File Size and Formats
You can upload your data using several formats, including Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and plain text files that use comma-separated (.csv) or tab-delimited (.txt) text. You can also upload using a compressed text file (.zip or .rar).
If you choose to use Google Sheets, you will be prompted for the URL of your sheet and asked for permission to read the file from your Google Drive. The URL should only be for your Google Sheet. We cannot accept other kinds of files from your Google Drive.
When you select Microsoft Excel, you'll be prompted to upload the file. Make sure the last column is fully populated. For each row with data, there must be something in every cell of the last column.
If you want to use a plain text file, make sure your file is PC formatted and uses commas (.csv) or tabs (.txt) to separate the fields.
When using a compressed text file (.zip or .rar), make sure that:
- The source text file contained within the compressed file is a .txt file.
- The compressed file name is EXACTLY the same as the source text file, except for the extension. For example, ActivistCode.zip would contain the file called ActivistCode.txt.
Special Characters
- Double quotes are ignored when parsing the data and will not be included. More specifically, they cannot be used to indicate that commas in that cell are not delimiters (for example, ["100 Main Street, Apartment 4"]; the double quotes will still be ignored and the comma will still be treated as a delimiter.
- Single quotes are included and cause no issues if used in text fields.
- Ampersands (&) cannot be used.
Common Field Requirements and Limitations
Maximum Number of Columns: The maximum number of columns in a spreadsheet that can be uploaded is 50.
Unique Values: Fields whose values that are typically applied to more than a couple records are limited to 60 unique values in an upload file. For example, Activist Codes are used to associate records with a particular group or interest, and thus are generally applied to at least a handful of records, and often hundreds or thousands. This also means there should be many fewer Activist Codes than there are records. Thus, Activist Codes are one of the fields that are limited to 60 unique values per upload file. This is not true for fields whose values are typically unique to one or two records, such as name, address, and phone fields; upload files can contain many unique values for these fields. If there are more than 60 unique Activist Codes in a file, it will need to be broken down into smaller ones.
| Address | Cannot be greater than 500 characters |
| Must contain "@", and be fewer than 100 characters | |
| Employer | Cannot be greater than 50 characters |
| First Name | Cannot be greater than 75 characters |
| Gender | Values must start with "M" or "F" |
| Last Name | Cannot be greater than 150 characters |
| Middle Name | Cannot be greater than 75 characters |
| Occupation | Cannot be greater than 50 characters |
| Phone Numbers | Numeric values only; limited to 10 numeric characters |
| State | State must be a valid US State or territory |
| Suffix | Cannot be greater than 5 characters |
| Zip Code | Numeric Values only; cannot be greater than 10 characters |