The Five Year Forecast Spreadsheet Import option provides a means for districts to convert their Five Year Forecast spreadsheet data into a flat file for EMIS-R reporting. The spreadsheet Import option will only handle files in CSV format. There are no specified formatting requirements such as column A has to be the line number, the columns may be organized however the district wishes. Any spreadsheet utility should be able to create a CSV file using "File - Save As" and selecting the CSV format when saving.
Select the Menu option specific to the Five Year Forecast Spreadsheet Import, not the generic "Import" option.
The default values provided for the spreadsheet columns are based on the SSDT Forecast templates. If your district utilizes another format, the appropriate values for the various columns will need to be entered. An example is a district that places a blank column between the various amount columns to provide a visual separation between the amount columns. Those blank columns need to be taken into account, only the columns containing actual data are specified. If a blank column is indicated, it will result in all zeroes being loaded for the element is was specified for.
For "Number of Header Rows at top", the import process will completely bypass processing "n" amount of lines from the top of the file preventing any informational messages from being generated for those rows. Header rows will not be loaded into the Forecast (QF) data. If the number of header rows is not supplied, upon completion of the Import, messages such as this will be seen:
The first five errors shown here were generated from header rows in the spreadsheet. These errors may be omitted by supplying the appropriate value for the number of header rows at the top of the spreadsheet.
The last error shown in the example above shows a data row that was rejected due to an invalid value in the "Average Annual Change" element. That data row, for line item 6.010, was not loaded into the Forecast (QF) data. The rest of the spreadsheet rows were successfully imported into the Forecast (QF) data. Upon completion of the Import, the data may be reviewed by going to the Five Year Forecast (QF) page.
Formatting Issues
- Negative numbers need to be formatted using a minus (-) sign. Use of parentheses to represent a negative number will cause an error when attempting to import the CSV file.
- Dollar amounts may be formatted using dollar ($) signs
- Percentage values may include the percent (%) sign