Project Details: Bulk Edit

Modified on Tue, 15 Aug, 2023 at 3:42 PM

Projects can be bulk imported, or project data bulk edited in Excel through the use of Fluid Bulk Edit functionality.

In this article, you will learn:

✔ how to access the bulk edit functionality.

✔ the steps to update the project details.

✔ the rules that are applied when you upload updates to the project details.

How to access the Project Details Bulk Edit Functionality?

You can only access the Project Details Bulk Edit from a Project Watchlist page. Bulk Edit will export only the projects that are in your filtered view, so make sure the filters applied include all the projects you need to edit!

To access Bulk Edit, select Tools (top right of the page) and select Bulk Edit.

Steps to update project details

Step 1: Download the data file

Select Project Details on the left of the Bulk Edit dialog
If you want to download existing data from the project/s into the file set the flag to Yes. To extract a blank upload file, set it to No.
Click on Download.

Step 2: Edit the data file

Make your required changes to the file that you downloaded.

See the table at the bottom of this page for a full description of each column.

Step 3: Upload the data file

When you are happy with your changes, select UPLOAD in the Bulk Edit dialog and select the file you want to upload

The progress bar will indicate when the upload process is completed and if any errors occurred during the upload process, they will be listed below the progress bar.

Project Details upload rules

The Project Details Bulk Edit functionality can be used to create new projects / programs or update the properties and meta-data of existing projects.

You can find a detailed description of the Project Details file format at the bottom of this page but the following rules need to be applied in order to successfully create or update project data.

Creating a project

The upload functionality makes it very easy to create new projects in bulk.
The project name (column D) must be specified in order to create a new project.
The ProjectID (column A) and ProjectGuid (column B) fields must be left blank to indicate that the project does not exist yet.
If a project external reference is specified, this external reference must not be used by any other project.

Updating a project

The upload functionality can also be used to update the properties of existing project.
To update existing projects, it is recommended to download the Project Details file, make the necessary changes in the excel file and upload the amended file.
You can only update projects you have edit rights for, i.e. you must be either a project administrator or the PM or editor of the project.
The project name (column D) must be specified for a row to be processed. If no project title is found, the upload process will stop and will not process any more rows.
Either the ProjectID (A) or ProjectGuid (B) columns must have a value to uniquely identify the project to be updated:
- If the ProjectId column has a value, then the process will search for a project with the specified project ID. If no project is found, then the row will be skipped.
- If the row has no ProjectID value but a ProjectGuid value is specified, then the upload process will search for a project with the given GUID. If no project is found, then the row will be skipped.
- If no ProjectId (column A) and ProjectGUID are specified but the ProjectRef column has a value, then the process will search for a project with the given external reference. If no project is found, then a new project will be created and the external reference of this new project will be set to the value specified in the excel file.
- Note that if the row has no value set for ProjectID, ProjectGuid and ProjectRef, then it means that this is a new project.

It is important to note that the file being uploaded does not need to contain the entire project set. Only the projects listed in the upload file will be updated, all other projects will remain unchanged.

Data File Column Description

Each line in the upload file contains the details for a project.

IMPORTANT:

When editing projects via bulk edit, changes will only be applied if you have the right permissions to edit the projects. If you do not have permission to edit some projects listed in the data file, changes to these projects will be ignored. Therefore for the updates to be successful you must either:
- be the named Project Manager or Editor on the projects in question.
- have Project Administrator role on your account - for more on account roles, click here.
When entering values that have been predefined in Fluid as selection options (e.g. Project Type (column G)), please make sure your entries exactly match the available configured entries in Fluid.

