Text Conversion Process TEXT to EXCEL Conversion Template EXCEL to TEXT
Purpose F. S. 285.985 - Transparency in Government Spending
Data Agencies
Steps 1. Get your Agency Contract Data via CD 2. Convert the Data Text File to Excel 3. Cut and Paste the Filtered Data into the Template 4. Clean, Validate and Complete Contract Information 5. Cut and Paste the Completed Template Tabs into a blank Excel Spreadsheet 6. Convert the Excel Spreadsheet back into Text 7. Upload into FACTS
Compare Text Files In the text file given to you on CD, the Record Types belonging to a Contract are not grouped together and data is not complete. In the final text file, uploadable to FACTS, all the Record Types belonging to a Contract should be grouped together.
Steps to Import Text File 1) Open Excel 2) Click on the Data tab 3) Click on From Text 4) Browse to your Text file 5) Use the Text Import Wizard to convert your data
Open Excel to a blank Workbook
1. 2. 1. Click on the Data Tab 2. Click on the From Tab selection
1) Browse to your text file. 2) Click the Import button.
1. 2. 3. 4. These are the settings for Step 1 of the Import Wizard
1. Deselect the Tab Selection 2. In the Other: text box, use a pipe delimiter. 3. These are the settings for Step 2 of the Import Wizard
1. Make sure this is set to Text to include any leading zeroes in your conversion process. 2. These are the settings for Step 3 of the Import Wizard
Last, Excel will ask where you wish to place your imported data. The default of cell A1 should do it.
Finally, your imported text data has been segregated into columns, hopefully, without too many errors. Even blank cells. Don t delete them; their inclusion preserves the format of the data file that will be uploaded later on. In this example, cell C8 has to be adjusted to get rid of those pipe delimiters on the end. It s up to you to check for any errors that might occur.
First, you should identify what column contains your Contract ID information. In this example, the Contract ID is located in Column G.
It s good to get the Contract ID information on the left hand side to assist in making sure that the Contract and all its accompanying Record Types information is intact. Remember, going down, Main identifies a single contract until another Main is listed which identifies another contract. All the information under a single Main should be somehow coupled together. We could do this by inserting another column and referencing the data that is in Column G as seen in the next slide.
Here, a column has a been inserted in Column A, referencing Column H (used to be Column G) which contains the Contract ID information. Cell A1 has the Contract ID pertaining to MAIN in column B. The DLBL Record Type below it has to be tied to this Contract ID, so cell A2 references the Contract ID in cell A1. This continues on down the column. These Contract ID references will assist you when you copy and paste the information into the template which is the next step.
Transfer to the Template Make sure that Contracts have all their accompanying Record Types together for transfer to the template Filter the data by Record Type Once filtered, copy and paste into the appropriate tab in the template Do this for all Record Types in your data (you may not have all seven)
First, make sure that you have the blank conversion template open. Since Column B in this example has the Record Types, we will filter on that column to begin the cut and paste process into the template Select column B and click on the filter icon as shown here.
1. 1. Cell B1 should have a drop down selection whereby you can filter all the values that exist in column B. 2. 2. Select only MAIN and 3. Click OK to filter for only MAIN values. 3.
Select from cell B1 all the way down and across for all MAIN values in this example. Copy this selection for pasting into the blank conversion template. You will use column A for all the other record types, but for MAIN, it is not necessary. This will go into the template for the tab marked as MAIN.
This is the copied data pasted into the MAIN tab of the template. Now go back to the data sheet, filter on another Record Type and paste that data into the appropriate tab.
1. 1. This time the filter is on DLBL (deliverables). 2. Click OK. 2.
This time Column A is included in the cut and paste. Column A should be included for all Record Types except MAIN when pasting into the blank conversion template. Also, observe that row 1 is excluded as well. That row contains the filter, and is not a DLBL selection. Once copied, paste your selection into the blank conversion template. Make sure that the correct tab is selected.
And there you go, DLBL information pasted into the Deliverable tab. Just filter and paste the rest of the Record Types into the blank conversion template. Then use your documentation to validate and correct any data.
Using the Prepared Excel Template
Template Features The DFS Template has: Fields positioned in the order that will they will appear in FACTS 7 tabs depicting the 7 Record Types Drop down selections to cut down on data entry errors Hyperlinks to data validation documents Edits to prevent too many characters
This is the MAIN tab. The fields listed here correspond to the MAIN section of FACTS. They continue to the right for 30+ columns across.
