Question

I have a very basic CSV file upload module working to bulk upload my user’s data into my site. I process the CSV file in the backend with a python script that runs on crontab and then email the user the results of the bulk upload. This process works ok operationally, but my issue is with the format of the csv file.

Are there good tools or even basic rules on how to accept different formats of the csv file? The user may have a different order of data columns, slightly different names for the column headers (I want the email column to be entitled ‘Email’, but it may say ‘Primary Email’, ‘Email Address’), or missing additional data columns. Any good examples of CSV upload functionality that is very permissive and user friendly?

Also, how do I tell the user to export as CSV data? I’m importing address book information, so this data often comes from Outlook, Thunderbird, other software packages that have address books. Are there other popular data formats that I should accept?

Answer 1

I would handle the random column header mapping in your script once it’s uploaded. It’s hard to make a ‘catch all’ that would handle whatever the users might enter. I would have it evolve as you go and slowly build a list of one-one relations based on what your user uploads.

Or!

Check the column headers and make sure it’s properly formatted and advise them how to fix it if it is not.

‘Primary Email’ not recognized, our schema is ‘Email’, ‘Address’, ‘Phone’, etc.

You could also accept XML and this would allow you to create your own schema that they would have to adhere to. Check out this tutorial.