How to import Q&A answers via Excel

Q&A Answer team members are able to export a spreadsheet containing questions awaiting answers, supply answers within the spreadsheet, then import the answers back into Q&A within the project.

There are some rules and distinctions to note governing the answer import process:
 

• Imported answers appear with an 'In Progress' status
• Imported correspondence is retained within the workflow level and does not automatically advance
• Answers can only be imported when the user has access to the corresponding workflow level and category
• Attempting to import new answers or comments (threading) for already answered questions causes the entire import to fail
• FAQ answers cannot be imported
• To successfully import answers, the spreadsheet answer column must contain at least one character (the maximum character limit per answer is 10,000)
• The column structure of the import spreadsheet should not be edited, to ensure a successful import

The answer import process can be initiated in either of two ways. From within Q&A > Question List, set filters as desired (filters are retained on the exported Excel form). Next, select either Export or Import to begin.

To begin via Export:

  1   Click Export.

  2   Select the Unanswered Questions tab.

  3   Confirm your filter option:

• If you have filtered your question list, Filtered list only is selected by default
• If you have not filtered your question list, All unanswered questions is selected by default

  4   Click Export.

  5   In the exported spreadsheet, enter answers in the Answer column (1-10,000 characters per answer) and save the spreadsheet locally. Refer to the Question Thread column for the entire post history of the correspondence (up to 32,000 characters).

  6   Back within your Q&A Question List, click Import.

  7   Select Answers.

  8   Select Choose File to upload answers.


To begin via Import:

  1   Click Import.

  2   Select the Answers tab.

  3   Confirm your filter option:

• If you have filtered your question list, Filtered list only is selected by default
• If you have not filtered your question list, All unanswered questions is selected by default

  4   Click Download.

  5   In the downloaded spreadsheet, enter answers in the Answer column (1-10,000 characters per answer) and save the spreadsheet locally. Refer to the Question Thread column for the entire post history of the correspondence (up to 32,000 characters).

  6   Back within your Q&A Question List, click Import.

  7   Select Answers.

  8   Select Choose File to upload answers.

Some scenarios can cause errors when importing the spreadsheet.
 

Error Description	Error Displayed
Cannot find correspondence	Row # is missing a valid ID
Answer length is too short or long	Row # must contain an answer from 1 to 10,000 characters
User is not in workflow level	Row # is in a workflow level you do not have access to
Question already answered	Row # has already been answered
Question is In Progress	Row # has an answer In Progress
Columns removed	Missing ID or Answer column