CSV file with existing and new accounts doesn't overwrite certain info

[Gordon McLeod]

Hi,

When trying to csv add users to a group in Mahara 1.6.3, the upload fails if some of the users on the list don't have accounts. If the same csv list is used to add users to Mahara (create accounts) to resolve the missing users it fails because some of the users already exist. We have thousands of users, and while adding new student cohorts on an annual basis is easy, sorting staff who have accounts from those who don't is a major job.

Ideally if a csv upload is used to create new users it should give the option to update records or ignore users if the details match an existing account, allowing user lists to be updated and managed on a regular basis.

Regards, Gordon.

[Aaron Wells (u-aaronw)]

We could probably take a note from Moodle on this one. It lets you upload a file that contains a mix of new and existing users, and then it prompts you for whether you want to:

- Add all, append number to usernames if needed

- Add new and update existing users

- Update existing users only

See http://docs.moodle.org/24/en/admin/tool/uploaduser/index#Updating_users_preview . Moodle also lets you delete users via CSV.

Cheers,
Aaron

[Kristina Hoeppner (kris-hoeppner)]

It's been possible for a while now to have a CSV file that includes existing and new users and use that for CSV file upload for user accounts. However, the drawback of the current system is still that you would need to know whose account already exists as any data in the file overwrites existing data, i.e. also the password. So some more work will be necessary.