This is the Budget tab. This example has six budgets for this one contract, a one to many relationship.
The Vendor tab.
The Deliverables tab. Again, a One to Many Relationship
The CSFA tab. Catalog of State Financial Assistance.
The CFDA tab. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
And finally, the Contract Change tab. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
On the Template will be several drop down cells available with list selections. These have been taken from the field metadata documentation and the values are valid. This template was done at DFS, but is modifiable for your specific agency use.
This DATA tab is used for the drop down lists available in the RECORD TYPE tabs. You can modify these lists by using the Name Manager on the Excel Formula ribbon and Data Validation tools on the Excel Data ribbon.
Here are two fields containing hyperlinks that can be used to review contract field documentation if you are not quite sure.
Get Completed Data in Correct Format After scrubbing your Contract data, the data from each tab must then be copied to a blank worksheet for conversion to text uploadable to FACTS First the MAIN data for each contract is copied over Then any Record Types belonging to that MAIN (contract) should be grouped with it
COPY PASTE All the data from your completed scrubbed worksheet is copied over to a blank workbook. This example shows just one contract. First, all the data on this MAIN line is copied and then pasted into the blank workbook. Then all the other Record Types from the other tabs gets copied over as well that pertain to this particular contract.
COPY PASTE Next, the BUGT data is copied over from the completed worksheet and pasted into the blank workbook. The data is copied just under MAIN. Notice that the Contract Number was not copied over. This column was simply informational and used for filtering. The MAIN will tell FACTS which Contract ID the remaining Record Types belong to.
COPY PASTE The VENDOR data is copied over from the completed worksheet and pasted into the blank workbook next and so on and so forth. The data is copied just under the last Record Type that was pasted last. Again, the Contract ID was not copied over. The copy starts from column B to the right. Keep doing this until all the data is copied over for this contract as seen on the next slide.
Finally, all the data pertaining to this particular contract has now been pasted underneath the MAIN designation. MAIN is the parent. BUGT, DLBL, VENDOR, CHANGE Record Types are considered the children under this parent. This sheet is now in the format that can be converted to text and then be uploaded into FACTS. The cuts and pastes will continue for the rest of your contracts in this manner.
Getting Windows Ready In order to convert your completed Excel data into a CSV delimited file, a setting has to be set up via Control Panel in your Windows environment: Control Panel Regional and Language Options Customize»Setting the pipe as the delimiter
Setting the Pipe Delimiter 2. 3. 1. Click on the: 1. Start button 2. Settings 3. Control Panel
Double- click on the Regional and Language Options Icon
From the Numbers tab, click on the drop down next to List Separator and enter the pipe ( ) character in the text box From the Regional and Language dialog box, click on the Customize. button
Click the OK button to save your changes. Your Windows can now use the pipe character as the delimiter for your exported text file.
Saving Output to CSV Upload process in FACTS can only use a CSV file The file has be Named in this format: BATCH_OLO_YEAR_MO_DY like this: BATCH_430000_2012_02_12 Save as file type CSV (comma separated values)
1. 2. 1. Click on the Office icon in the top left corner. 2. Click on the SAVE AS selection 3. Select Other Formats 3.
2. 1. 1. Make sure the file is named in the prescribed format 2. Save the file as a CSV (Comma Delimited file)
Simply click the Save button to save your work. Take note of where you save the file to retrieve it later during the Upload process.
When you save your file, you will most likely encounter the following messages from Excel. Click on OK and Yes respectively to save your file.
The saved text file should display all the MAIN Record Types grouped together with all the other Record Types that belong their respective Contracts. In the example above, you have Contract FM128 and it has the VNDR and the 3 DLBL Record Types that belong to that Contract (MAIN). The file is now in the format that is acceptable by FACTS for upload.
The UPLOAD Option Access the FACTS web application Select the UPLOAD option Confirmation of success or errors If errors, re-submit before 5PM All batch data processed between 5PM and 6:45PM Valid data will be in FLAIR in 24 hours All errors posted by 5AM the next business day
Sign on to FACTS using your given User ID and your password
From the MY DASHBOARD portion of FACTS, you would select the UPLOAD CONTRACT INFO option. It will let you browse for your corrected text file and data will be posted in FLAIR within 24 hours.