Column & Title	Description	Data Type	What happens if the field is left blank when uploading the file?
ProjectId	The project unique ID in Fluid. This value is set by the system when a new project is created and is used to uniquely identify the project. This field should therefore be left blank when creating a new project.	Number	If ProjectGUID value (column B) is blank too and there are no projects in the database matching the ProjectRef value (column C), then it means that this is a new project record.
ProjectGuid	Fluid Global Unique Identifier for the project. This value is set by the system when a new project is created and is used to uniquely identify the project. This field should therefore be left blank when creating a new project.	Text	If Project ID value (column A) is blank too and there are no projects in the database matching the ProjectRef value, then it means that this is a new project record.
ProjectRef	The project external reference. Unlike Project ID and Project GUID that are assigned by the application, you can set your own unique identifier for the project.	Text	If ProjectId and ProjectGuid values (column A and B) are blank, then a new project will be created and Fluid will default the project reference value to the project ID.
Project Name	The project name or title.	Text	This field is mandatory. It must be specified for a row to be processed. If no project title is found, the upload process will stop and will not process any more rows in the upload.
Shortcode	Allows you to stipulate your own preferred prefix for unique identifiers that are assigned to the projects content - i.e. risks, issues, schedule tasks, etc.	Text	Fluid will derive a unique Short Code from the project title.
Methodology	The methodology the project is executing in. The methodologies available are configured by your system administrator. If the project type is set to Program, then the methodology value will always be set to Program regardless of the value specified in the file.	Text	If the project type is set to Program, then the Methodology field is set to Program. Otherwise the property is not set.
Project Type	The type of executing project - e.g. standard project, small enhancement, RTB or CTB... The options available for this field are configured by the system administrator.	Text	The property is not set.
Cap Eligibility	Is the project eligible for capitalisation.	Yes/No	The Cap eligibility is defaulted to No.
Cap Profile	The profile under which the project will be capitalised. The capitilisation profiles available are configurable by your system administrator. If the project type is set to Program, then the capitalisation profile value will always be set to blank regardless of the value specified in the file.	Text	The property is not set.
Start Date	The commencement date or start date of the project.	Date	The property is not set.
End Date	Project completion or termination date.	Date	The property is not set.
Created On	Date that the project was initially created.	Date	Field is set to the project's creation date.
Project Implementation Date	The date the project 'Goes Live'.	Date	The property is not set.
Discretionary vs Non-discretionary	Discretionary: Projects that are nice-to-have. Non-discretionary: Projects that have to happen - typically projects that are compliance/governance or key to the ongoing concern of the organisation.	Text	The property is not set.
Amortisation Period	The period (in months) over which the project will be amortised.	Text	The property is not set.
Category	Field for further categorising the project (e.g. Support Services, Infrastructure, Business, etc). The options available for this field are configured by the system administrator.	Text	The property is not set.
FundingSource	The funding 'pot' that the project is being financed from. The options available for this field are configured by the system administrator.	Text	The property is not set.
Status	The Status of the project within its lifecycle (e.g. Pipeline, Active, On-Hold, Cancelled, etc). The options available for this field are configured by the system administrator.	Text	Field is set to the default project status configured by the system administrator. This default value is usually set to Active.
Immediate Parent	The immediate parent for the project in the Project Hierarchy.	Text	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Immediate Parent Id	The unique ID of the immediate parent project. If the project is part of a project hierarchy, then this value or the Immediate Parent Ref value is required to uniquely identify the parent project.	Text	If Immediate Parent Ref value is blank too, then the project does not have a parent project. Note: Leave this value blank if you are updating a project and no longer wants this project to be part of a project hierarchy.
Immediate Parent Ref	The external reference of the Immediate Parent. If the project is part of a project hierarchy, then this value or the Immediate Parent Id value is required to uniquely identify the parent project.	Text	If Immediate Parent Id value is blank too, then the project does not have a parent project. Note: Leave this value blank if you are updating a project and no longer wants this project to be part of a project hierarchy.
Top Parent Project	The Top Parent project for the project in the Project Hierarchy.	Text	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Top Parent Project ID	The unique ID of the Top Parent project.	Text	Fluid use the Immediate Parent ID (S) or Immediate Parent Ref (T) values to determine if the project is part of a hierarchy and if it is, the ID of the top parent project in the hierarchy will be set.
Top Parent Project Ref	The external reference for the Top Parent Project.	Alphanumeric (numbers & text)	Fluid use the Immediate Parent ID (S) or Immediate Parent Ref (T) values to determine if the project is part of a hierarchy and if it is, the external reference of the top parent project in the hierarchy will be set.
Program	The name of the program the project belongs to.	Text	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Program ID	The unique ID of the program the project belongs to.	Number	Fluid use the Immediate Parent ID (S) or Immediate Parent Ref (T) values to determine if the project is part of a hierarchy and if it is, the ID of the program the project belongs to will be set.
Program Ref	The external reference for the Program.	Text	Fluid use the Immediate Parent ID (S) or Immediate Parent Ref (T) values to determine if the project is part of a hierarchy and if it is, the external reference of the program the project belongs to will be set.
ReportingProgram	The Reporting Program the project is linked to.	Text	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Reporting Program Id	The unique ID of the reporting program the project belongs to.	Number	If Reporting Program Ref (AC) value is blank too, then the project does not have a reporting program. Note: Leave this value blank if you are updating a project and no longer wants this project to have a reporting program.
Reporting Program Ref	The external reference of the Reporting Program the project belongs to.	Number	If Reporting Program Id value is blank too, then the project does not have a reporting program. Note: Leave this value blank if you are updating a project and no longer wants this project to have a reporting program.
Primary PM	The project manager responsible for the project.	Name	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Primary PM Id	Unique identifier for the Primary PM's account - the account username.	Text	The property is not set.
Owner	The owner of the project.	Name	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Owner Id	The unique identifier for the Owner account - the account username.	Text	The property is not set.
Executive	The executive responsible for the project and delivery of its benefits.	Name	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Executive Id	The unique identifier for the Executive account - the account username.	Text	The property is not set.
Editors	Along with the Primary PM, Editors have full READ/WRITE access to the project.	Name	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Editors Id	The unique identifier for the Editors account - the account username.	Text	The property is not set.
Business Owner	Person from business working with the delivery team to ensure business objectives are met.	Name	This column is for information only and is not processed on upload.
Business Owner Id	The unique identifier for the Business Owner account - the account username.	Text	The property is not set.
Portfolio	The Portfolio the project belongs to. Available portfolios are configured by your system administrator.	Text	The property is not set.
SubPortfolio	The SubPortfolio the project belongs to. Available sub-portfolios are configured by your system administrator.	Text	The property is not set.
Business Driver	Which of the organisations business drivers is the project aligned to.	Text	The property is not set.
Tier	The tiering of the project. Typically Tier 1 are the most complex/important/expensive projects and Tier 5 the least complex/important/expensive. The business rules assigned to tiering is unique to each organisation.	Text	The property is not set.
Cost Centre	The cost centre for recharge of project costs.	Text	The property is not set.
Description	Description of what the project is about.	Text	The property is not set.
Requirements	Project requirements.	Text	The property is not set.
Proposed Solution	Proposed solution of what the project will deliver.	Text	The property is not set.
Phase1End	The end date for the first phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
Phase2End	The end date for the second phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
Phase3End	The end date for the third phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
Phase4End	The end date for the fourth phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
Phase5End	The end date for the fifth phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
Phase6End	The end date for the sixth phase of the project. The number of phase end dates to populate depends on the methodology selected for the project.	Date	The property is not set.
BC onwards	Project custom properties	Various	No values are set.