1. Open the XLS file

Use the spreadsheet editor of your choice to open the XLS file that you have previously saved in your local work environment.

If you exported the file from your existing project, you might already have some rows filled in with mobility activity information added to the project at an earlier stage.

1. The first row details the names of the fields.
2. The second row indicates:
   1. if the field is mandatory to create a draft mobility activity record in the project - marked with (**) or to create/import a complete mobility activity - marked with (*).
   2. if a dictionary value (DICT) is required or whether special formatting is required, such as the format for dates (DD-MM-YYYY) or decimal separators.

The detailed field explanations and the dictionary values needed for your specific KA can be found in the Data Dictionary, available for download from page Data Dictionary and Mobility Import-Export templates.

2. Column description

There are certain specific columns for each key action. You will find the necessary instructions in the specific data dictionary in order to fill in the file correctly. In our example below, fields such as Blended Mobility Activity, Blended Intensive Programme or Doctoral Mobility activity are specific for KA131-HED projects.

The other columns are applicable to all files and follow the same format. The position of these columns in the file varies according to the Key Action template you are using.

1. Column A will always contain the Grant Agreement Number. You can see that this is a mandatory field by the presence of an asterisk in the second row. 
2. The Mobility Activity ID is mandatory to create the draft mobility activity record in the project and must be unique for each mobility activity added in the xls file as well as for the entire project. 
3. The Activity Type, is also mandatory and must contain a valid dictionary value. 
4. A number of columns regarding the specific activity require the dictionary value YES/NO. Only YES or NO can be used in these cells to indicate the answer. For example, see columns D to J in our example template for HE Students.
   
   
5. If your answer in the Force Majeure column is YES, you must also fill in the Force Majeure Explanations field, as indicated in the data dictionary.
6. The Participant ID column is not mandatory and no dictionary value or special formatting is required. If you do fill it, the Participant ID must be unique within the project.
7.  A number of columns deal with the participant details: First Name, Last Name, Email, Gender, Date of Birth, Nationality, etc. Depending on the key action of your project, there may be additional columns.
   
   
8. Organisation ID and Organisation OID:
   1. The Organisation ID is a unique identifier assigned automatically to each organisation created in your project. This is not the same as the OID (see point 8b below). All organisations in the beneficiary project have an Organisation ID, including partner organisations which may not have an OID.
      The Organisation ID is a mandatory field in the import file and it is used to identify the organisation in the file against the ones existing in the project. If you have started from an empty template, you may not see the default Organisation ID in the file, but you can overwrite it with the ID of your choice, by specifying it in the Sending Organisation ID or Receiving Organisation ID fields, as applicable. Remember, the Organisation ID must be unique for each organisation in the project.
      If the organisation is a higher education institution holding an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, it is recommended to use the Erasmus Code.
      Note: It is also possible to create a new organisation in the project via the import, if you provide its Organisation ID in the Sending Organisation ID or Receiving Organisation ID respectively, along with all other details that are mandatory in the file for the new organisation.
   2. The OID is the unique organisation identifier obtained when registering in the Organisation Registration system. When the OID is filled in, other organisation details will be automatically filled in when importing the file. This is true for both sending and receiving organisations details. For partner organisations without an OID, provide at least the mandatory details - indicated with an asterisk in the file. 
      
      
9. Dates must use the format DD-MM-YYYY, using a dash as separator. E.g.: mobility Start Date, mobility End Date, etc.
10. Durations must use integer numbers. The allowed number of digits is indicated in the second row.
    
    
    
11. Mobility grant amounts must use the full stop as the decimal separator.
    
    

3. Fill in the file

3.1. 3.1. Add the first mobility activity

You will have to fill in one row per mobility activity.

Provide all mandatory fields in your spreadsheet for your first mobility activity. Keep the information explained above in mind to avoid errors when importing the file into your project.

For the following mobility activities, either fill in the additional rows one by one, or follow the instructions further below to copy the information from the first mobility activity row, then update as required for each of the additional mobility activities.

3.2. Select the entire mobility activity row and select "Copy"

In order to explain how to add new mobility activities, we will look at a simple scenario where 2 new mobility activities are added. 

Each mobility activity will have a different participant but coming from the same organisation and going to the same location for the same time for the same activity. The mobility activity budget is also the same for each mobility activity.

To gain space on the screen in the example scenario, certain columns have been hidden, but have been filled in.

Select the row of an existing mobility and copy. 

3.3. Select multiple empty rows and "Paste"

Select as many empty rows as desired, then paste the copied information. Depending on your spreadsheet editor, there are various options for the paste action. In our example, have the following options:

• Press ENTER 
• Press at the same time CTRL+V or CMD+V
• Right click on your mouse and select Paste

3.4. Update the mobility activity information

Update the specific details for each participant. 

Some things to remember:

• The Grant Agreement No. must be the same for all rows in the file.
• Do not forget to update the Participant ID with a unique ID. Alternatively, leave it blank and an automatic ID will be assigned upon importing the file. 
• Also update the Mobility activity ID. This must be unique for the project. You cannot have the same mobility activity ID twice in the .xls file, as there will be errors at import.
  If the Mobility activity ID is the same as that of an existing mobility activity (previously imported in the project), the new upload will overwrite/update the existing mobility activity. Any new Mobility activity ID added to the excel file will result in a new mobility added to the project.
• Update any other fields as required.

4. Save the file

Once all information is entered, save your file as *.xls (Excel 97-2003 workbook) or .xlsx (Excel Workbook). You are now ready to import the mobility activity file into your project.