Import a destination database

To create Destinations in bulk, you can import them using a spreadsheet in CSV format. CSV files can be generated from Excel (Microsoft) or Calc (OpenOffice, LibreOffice) spreadsheets.

The CSV import for destinations is available by clicking on the "Destinations" => "Import" link below,

• Data that can be imported via CSV file
  
  • Mandatory data
  • Optional data
  • Route data
  • Destination data
  • Visit data
• Import a destinations file
• Help
• Import options
• Best practices for importing CSV files
• Fixing the most common import errors
  • Nothing to import
  • Incorrect file
  • Invalid file
  • File not in CSV format
  • Validation failed
  • More routes than vehicles
  • Label too long
• Import TomTom destinations

At the bottom of the page, you can download a standard Destinations file template (with the correct column headers for import).

: Standard CSV template : 

By clicking the link below, you can download a Destinations Excel file template (with the correct column headers for import).

 : Excel CSV template

Note 
Only the “Name” column and the columns for geographic coordinates (Street/Postcode/City or Latitude/Longitude) are mandatory.

Data that can be imported via CSV file

Each line in the CSV file corresponds to a destination. The columns contain the relevant information for each destination. Each Destinations field matches a column in the CSV template file.

Mandatory data

For a successful import, the mandatory data are:

• Name of the destination
• Geographic coordinates (either as Street/Postcode/City or as Latitude/Longitude). Geocoding is done either by address or by GPS coordinates.

Optional data

Optional data are additional details about the destinations. They are used in the optimisation calculation. They relate to the route the destination is assigned to, the destination itself, or the visit to the destination.

Route data

• Vehicle: name or reference of the vehicle assigned to the destination.
• Delivered: indicates whether the destination is delivered during this route or not.
• Stop type: specifies whether the stop is a visit, a drop-off, or a break. The default value is visit.

Destination data

• Destination reference: the reference must be unique. It allows you to modify/update a destination via import. If there is no reference, the information is added. If the reference exists, the information is updated.
• Phone: number to contact the destination. An alert will appear if this field does not contain a single valid phone number.
• Comment: Free text field for any important or secondary information about the destination.
• Labels: Word or group of words used for sorting and grouping in the destinations list and for matching one or more destinations with a vehicle’s skills.

Visit data

• Visit reference: name or reference of the visit to a destination.
• Start time: time when a visit starts. This time can exceed 24 hours.
• End time: time when a visit ends. This time can exceed 24 hours.
• Visit label: Categories of visits.
• Visit duration: Duration of the visit expressed as HH:mm:ss (hours:minutes:seconds).
• Visit priority: priority level of the visit, between -4 and 4. If the visit is essential/priority, assign 4. If the visit is secondary, assign -4.
• Quantity (deliverable unit): Set the number of items to deliver or collect.
• Operation: Choose between fill (for a collection) and empty (for a delivery).
• Barcode: Enter the barcode(s) linked to the quantity (deliverable unit).

Note: 
Labels correspond to vehicle skills.

Note :
Quantities are determined by the deliverable units created in “Vehicles” => “Deliverable units”.

Import a destinations file

To access the “Import destinations” page, open the “Destinations” menu, then click on “Import”.

1. In the CSV File section, click the “Select file” button . Then, in your computer folders, select the file (in CSV format) to import. A “Help - Column definitions” link explains the contents of the file to be uploaded. This link also lets you change the field names to match your company’s internal naming.
2. Choose whether to update destinations (unique and consistent references must be present in your CSV file), or to delete and replace your destinations before import.
3. Untick “Delete old route plans” to keep previous routes.
4. To confirm the import, click the “Import” button.

Managing data via CSV file allows for a more streamlined view and organisation of your data. Importing destinations will automatically create destinations and their visits, as well as a route plan based on the columns filled in. If a destination needs to be visited several times, the “Multiple visits” option (can be enabled on request) allows the import to better organise your destinations without repeating the same address.

