Import your own classification

Introductions
Taxonomic terms can be imported directly into a existing vocabulary through a pre-populated template excel file. This can be very helpful especially when large volume of terms has to be imported or when the imported terms are already in a structured (or semi-structured) format (e.g. an MS Excel file, an MS Access database).

Creating the vocabulary
Skip this section if you already have a taxonomy you wish to update


 * 1) From the Admin menu go to Structure > Taxonomy
 * 2) Click + Add vocabulary
 * 3) Provide the Name of your new classification
 * 4) Select if the classification is Biological or non-biological. This is a very important step
 * 5) Click Save

Downloading the template file

 * 1) From the Admin menu select Import
 * 2) Select Taxonomy: Excel file import
 * AdminImportFile.jpg
 * 1) Select a vocabulary,
 * Select the first template file if you wish to replace all contents of an existing classification or
 * Select the second template file if you wish to update (correct, add) terms in a existing classification

Editing the template file
Complete the columns as follows:

Term Name - Required field

Provide the full term without the authority. e.g. Thymus or Thymus longicaulis or ''Thymus longicaulis subsp. longicaulis'' Do not italicize.

Always start with the higher taxa of your classification first

Parent Term Name

Provide the term name of the immediate hierarchical parent in your classification. Provide the name as entered in the Term Name field

Term description

Provide some basic description for the term. This field should not be confused with the taxon description that can be entered in detail from the Taxon description content type

GUID

Provide a unique and at least 10 character long alphanumeric identifier for the term. This identifier will be used throughout Scratchpads to identify this term. If left empty the system will auto-generate one once the file is uploaded

Parent GUID

Provide the GUID of the parent term. This can be left empty if you have already provided the Parent Term Name or if the taxon is the highest in the hierarchy.

Associated accepted name (Name)

Provide the name of the term that is the currently accepted name if the taxon is not accepted. Should be left empty if the column Associated accepted name (TID) or Associated accepted name (GUID) is filled.

Associated accepted name (TID)

Provide the TID number of the term that is the currently accepted name if the taxon is not accepted. Should be left empty if the column Associated accepted name (name) or Associated accepted name (GUID) is filled.

Associated accepted name (GUID)

Provide the GUID number of the term that is the currently accepted name if the taxon is not accepted. Should be left empty if the column Associated accepted name (name) or Associated accepted name (TID) is filled.

Authors

Provide the abbreviated authority of the taxon

Page Number

Provide the page number of the taxon description in the protologue reference

Rank - Required field

Select the rank of the term.

Reference (NID)

Provide the NID of the protologue reference. Should be left empty if Reference (Title) is entered

'Reference (Title)

Select the Publication title of the taxon protologue. The reference should already be present in your Scratchpad. Should be left empty if Reference (NID) is entered

Unacceptibillity Reason

Select the reason why this term is a not accepted taxon

Unit indicator 1,2,3,4

Select the appropriate taxonomic indicator for the parts of the term e.g. For the term ''Thymus longicaulis subsp. longicaulis Unit indicator 3 should be set to subsp.'' e.g. For the term Mentha x piperita Unit indicator 2 should be set to x

Unit Name 1,2,3,4 - Required field

Break the binomial or polynomial term down to its components e.g. For the term Thymus Unit name 1 should only be filled with the string Thymus e.g. For the term Thymus longicaulis Unit name 1: Thymus and Unit name 2:longicaulis e.g. For the term ''Thymus longicaulis subsp. longicaulis Unit name 1:Thymus, Unit name 2:longicaulis and Unit name 3:longicaulis''

Usage - Required field

Select whether the term is an accepted or non=-accepted name. If you set it to not accepted you should also have provided Unacceptibility Reason and Associated accepted name

Vernacular name: Vernacular name

Enter the vernacular name(s) of the taxon. To enter more than one use the pipe character (|) to separate them. e.g. "thyme" and "thym" should be entered as "thyme | thym"

'''Vernacular names: Language"

Enter the language of the vernacular name(s). e.g. "en | fr". Accepted language abbreviations can be found at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:ISO_639-1_language_codes. We use the ISO 639-1 language code standard

Vernacular names: Area from which the vernacular name usage originates

The specific description of the area from which the vernacular name usage originates. Vernacular names may have very specific regional contexts. A name used for a species in one area may refer to a different species in another.

Vernacular names: Vernacular name remarks

A description of any context that qualify the specific usage of the vernacular name.

Uploading the classification

 * 1) From the Admin menu select Import
 * 2) Select Taxonomy: Excel file import
 * 3) Select the vocabulary you want to upload the spreadsheet to
 * 4) Click Browse to find the file in your local computer
 * 5) Click Import

You can find more documentation on how to upload your new file at Import

Deleting classification

 * 1) From the Admin menu go to Structure > Taxonomy
 * 2) Select Settings next to the taxonomy you wish to delete
 * 3) Click Delete at the bottom. This will delete the vocabulary as well as all the terms in this vocabulary.