What is bulk importing via Excel?
Sometimes you collect ideas or survey responses outside of Go Vocal, for example, during an offline workshop or through another tool. To make sure you can still use these results on the platform, we provide a way to import them in bulk using a fillable Excel template.
This feature allows you to:
Bring external data into the platform.
Share results with your users.
Take advantage of Go Vocal’s features (like analysis, tagging, or reporting).
Because the upload process requires a strict format, this article will guide you through it in three steps:
Accessing the Excel template
Filling out the Excel template
Uploading the filled-in Excel file
How to access the excel template?
For Ideas/Inputs (Ideation Phase):
Go to the Input form tab of the phase → click Download an Excel Template.
For Surveys:
Go to the Survey Form tab → click the three-dot menu → select Download an Excel Template.
How to fill out the excel template?
Example row: Row 2 shows how the template must be filled in. Follow it exactly — the system is case sensitive.
Personal Data (Name, Email, Permission):
These columns are optional - if left blank the input will be imported anonymously
Add an “X” in the Permission column to upload personal details
Remove any trailing spaces in email addresses
Date published
This column is optional - if left blank the system will add the date of import by default
Use hyphens (
YYYY-MM-DD) instead of slashes (/). You may need to set the cell to text format.
Title: Max 80 characters.
Coordinates: Must follow the exact format from the example.
Multi-choice & Tags: Must exactly match platform wording (capitalization, spacing). Separate multiple entries with a semicolon
;.Single-choice: Must exactly match platform wording.
Image URL: Only one image per idea. Link must end with
.jpeg,.jpg, or.png.
How to import the excel file?
For Ideas: Go to the Input Manager tab → click Import → click Import again (top right).
For Surveys: Go to the Results tab → click Import → click Import again (top right).
Then:
Select Import Excel file.
If your file contains personal data (name, email, etc.), check the consent box.
Imported entries will first appear as drafts in the Importer UI.
Once you Approve, they will be published into the phase and visible in results/input manager.
ℹ️ For ideation: approved imported entries are automatically tagged with “imported”.
What are the limiations of bulk importing via excel?
The following cannot be uploaded via Excel:
File uploads/attachments
Matrix questions
Ranking questions
Mapping questions
⚠️ Do not add columns/questions manually to the Excel file. Always add them first in the online form, then re-download the updated template.