Once the file is recognised and the import confirmed, the Destinations database is geocoded and the “List” page opens automatically so you can view the imported data in a spreadsheet and on a map.

Help

The Help section opens when you click on “Help - Column definitions”.

All fields are explained as in the section Data that can be imported via CSV file.

You can change the field names to match those in your existing destinations database. When you click the icon, an editable field opens so you can enter the desired field name.

When you click on the field to edit, instructions are shown in a popover. Data formats are given as examples.

Import options

1. Update / Add: the destinations in the file are added, or if the reference is already present in Mapo, the destinations are updated with the information from the file.
2. Delete old destinations: old destinations are deleted. The destination database is cleared. When this box is ticked, the “Delete old plans” box is automatically ticked as well.
3. Merge rows for the same destination: several rows in a file relating to the same destination can be merged when this box is ticked. The merge is based on the destination reference.
4. Delete old plans: the plans currently in Mapo are deleted.
5. Vehicle configuration: the drop-down menu lists the vehicle configurations available in Mapo. The selected vehicle configuration will be applied to the imported plan. If no vehicle configuration is selected, the first configuration in the vehicle list will be assigned to the plan.

Best practices for importing csv files

• Follow the column headers in the CSV template. For example: “libellés” is plural, check for accents.
• Enter the column headers in lowercase letters in the csv file. (as shown in the import template)
• Delete the row(s) for the destination(s) you want to remove from the file to be imported. Simply clearing a row is not enough; you must select the relevant row(s) and delete them using the spreadsheet’s delete function.
• Check that all imported points have a name. The cell in the “name” column must be filled in for each row.
• Only import files in csv format.
• Remove any duplicate rows.
• If you use references, choose a unique reference for each destination.
• Close any software using the csv file before importing it.

Fixing the most common import errors

If there’s a file error, the messages are usually clear. Here are the main reasons why an import might fail:

Nothing to import

The column headers in the file don’t match the expected headers. Check the column headers by comparing them to the import file template. Make sure the data matches the correct fields.

Incorrect file

The spreadsheet structure is corrupted. For example, the column headers are out of sync with their content. Opening the csv file in a text editor can help you spot any misalignments.

Invalid file

There are two possible reasons for this error: - The “name” field is not filled in correctly. Check the “name” column. Correct any missing or incorrect rows. - The geographic coordinates are not entered correctly. Enter the GPS coordinates (Latitude and Longitude) OR the full address (Street/Postcode/City).

File is not csv

All imported files must be in csv (comma-separated value) format. To convert a spreadsheet to csv, save it as CSV (comma separator).

Validation failed

To avoid a time slot error

Time Slot 1 must be filled in if a start or end time for Time Slot 2 is entered.
The end of a time slot must be after the start of that time slot.
Note: 
For overnight hours, such as from 11pm to 7am, the file must include a column with the time for the next day (in this example, 7am). The “end time” column should contain the formula =next day time cell+ 24:00:00. The cells must be in Time format -> 87661 13:37:46 cell_format.

Priority must be between -4 and 4. If it’s outside this range, you’ll get an error. Check that the Priority column contains numbers between -4 and 4.

Quantity must be a number. Check that the Quantity column contains numbers.

More routes than vehicles

If the number of imported routes exceeds the number of available vehicles, the error “Attempting to import more routes than available vehicles” appears.

To fix this: - Delete some destination rows, add them in another import, or create a new plan. All destinations will appear on the new Plan. - Remove the data from the Route columns. Run the import. Create a new Plan. All destinations will appear on the new Plan.

Label too long

The Label field must contain a maximum of 255 characters. If the label or list of labels exceeds this limit, this error will appear. To avoid this, check the Label column to make sure each cell contains fewer than 255 characters.

Importing TomTom destinations

To access the “Import destinations” page, click on the “Destinations” menu, then select “Import”.

Expand the TomTom section by clicking on the drop-down menu.
Choose whether you want to update/add destinations or replace the destinations currently in the app.
Click the Import button
Note

You need to set up the TomTom device(s) in Global Settings to use this feature.