TVProdTimer Pro Import File

TVProdTimer Pro allows for the importation of .csv files.

The .csv files are basically separated by a , (comma), and should be just 1 line for each row and separated into 4 columns. It is important that the first line is the header line, with TIME ITEM Description DUR as the header for each column. Basically your finished file should look something like this. Please see below – simple step by step instructions.

BASIC DETAILS

HEADERS: The 4 headers should be TIME, ITEM. DESCRIPTION, DUR. and they need to stay in this order. It is important to keep the first row in your rundown for these headers for each column, and do NOT delete this row. If you are creating your own file and not using the template, then you will need to insert this as your first line.

If you have more than the 4 columns in your rundown, you will need to delete the extra columns.

TIME and DUR columns. Time is for the start TX Time for that item. They need to be in the format 00:00:00. which is Hours:Mins:Secs The colons : are very important and need to be included. Also each time needs to have 2 digits.

Please download this ‘Sample Rundown’ and open in either Excel or Numbers.

CREATE YOUR .CSV FILE

However, most of our rundowns do not look like 1 line items when we create them. They usually have lots of detailed information. If there are multiple lines in a column, we need to reduce this to 1 line and also remove the , (commas ,) in the rows.

This example resembles more like a normal rundown, with many more lines and spaces.

I will go through step by step instructions how to now reduce this file in Excel so that it is a .csv and only 1 line. Also note that we now have 4 columns as all other information has been deleted .

Firstly go to the top left of your table and select the whole sheet

Then click on the Wrap Text dropdown button and then select Wrap Text.

import file Wrap Text

Your file will then change to look something like the first file. All to 1 line. Though it’s not finished yet. There will be commas (,) still there that is in code and cannot be seen. So we need to now lose these ,.

Select the Description column, so the entire column is highlighted.

Then click on Data, then Text to Columns

The Text Wizard will now pop up. In the first window select Delimited – Characters such as commas or tabs separate each field.

Press Next. This screen lets you set the delimiters your data contains. Select ONLY comma. Then select ‘Treat consecutive delimeters as one’ and in the dropdown menu for ‘Text qualifier:’ select “. Then press Next

This last screen let you select each column and set the Data Format. Just select General. Then click Finish.

That’s it your done. Your file should now look something like this.

As you can see the Description column now only contains the text that was on the first line of each row, in that column. This is what will show in the Description section in your rundown in your app. Though the app will only import up to 18 characters.

You can now save this file as a .csv and send to your device or store on your icloud. In the app, click now on the ‘menu’ … icon. (top left of your rundown). Then click ‘Import File’. Then select where to import your file from, either icloud or files on your device. It will import unlimited rows. But do be aware that when you import this new file, your previous rundown in your app will be deleted and cannot be retrieved. (we are working on a new release to store previous rundowns)

Without knowing the original format of files, this is a guide and should work for most cases. If you do not have your text in columns and it is all in just in one column, then highlight that column and then click on Data then Text to Columns, follow the wizard and click finish, to ensure that it is spread over 4 columns.

If you have any issues with importation, please don’t hesitate to contact us where one of our friendly staff are only happy to help. enquiries@tvprodapps.com

Currently working on a new release to connect with your team via iCloud and receive instant updates to your rundown. We are constantly updating this app and look forward to any feedback.