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Media Library: How do I export entries and import them into other collections?

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Export Media Library Entries

  • Do one of the following:
    • To export entries from a specific collection, from the Media Library screen, click the title of the collection.
    • To export entries from the Media Library, from the Media Library screen, click View All Entries. This option is not available to users enrolled as Section Instructors or Teaching Assistants.
  • Select the entries you want to export and click Export.
  • Click Save and save the file. The entries and any attachments are saved in a zip file. The default zip file name is <section_title>-MediaEntriesExport-yyyy-mmm-dd-hh-mm-ss.zip where:
    • <section_title> is the title of the section.
    • yyyy-mmm-dd is the date that the entries were exported.
    • hh-mm-ss is the time that the entries were exported.

In the zip file, the entries are saved in a comma-separated values (.csv) file. Each entry appears in the following format:

<title>,<description>,<use_HTML>,<display_in_italic>,"<keywords>",<entry_linking>,<attachment_file_name>

The following table describes each field:

Field

Description

<title>

The entry title.

<description>

The entry description. If the description contains commas, quotation marks, or line breaks, it is enclosed in quotation marks.

<use_HTML>

Determines whether the description is in Plain Text or HTML format. Possible values are:

  • 0 = description is in Plain Text format
  • 1 = description is in HTML format

<display_in_italic>

Determines whether the title is in regular or italic font style. Possible values are:

  • 0 = title is in regular font style
  • 1 = title is in italic font style

"<keywords>"

Keywords associated with the entry, separated by commas and enclosed in quotation marks.

<entry_linking>

Determines how entries are linked. Possible values are:

  • 0 = manual
  • 1 = automatic, first instance
  • 2 = automatic, all instances

<attachment_file_name>

The file name of the attachment.

Note:

When entries are exported, the file names of attachments are renamed with the ID of the entry.

 

Example:

apple,"The fleshy, round, edible pomaceous fruit of the genus Malus in the rose family.",0,1,"pome,fruit",2,912345678.jpg

Formatting Entries for Import

If you have downloaded Glossary entries from a course on a CE 4.x version or have an Excel® spreadsheet software file that contains glossary terms that you want to import, you can modify the file and import it.

Depending on whether the entries have file attachments, you must format the entries in a Comma Separated Values (.csv) or text (.txt) file:

  • If the entries do not have file attachments, you must format the entries in a .csv or .txt file.
  • If the entries have file attachments:
    • you must format the entries in a .csv file.
    • the file name of the .csv file must be entries_export.csv.
    • the entries_export.csv file and all file attachments must be included in a single zip file.

When creating the .csv or .txt file, each entry must be in the following format:

<title>,<description>,<use_HTML>,<display_in_italic>,"<keywords>",<entry_linking>,<attachment_file_name>

The following table describes the fields:

 

Field

Description

<title>

The entry title.

<description>

The entry description.

If the description contains commas, quotation marks, or line breaks, it must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Example:

pomegranate,"A large fruit having many tiny seeds in an inedible, red pulp.",0,1,"fruit,Punica granatum",1

The description can be in Plain Text or HTML format. If the description is in HTML format, the value of the <use_HTML> field must be set to 1.

<use_HTML>

Determines whether the description is in Plain Text or HTML format. Possible values are:

  • 0 = description is in Plain Text format
  • 1 = description is in HTML format

This field is optional. If you leave it blank, the default value 0 is used.

<display_in_italic>

Determines whether the title is in regular or italic font style. Possible values are:

  • 0 = title is in regular font style
  • 1 = title is in italic font style

This field is optional. If you leave it blank, the default value 0 is used.

"<keywords>"

Keywords associated with the entry. They must be separated by commas and enclosed in quotation marks.

This field is optional. You can leave it blank.

<entry_linking>

Determines the entry linking. Possible values are:

  • 0 = manual
  • 1 = automatic, first instance
  • 2 = automatic, all instances

This field is optional. If you leave it blank, the Media Library default linking setting is used.

<attachment_file_name>

The file name of the attachment.

 

Example:

apple,"The fleshy, round, edible pomaceous fruit of the genus Malus in the rose family.",0,1,"pome,fruit",2,SpartanApple.jpg

Import Media Library Entries

You can import entries:

  • that were exported from the Media Library in a course in which you are enrolled.

Example:

If you exported entries from a course that you were enrolled in last term, you can import those entries to new collections that you create.

 

  • that are saved in a Comma Separated Values (.csv), text (.txt), or zip file.

Example:

If you have downloaded Glossary entries from a CE 4.x course or have an Excel® spreadsheet software file that contains glossary terms that you want to import, you can modify its format and import it.

 

Depending on Media Library settings, users enrolled as Section Instructors or Teaching Assistants may not be able to import entries.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To import entries to a specific collection, from the Media Library screen, click the title of the collection.
    • To import entries to the Media Library, from the Media Library screen, click View All Entries. This option is not available to users enrolled as Section Instructors or Teaching Assistants.
  2. Click Import.
  3. Locate and select the .csv, .txt, or zip file.
  4. If you are importing entries to Media Library and you do not want import entries to the collections specified in the file, select Ignore the collection information when importing.

5.   Click Import. The entries are imported.