Upload a List of Names into Your Photo Job

Overview

You can upload a names list into your photo job to simplify your workflow. This lets you personalize your QR cards with subject and Teacher/Grade data. It's also required in order to create student data exports intended for Yearbook photos or Student IDs. In this article, we'll review the steps for uploading student data, as well as when and how to replace an out-of-date list.

Uploading Student Data

1. Select the QR-Tagging - with list of names tagging method, and download the CSV template on the righthand side of the screen. 
2. Open the CSV Template using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Any other spreadsheet software (e.g. Apple Numbers) can potentially cause issues. 
3. Copy your student data into the appropriate columns of the spreadsheet. Please note that the system requires at least the 'Firstname' and 'Lastname' columns to contain data in order to be processed- If you don't have the data available for all columns that the template provides, just leave those other fields blank. Alternatively, you can also delete those columns. Ensure that your data does not have any corrupted characters and is in UTF-8 Format (as a sample, if the name is written Am�lie instead of Amélie, your names list won't import properly and cause issues). Find more information here. 

   North American Customers:  Feel free to use spaces, dashes, or parentheses; our system recognizes all of these formats as North American phone numbers.

   UK Customers:  At this time, please format phone numbers with +44 and no 0 at the beginning, and do not use any spaces or additional characters (e.g. +441234123456).

   
   Please confirm that you have permission to use any included phone numbers for text messaging. Don't worry if you don't have any phone numbers yet. If parents later register for this job, they will see a consent box under the registration settings, ensuring that you will be fully compliant.
   
   

     Column definitions: 

   Most of the column names are self-explanatory, but here are a few clarifications:

   • Identifier: Intended for Student IDs (e.g. ID 12345). In sports jobs, this is the player number.
   • Group: In schools, this is a grade or class (e.g. Grade1). In sports jobs, this is the team name (e.g. Jaguars).
   • Teacher: In schools, this is usually the homeroom teacher (e.g. Mr. Smith). In sports jobs, this is the coach name (e.g. Coach Johnson).
   • Expires: This field is intended for student IDs and should be filled with the date they should expire.
   • Access Code (1): The System will automatically create unique access codes for each student, but you can also add customized unique access codes.
   • Access Code (2): This column is only used when re-importing updated exported names list back to the job in case there are siblings.
   • Parent email and phone number:   To create a new customer in GotPhoto, you must have at least the prospect's email address. If you only provide the parent's phone number, their data won't be imported. A workaround is to use a dummy email for each customer. This allows phone numbers to be imported for SMS notifications. We recommend using online tools to generate dummy emails to avoid using real addresses.
4. Save your spreadsheet as a CSV, XLS or XLSX file.
5. Back on the access type screen, upload the spreadsheet into your photo job by clicking "Upload CSV file."
6. On the following page, review the information, and click "Start import." Depending on the size of the file, you may need to wait a few minutes for the data to process. 
7. Once the process is complete, click "Done."

Uploading a Different Names List

You might want to add more students to your job and need to update the names list. In which cases can you still adjust the names list?

• You have not imported the names list yet: here you can simply upload a different names list that will overwrite the first roster you uploaded.
• You have already imported the names list, but you forgot to add students, or you want to change info e.g. group info. You haven't created the QR cards yet, so the QR codes can still be changed: Here you can simply delete the job, create a new job and upload your corrected roster, the system will then create new random access code for your students, and you won't have any duplicates.
• You only have the student names, no potential buyer information on your roster. You have already imported the names list and created the QR cards and taken the pictures. Here, you want to make sure that no duplicates are created when you correct existing data.
  1. First export your existing names list under Manage Names (under the Settings tab of the job) by clicking on the blue Manage Names button:And then selecting an export option:Within the new spreadsheet you've just exported, you can make your modifications. In this case, we added information to the "Group" column:⚠ Important: You must keep the ID column unchanged, this is GotPhoto's record indicator for the child's data entry. Changing this would result in the re-import not being successful or creating duplicate data entries.
     
     
  2. Now, you can use the Upload different List button and upload this edited names list: 
  3. Review the data and click the blue Start Import button.  
  4. The group info has been added to the existing data. No data has been changed or duplicated:

⚠ Important: In all other cases where you need to change a names list or where you need to add data,  please first reach out to support so that we can check the individual case. 

FAQs

Can I upload my custom roster?

Yes. After uploading, you'll be asked to review your data and to match your fields with the fields of the names list. 

Can I use students' ID as Access codes?

Yes, instead of leaving the Access Code column blank, you can use the students' ID as Access codes. But please keep in mind that you can't use an access code again in another job. If you take pictures at the school every year/twice a year, you'd need to add a prefix or suffix to the students' ID like 123456Fall20 instead of 123456. 

Can I add more than 2 customers per subject in my names list?

Yes, you can simply add Buyer3 and Buyer4 info to the CSV template in case you have more than 2 customer email addresses/phone numbers:

1. On the Settings page of the job, download our CSV template on the job's Setting page:
2. Now, insert new columns, and name them exactly as Buyer2 columns but with a 3 or 4 (you can also use the column match function): Buyer3 Firstname, Buyer3 Lastname, Buyer3 Email, Buyer3 Phone, do the same for Buyer4 (right click to open the screenshot in a second window to view it full screen). In order to save time, save the template for future jobs before you populate the roster with your data:
   
3. Upload the list.
4. Use the matching tool to check that buyers are properly listed.
5. Import the names list as usual.

The columns in the downloaded CSV are all crowded together. What do I do?

If you downloaded our CSV template but found the columns look like the screenshot above, make sure to import the actual CSV file into your spreadsheet software:

1. Open your spreadsheet software. 
2. Click File on the Menu Bar, and then Import.
3. For the type of file, select CSV and then click Import
4. Find and select the CSV file you have downloaded.
5. In the Text Import Wizard, select "Delimited," and then click Next
6. On the next page, under Delimiters, select Semicolon only and then click Finish.
7. The data should now look legible as indicated below:

The Takeaway

Simplify your workflow and personalize QR cards with student data uploads in GotPhoto. Whether setting up data for Yearbook photos or Student IDs, easily upload and manage student information. From defining categories to updating lists, GotPhoto streamlines the process, ensuring a hassle-free and efficient experience for capturing and organizing student data.