suggest that you make a copy of your data since you'll be updating that CSV file directly.
   • If you have a file in another format like XLS, use your spreadsheet program to export the data to "Comma-separated Values" (CSV) format for use with Presto.

2. In Presto, press the arrow next to "Option 2"

3. Adjust your CSV file to use the Presto Assistant column headers format. For example, your data might have Full Name which would need to split into firstName and lastName to follow the Presto method.

   • Capitalization and spacing doesn't matter for these fields. We will treat "first Name" and "Firstname" the same way.

4. Remove any extra columns and save the file.

5. Drop the updated CSV file onto the cloud icon.

6. Head to the Preview and Finish Importing section below.

Import From Another System #

The EASY button — We can migrate your data for you, usually in about two business days depending on the time of the year.

1. Export your data from the old system into a CSV file.

2. In Presto, press the arrow next to "Option 3"

3. Select which system you are migrating from and drop your CSV file onto the cloud icon.

Team Presto will take care of the rest. We will be in touch with any questions or to let you know we are done!

Preview and Finish Importing #

• The last step of the import process will show you a preview of the "good" and "bad" rows that we detect (pictured below). This is a chance to correct any issues like missing “required” fields in some rows.
  • The preview only shows 10 rows of data.
  • If bad rows are present, you can still import the rest of the data. The system will ignore the bad rows.
  • See the Troubleshooting section below for more help.

If all data looks good, then press the purple Import button. Your data will be available in the system within a few seconds. Presto means FAST!

Data Types #

Our team maintains a separate page that lists all data types expected for importing data. Please review the Student import data types at the following link:

• Student import data types

Things to keep in mind #

• Instead of adding “test data”, please use real data. Presto Assistant never really deletes any data, and using your real data will keep things cleaner for you later on. You probably don’t want to see “Test Student - test@student.com” in your data. Also, your program numbers will be wrong if you add fake data.
• When importing Student data, keep in mind that all individual Presto Assistant users must have a separate email address. Students and parents cannot share an email address. In that regard Presto behaves like most other web applications in the modern era.
• If your district has an email system set up, we suggest using that email for students in Presto Assistant.

Troubleshooting #

• If you see an alert that says some rows have invalid data, press the "SHOW" button to see the rows that have issues.

• All rows with invalid data will show the row number in your file and which issues to fix for data in that row.
  • You can choose to import all good data right now and come back to fix the issues later.
  • If you fix the issues right now, hit the Cancel button to restart the import process for new student data.

• If you attempt to add a file that is not a CSV file, you will see an error message. Make sure you are importing a CSV file.

Did you know? #

All parts of Presto Assistant that support importing data work the same way. We aim to keep it simple.