How to import portfolio items from a spreadsheet
Bring portfolio items in from a CSV or Excel file, mapping columns to fields and choosing whether each row updates an existing item or creates a new one.
Import a CSV or Excel file of pain points, opportunities, solutions, or other portfolio items instead of adding them one by one. Map each column to a portfolio item field, then let Smaply match each row to an existing item or create a new one.
Prerequisites
You need the Framework plan or higher, and Editor or Admin access at the workspace level.
Start the import
Open the Portfolio Table view, then click the upload icon in the toolbar, next to the download icon you'd use to export. The Import portfolio from a spreadsheet screen opens.
Upload your file
Choose a file or drag one into the dropzone. Smaply accepts one CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file at a time. If you're starting from scratch, click download example for a template with the right headers. The file appears under Selected file; click Continue to move on to mapping.
Choose a type, if your file doesn't name one
If not one row in your file has a recognisable Type - there's no Type column, every value is blank, or every value is unrecognised - Smaply asks What are you importing? before you get to mapping. Pick one type for the whole file.
This changes the mapping step that follows: Type is set to Skip and can't be mapped, the score columns show your chosen type's own dimension names instead of the generic Impact/Reach/Cost, and the import button reads with your type, like Import 2 solutions. Going back from mapping returns here without showing what you previously picked; going back again returns to Upload and clears your file.
If at least one row in your file does have a recognisable type, this step is skipped and Type stays mappable as normal - see What happens to a value that doesn't match below for what happens to the rows that don't.
Map columns to fields
Match each column in your file to a portfolio item field. The available fields are Name, ID / Key, Type, Description, Impact, Reach, Cost, Status, Priority, and Skip. Only Name is required; any column you don't map, or that doesn't match a field automatically, is set to Skip and left out of the import.
Important: when Type comes from your file, score columns map by position, not by name
Impact, Reach, and Cost are really just the first, second, and third scoring slots every portfolio item type has, whatever that type calls them. Mapping a column to Impact always fills the type's first score dimension, even if the type has renamed that dimension to something else, like Feasibility. Check your target type's dimension order before you map scores, or the values will land under the wrong labels. This doesn't apply if you picked a type upfront on the previous step - the score columns already show that type's real dimension names.
A value that doesn't match anything expected, like a Type your account doesn't have, is underlined in red with a warning icon; the row still imports; see What happens to a value that doesn't match below.
Review new items versus updates
Each row previews as NEW or UPDATE. This is decided only by the ID / Key column - the short key shown in the portfolio Table, like PAI-16 - never by matching on name. A row with a key that matches an existing item updates it; a row with a blank key, or a key that doesn't match anything, previews as NEW.
Warning: importing without a Key creates duplicates, every time
Smaply doesn't match rows by name. Re-running an import with a blank ID / Key column creates a brand new item on every run, even if a row looks identical to one you already imported. To update items safely on a later import, export the portfolio to CSV first, edit that file, and re-import it with its Key column intact.
Confirm and import
Click Import [N] items. If your file has any updates or unmatched keys, a Confirm import dialog summarises what will happen before anything is written.
If any rows have a key that doesn't match an existing item, choose whether to Create it as new item (the default) or Skip this row. Updating an existing item only changes the fields you mapped; anything you didn't map is left as it is.
Click Import to run it. A progress screen tracks the import; keep the window open until it finishes. Import complete then shows how many items were Created, Updated, and Failed.
What happens to a value that doesn't match
If your file has at least one row with a recognisable type, rows whose Type doesn't match one of your account's portfolio item types are flagged during mapping (underlined in red with a warning icon) but not dropped. Instead, an extra step appears after mapping: What is the remaining item?, asking you to pick one type for every row whose type couldn't be recognised. Rows with a recognised type keep it; only the unrecognised ones use your choice.
If not one row in the file has a recognisable type, Smaply asks this before mapping instead, as described in "Choose a type, if your file doesn't name one" above.
This also applies to custom types: importing into a custom type works the same way as a built-in one, and the mapping step's score columns adapt to that type's own scoring dimensions.
What you can't import
Assignee and Tags aren't available as import fields. Set those on items individually after importing, or in bulk from the portfolio table or board.
Troubleshooting
Related topics
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