Uploading events via spreadsheet

You can upload events to your group via spreadsheet. For example, if your field staff has given you a spreadsheet of events, instead of entering those events one by one, you can upload a spreadsheet.

To upload events, click the "Bulk Upload Events" button in the "More Actions" section of the sidebar on your group's manage page. In the modal window, choose your file to upload and click the "Upload" button to process your file.

Uploaded files must be in .csv format. You can save as this file type when choosing "Save As" in Microsoft Excel or similar programs. Your file also must have the exact column headings we require:

• "event_title" is the title of your event that shows up in search (ex: Protest at the Capitol). It is required.
• "administrative_title" is an administrative internal title for the event (ex: Washington Country Rally). It is optional.
• "location_name" indicates the name of the location (ex: New York State Capitol). It is required.
• "address" is the street address for your location. It is required unless you're making an event without a location, in which case it should be blank and "timezone", described below, is required.
• "city" is the city for your location. It is required unless you're making an event without a location, in which case it should be blank and "timezone", described below, is required.
• "state" is the two letter postal abbreviation for your location (ex: NY for New York). It is required unless you're making an event without a location, in which case it should be blank and "timezone", described below, is required.
• "zip" is the five digit ZIP code of your location. It is required unless you're making an event without a location, in which case it should be blank and "timezone", described below, is required.
• "country" is the two digit country code for the event (ex: CA for Canada). It is optional. If blank, will default to US.
• "time" is the local time of the event, in 24 hour format (ex: 14:00 for 2pm). It is required.
• "date" is the date of the event in standard date format (ex: 10/1/2014 for October 1st, 2014). Must be in the future. It is required.
• "host" is the email address corresponding to the Action Network account of the host of the event. It or a host is required, though both can be used at once. If both host and sponsor is blank (or are invalid), the host will be assigned to the account who is uploading the events.
• "host_contact_info" is a public field for contact information for the host (ex: Call 310.123.4567). It is optional.
• "attendee_pitch" is the text attendees will see before they RSVP to that event -- you can use HTML if you'd like. It is optional. If blank, the event campaign default will be used.
• "attendee_instructions" is the instructions activists see after they RSVP -- you can use HTML if you'd like. It is optional. If blank, the event campaign default will be used.

You can download a sample .csv file that you can open up in Excel or something similar and use as a template by clicking the "Download the location .csv template here" link underneath the upload button in the locations/events upload tab.

You can also upload additional optional fields if you'd like, including every field events contain. A sample file with all fields listed is available here. The additional optional fields are:

• "timezone" is the timezone of the event. It is required for virtual events. For example, "Pacific Time (US & Canada) (GMT-08:00)". The time activists see when they RSVP will be based on the time zone they're currently located in. Leave location fields like address blank and include timezone to make virtual events.

• "custom_fields" is HTML for custom field input that appears in the sidebar form, allowing activists to enter additional custom field data.
• "rsvp_limit" indicates whether the event should have a limit on RSVPs, after which no more RSVPs are allowed. Any positive number is an acceptable value.
• "automatic_notifications" indicates whether this event will send automatic 24-hour notifications before the event. Accepted values are true or false. Default is true.
• "display_sharing_options" indicates whether sharing options should be displayed on the event's thank you page. Accepted values are true or false. Default is true.
• "submit_button_title" is the text of the submit button for the event.
• "end_date" is the end date of the event in standard date format (ex: 10/1/2014 for October 1st, 2014).
• "end_time" is the local end time of the event, in 24 hour format (ex: 14:00 for 2pm).
• "disable_discussions" indicates whether the discussion board is active for the event. Accepted values are true or false. Default is false.
• "reminder_message" is the HTML of the automatic 24-hour reminder email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "reminder_from" is the from line of the automatic 24-hour reminder email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "reminder_subject" is the subject line of the automatic 24-hour reminder email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "reminder_reply_to" is the reply-to email address of the automatic 24-hour reminder email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "allow_guests" indicates whether activists can bring guests to the event, allowing them to enter a number of guests they're bringing on the RSVP form. Accepted values are true or false. Default is false.
• "language" indicates the language of the event. Accepted values are English (en), Danish (da), Dutch (nl), Finnish (fi), French (fr), German (de), Indonesian (id), Japanese (ja), Moldovan (mo), Portuguese (pt-BR), Russian (ru), Spanish (es), Swedish (sv), Turkish (tr), and Welsh (cy). Default is English.
• "redirect_url" indicates where activists should be redirected after RSVPing instead of the default thank you page. Should be a URL.
• "email_response" indicates whether activists should receive an autoresponse after they RSVP. Accepted values are true or false. Default is true.
• "response_message" is the HTML of the autoresponse email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "response_from" is the from line of the autoresponse email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "response_subject" is the subject line of the autoresponse email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "response_reply_to" is the reply-to email address of the autoresponse email. Default language will be used if blank.
• "twitter_share" is the tweet text use in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "email_share" is the email copy-and-paste text use in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "facebook_title" is the title of the Facebook share use in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "facebook_link" is the URL of the page to share on Facebook in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "facebook_description" is the description of the Facebook share use in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "direct_link" is the direct link to be used use in sharing options on the event thank you page and autoresponse email.
• "virtual_link" is an optional field where you can insert the link to your virtual event.
• "is_accessible" is an optional field that allows you to indicate if your event is accessible. If you're hosting an accessible event, enter TRUE into this field. 
• "accessibility_text" is an optional field that allows you to note how your event is accessible. Activists will see this when they RSVP to your event. You can learn more about how to make a rally or march accessible here. You can learn how to create an accessible meeting or party here. 

We will automatically de-duplicate events by location, date, and time, so an event with the same values but slightly different locations, dates, or times will appear as another event.

After you click the upload button your upload will be processed. Large uploads may take a few minutes to finish. We'll email you when your upload is completed or if there are errors processing your upload. If there are errors, we'll do our best to tell you where those errors were so you can fix your file and upload again.

Once you've uploaded full events they will appear in the group's manage page, actions tab, just like any other event.

Note: You cannot undo uploads, so be careful and ensure your file format and data is correct before uploading.