Exprting and Imprting the Blackbard Vista Grade Bk Yu can use the Blackbard Vista Grade Bk with a spreadsheet prgram, such as Micrsft Excel, in a number f different ways. Many instructrs wh have used Excel befre find it easiest t d all f their grading, cmplete with frmulas, in Excel, and then uplad the file t the Vista Grade Bk after each assignment s that students can view their grades thrugh Blackbard. An additinal advantage t this apprach is that it gives instructrs a backup cpy f their grade bks n their wn cmputers. If yu decide t keep yur Grade Bk in Vista, frmulas and all, it is still a gd idea t dwnlad yur Grade Bk peridically t keep a backup, and als as part f an end f the semester rutine t archive yur class grades. Exprting Data t a Spreadsheet File Member infrmatin can be exprted as a cmma delimited (.csv) r tabdelimited (.txt) text file. Yu can exprt all clumn infrmatin, except frmulas fr calculated clumns. The data that yu can exprt is determined in part by the tab frm which yu cmmence the exprt. 1. Frm the Grades, Members, View All, r Custm View tab, d ne f the fllwing: T exprt all member data, click Exprt t Spreadsheet. The Exprt t Spreadsheet screen appears. T exprt selected members' data, next t each member that yu want t exprt, select the check bx and click Exprt t Spreadsheet. 1
2. If yu did nt select members t exprt in step 1, prceed t step 4. 3. If yu selected members t exprt in step 1, under Members t Exprt, d ne f the fllwing: T exprt the selected members, ensure that Selected members is selected. T exprt all members instead f the members yu selected in step 1, select All members. 4. Under Clumns t Exprt, d ne f the fllwing: T exprt the infrmatin cntained in the data clumns that appear in the tab frm which yu initiated the exprt, select Visible clumns. T exprt the infrmatin cntained in all data clumns that have been defined fr this curse, select All clumns. 5. Under Select Exprt Frmat, d ne f the fllwing: T create a text file where field infrmatin fr each member is separated by a cmma, select Cmma delimited. (This file type will be autmatically recgnized by yur PC as a Micrsft Excel file). 2
T create a text file where field infrmatin fr each member is separated by a tab keystrke, select Tab delimited. 6. Under Select Character Set, select the character set that wrks best with yur spreadsheet applicatin fr yur language. 7. Click Exprt. Yur brwser may display a pp windw asking if yu want t save r pen the file. If s, chse t save the file. 8. In the next screen that appears, chse a lcatin n yur cmputer and accept r chse a filename. 9. Click Save. The selected members' infrmatin is exprted. 3
Opening the Exprted File Cmma delimited Files If yu saved yur exprted Grade Bk as a cmma delimited (.csv) file, it will display n yur cmputer as an Excel.csv file. T pen it, duble click n the icn. Tab delimited Files If yu saved yur exprted Grade Bk as a tab delimited (.txt) file, d the fllwing: 1. Start up Excel, and frm the File menu, chse Open File. 2. Navigate t where yu saved the file n yur lcal cmputer. 3. By Files f type:, pen the drpdwn menu and select All Files. 4. Select yur file and click Open. 5. The Text Imprt Wizard appears. On the first screen, be sure that Delimited is checked. Click Next. 6. On the secnd screen, be sure that the radi buttn next t Tab is selected. Click Finish. Yur file will then pen in Excel. Imprtant: It is imprtant that yu d nt make any changes t the clumn labeled User Id, either t the name f the clumn r t any f the cntents f that clumn. That clumn is necessary fr Vista t match the data frm the spreadsheet int the crrespnding clumns in yur Vista Grade Bk. It is als imprtant that yu unhide this clumn befre exprting the Grade Bk t a spreadsheet, as the default ptin fr Clumns t Exprt is Visible Clumns. 4
Imprting Data frm File If yu have exprted yur Vista Grade Bk nt yur cmputer and added mre clumns r grades t it, yu can imprt it back int yur Vista Grade Bk. Yu can imprt the data t existing clumns r create new clumns during the imprt prcess. Imprtant: If yu save yur spreadsheet file as an.xls file t preserve any frmatting, yu have t make sure that yu save anther cpy f it as a cmmadelimited (.csv) r tab delimited (.txt) text file befre yu attempt t uplad it int Blackbard Vista. The spreadsheet file being upladed has t have the untuched, unedited User Id clumn, as this clumn represents the unique identifier fr each student. T uplad a.csv r.txt file frm yur cmputer and imprt it int Vista: 1. Frm the Grades, Members, View All, r Custm View tab, click Imprt frm Spreadsheet. The Imprt File screen appears. 2. Click Brwse. 3. Lcate and select the file yu want t imprt. 4. Frm the Separatr drp dwn list, select the character that separates clumn data in yur file. 5. Frm the Character Set drp dwn list, select the character set used by yur spreadsheet. 6. Click Uplad. The fllwing appears: Under Imprt Clumn, the field names frm yur text file Under Match, a check mark indicates the fields that match existing Grade Bk data clumns 5
