Creating Files for Upload

PTA requests that files submitted for upload be (the pipe character is represented as "|") delimited ASCII text files. Upload text files, only. Do not upload Excel spreadsheet files. Do not upload files that are not formatted as described below.

A file that is consistent with the specification given below will be acceptable for upload no matter what tool or process was used to create it.

Files can be created using simple text editors (such as Microsoft Notepad), Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and many other desk top computer tools. See the following pages for instructions on using those tools.

If your unit has its’ own computer and database then, of course, your programmer can create a program to run on that computer and create an upload file.

Membership Files

The fields included in a membership upload file are listed below.

PTA Local Unit ID Number	required
Name Prefix	optional
First Name	required
Middle Name	optional
Last Name	required
Name Suffix	optional
Address_1	required
Address_2 (apt./suite, if applicable)	optional
Address_3	optional
City	required
State	required, not to exceed 2 characters
ZIP Code	required
Home Telephone Area Code	recommended
Home Telephone	recommended
Work Telephone Area Code	recommended
Work Telephone	recommended
Fax Number Area Code	optional
Fax Number	optional
E-mail	recommended
Position	required (Member is default)
Begin Date	required
End Date	required

Note that fields can be empty, but not missing. As an example, assume there is an "Address 1" and "City," but no "Address 2" and no "Address 3" in a record. The data appearing in the record should be as illustrated below. (The pipe character is represented as "|".)

…|address 1|||city|…

The fields are described in detail below.

Field 1—Local Unit ID Number
This is a required field.
The "ID Number" is 8 digits. All 8 digits (including leading zeros) are required for electronic submission of local unit information (example: use 00001234, not 1234).
Note that all entities in the membership database have a unique 8-digit identification number.

Field 2—Name Prefix
Optional. Maximum length is 15 characters.

Field 3—First Name
Required. Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 4—Middle Name
Optional. Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 5—Last Name
Required. Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 6—Name suffix
Optional. Maximum length is 10 characters.

Field 7—Address_1
Required. Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 8—Address_2
Optional. Provide the apartment or suite number, if applicable.
Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 9—Address_3
Optional. Maximum length is 40 characters.

Field 10—City
Required. Maximum length is 25 characters.

Field 11—State
Required. Must be the standard USPS two (2) character state code. Use upper case.

Field 12—ZIP Code
Required. Use either the standard USPS 5 digit (ZIP), or 9 digit (ZIP + 4 optional) code. Do not include the hyphen. Use the appropriate postal code for non-U.S. addresses. The maximum length of the data in this field is 15 characters.

Field 13—Home Telephone Area Code
Recommended. Maximum length is 3 characters.

Field 14—Home Telephone
Recommended. Requested format is xxxxxxx for U.S. phone numbers. Exclude all non numeric characters. Maximum length is 15 characters.

Field 15—Work Telephone Area Code
Recommended. Maximum length is 3 characters.

Field 16—Work Telephone
Recommended. Requested format is xxxxxxx for U.S. phone numbers. Exclude all non numeric characters. Maximum length is 15 characters.

Field 17—Fax Telephone Area Code
Optional. Maximum length is 3 characters.

Field 18—Fax Number
Optional. Requested format is xxxxxxx for U.S. phone numbers. Exclude all non numeric characters. Maximum length is 15 characters.

Field 19—E-mail
Recommended. Maximum length is 60 characters.

Field 20—Position within the Local Unit
Required. The field must contain one of the following values:

Abbreviation Position

MBR Local Unit Member (can also be used for council/district/region)

LUP Local Unit President

CO-LUP Co-Local Unit President

VP Local Unit Vice President

LUTR Local Unit Treasurer

LUSEC Local Unit Secretary

MEMBCH Local Unit Membership Chair

CONSULT Consultant

COORD Coordinator

HIST Historian

LEGCH Legislative Chair

PARLIAM Parliamentarian

PICHR Parent Involvement Chair

PRCHR Public Relations Chair

PRESELEC President-Elect

VPELECT Vice President-Elect

Field 21 Begin Date
Required. Format: MM/DD/YYYY

Field 22 End Date
Required. Format: MM/DD/YYYY

You can review your file using any basic text editor. The Notepad tool (comes with the operating system) works best on Windows systems. Do not open the text file with Excel or any similar tool. Use the most basic text editor you have available.

When the file opens you should see a series of records formatted exactly as indicated in the instructions, above. Make sure that the PTA ID field has all its’ leading zeros. If the file cannot be opened, then it was not created correctly, and must be discarded as unusable.

Contact Information Update Files

Uploading a file of this type can be used to correct errors in current information.

The fields included in a contact info upload file are listed below.

PTA Local Unit ID Number	required
Name Prefix	optional
First Name	required
Middle Name	optional
Last Name	required
Name Suffix	optional
Address_1	required
Address_2 (apt./suite, if applicable)	optional
Address_3	optional
City	required
State	required, not to exceed 2 characters
ZIP Code	required
Home Telephone Area Code	recommended
Home Telephone	recommended
Work Telephone Area Code	recommended
Work Telephone	recommended
Fax Number Area Code	optional
Fax Number	optional
E-mail	recommended
Position Code	Always left blank
Begin Date	Always left blank
End Date	Always left blank
Member ID Number	required

Field 2-19 are exactly the same as Membership Files in section above.

Field 20-22 are empty.

Field 23 Member ID Number
Required.
The "ID Number" is 8 digits. All 8 digits (including leading zeros) are required to accurately identify an individual PTA member (example: use 00001234, not 1234).
Note that all individuals in the membership database have a unique 8-digit identification number.

Creating Files for Upload with Microsoft Access

The following instructions assume a basic knowledge of and familiarity with Microsoft Access.

In Microsoft Access, to create and save export specifications, follow these steps:

Start Microsoft Access and open your database.
In the database window, click "Tables" (under "Objects"), and then click the appropriate table or query.
On the "File" menu, click "Export."
In the "Export To" dialog box, click "Text Files" in the "Save As" type box, and then click "Save" or "Save All." (Be certain "Save Formatted" is unchecked.)
This opens the Export Text Wizard. Note that the example used is the Northwind Database.
In the Export Text Wizard, click "Advanced."
In the "Categories Export Specification" dialog box, change the "Field Delimiter" from the comma (,) to the pipe character (|). Also change the "Text Qualifier" from double quotes (") to a blank or empty field.
Click on "Save As."
In the "Save Import/Export Specification" dialog box, type "Pipe Delimited Specification," and then click "OK."
Those settings are now saved.

Creating Files for Upload with Microsoft Excel

The following instructions assume a basic knowledge of and familiarity with Microsoft Excel and with the Windows Explorer tool (comes with the operating system).

Create a comma delimited file. Do not embed commas in any of the data fields (addresses, names, etc.) Also, note that none of the entries can take up more than one row on the spreadsheet. All the data for a member must be on a single row.

To create a comma delimited text file from the spreadsheet, open the spreadsheet and choose “file=>save as” from the drop-down menu. In the “Save As” dialogue window enter an appropriate “File Name” for the upload file and select “Comma Delimited” from the drop down list of file types. Click “Save”. Answer “yes” to any dialogue boxes that appear. Finally, exit the spreadsheet. Answer “no” if a dialogue box appears at this time asking if you want to save the file.

In Windows Explorer, find the file just created. Make sure that Explorer is showing file name extensions for known file types. It will have a “csv” extension. Select the file and right click. In the menu box that opens, choose “rename”, and rename the file to have a “txt” extension. Upload the file with the “txt” extension.