Importing CSV Files with Date Values

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: If you don't configure the correct date format for your incoming data then all dates will be set to the Default Date

To demonstrate how to import date values, I have created a CSV file that contains Visual ID (VID) and Date of Birth (DOB) for 5 animals.

1. Navigate to IAR, Data Exchange and press "Import Data From a CSV File"

2. Select the import type. In this example we are importing animals.

3. Select the file you want to import, the column mappings, default date, and date format. Date format for this example is "dd/mm/yyyy". The date format in the file you are importing should be consistent, and match the date format selection you make on this screen. Invalid dates will be set to the default date you select here. In our sample data, "32/03/2021" is not a valid date so the default date "14/04/2021" will be used instead. A date may also be invalid because it does not match the format you have selected. In this example "2/3/21" might be invalid, whereas "02/03/2021" is valid.

4. Select how you want new and existing animal data to be handled. In this instance the 5 animals in the import file already exist so you see their Visual IDs have been matched.

5. Once the import is complete you will see an event log. This will tell you how many how many animals were added or updated, and whether were any issues. In this case you can see that one of the dates was invalid. The default date was used instead, as you can see in the next image.

6. In the animal list, filter animals by "Just Imported." Now we can see the 5 animals that were imported. Four have valid dates from the import file, and one has the default date instead.