Under Grade Bk Clumn, fr matched fields, the data clumn that matches yur text file field. Fr Last and First Name fields, the D nt Imprt ptin will be displayed. Under Data Preview, the varius user values fr that field 7. In the rw that represents the user name field in yur file, select User Id frm the drp dwn list under Grade Bk Clumn. The User Id clumn is a required clumn fr matching purpses nly and will nt be imprted. 8. Check that the remaining fields frm yur text file are matched t data clumns. If necessary, under Grade Bk Clumn, frm the drp dwn list, d ne f the fllwing: T select a data clumn t which t imprt the data, select the clumn. T create a new data clumn fr the data, select Add as new clumn. If the data is nt imprtant and yu d nt wish t imprt it, select D nt imprt. 9. Click Imprt. A cnfirmatin screen will appear. 6
10.Review the data and click OK. The users are imprted t the Grade Bk. Yu are returned t the tab frm which yu initiated the imprt actin. After Imprting the Data File After yu ve successfully imprted yur.csv r.txt file int yur Grade Bk, there are a cuple f prcedures yu may need t fllw t make newly imprted clumns wrk crrectly in yur Vista Grade Bk. Making New Clumns Gradable If yu are in the Grades tab view f yur Grade Bk after imprting a data file, yu may ntice that nne f the new clumns that yu imprted display in yur Grade Bk, even thugh yu chse Add as new clumn during the imprt prcess. This happens because when new clumns are imprted, they are autmatically set as nn gradable clumns. If yu click n the Members tab view f yur Grade Bk, yu will see yur new clumn(s) there. If the clumns that yu imprted are grade related clumns, yu ll need t make them gradable: 1. Frm any f the Grade Bk tabs, click Grade Bk Optins. 2. Click Clumn Settings. 3. When the Clumn Settings screen pens, find the Grade Clumn rw, and lcate the N value in that rw under the new clumn(s) yu just imprted. 4. Click n N t change the value t Yes. The clumn(s) will nw shw up n the Grades tab view f yur Grade Bk, and can be used if needed in frmulas fr calculated clumns. Cnverting Clumn Types after the Imprt Any clumn yu imprt int Vista Grade Bk will autmatically be marked as a Text clumn. Fr mst users wh utilize Vista nly t display the grades t their students having them as Text clumns shuldn t be an issue. Hwever, if yu plan n manipulating the decimal pints displayed fr these clumns, r if yu plan n creating frmulas within Vista using the nes yu upladed frm Excel yu may have t cnvert these clumns int Numeric types. Yu can refer t the manual fr detailed instructins n hw t cnvert the clumn types. 7
Wrking with Clumns that have Frmulas It is very imprtant t remember that the spreadsheet (i.e. Micrsft Excel) clumns that have frmulas in them will nt actually retain the frmula when yu imprt yur file int Vista. Instead, the system will nly capture the result f the frmula as it appears in yur spreadsheet file and nly imprts that value int Vista Grade Bk. This means that all updates t yur grades shuld be made in the riginal spreadsheet file, and the updated file can be re imprted t Vista Grade Bk nce all the changes have been made. Als, if yu ever utilize the Calculated Clumns in Vista in cnjunctin with clumns yu imprt frm an Excel file, make sure t NEVER exprt and then reimprt the clumn that has the frmula entered within Vista Grade Bk. Reimprting a clumn that has the same title as a calculated clumn in Vista will cause the system t verwrite all the frmula values, and replace them with text values cming frm the spreadsheet file. Releasing Clumn Grades fr Students New clumns that have just been imprted are als set autmatically as nt released, s if yu want yur students t be able t see the grades in the newlyimprted clumns, yu will need t release them: 1. Frm the same Clumn Settings screen, in the Released t Student rw find the clumn yu wuld like t release t students. It will be set t N. 2. Click N t tggle the setting t Yes. The next time yur students lg in and check their grades, they will see the grade in the newly released clumn(s). 8