Import members into a space from a spreadsheet

As a space admin, you can add many people to a space at once from an Excel or CSV file. The import adds new members, sends their invitations, and can place each person in a group. It is on the space’s Members tab.

💡 Who can do this: the space owner and space members with the Admin role. The Import button sits next to Add Members. Testing spaces don’t offer it: add testers one at a time.

Prepare the file

Use an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv) file of up to 10 MB and 2,000 rows.
Include a column with each person’s email address. This is the only column you need.
Optional: include a Name column, or separate first and last name columns. The name is used only for people who don’t have a Cesura account yet. A person who already has an account keeps their own name. A name must be 3 to 50 characters; a name outside that range is not used.
Optional: include a Role column with Learner, Instructor or Admin. A row with an empty or unrecognized role gets the role you choose in Role for rows without one. A file cannot make anyone an owner, a tester, or an instructor for selected groups.
Optional, when groups are turned on for your organization: include a Group column. Groups that don’t exist yet are created, up to 100 new groups per import. A group name can be up to 100 characters.

To start from a ready-made file, click Download template in the import window. The template has the Email, Name and Role columns, plus Group when groups are on, and one example row.

Import members

Open the space, go to the Members tab, and click Import. The Import members window has three steps.

1. Upload file

Drag your file onto the upload area, or click to browse for it. Cesura reads the file and moves to the review step. Nothing is saved yet.

2. Review

Check the columns Cesura found: Email column, Name column, Last name column, Role column and, when groups are on, Group column. Change any guess that is wrong, or choose None to ignore a column. The review updates after each change.
Choose the Role for rows without one. It starts at Learner.
Decide whether to keep Send invitation emails now ticked. It is on by default. Turn it off to add people without emailing them; you can send their invitations later from the members list.

If the file names groups that don’t exist, the review lists them: “These groups will be created: …”

Every row is sorted into a category. Click a category to see only its rows; click it again to see them all.

Category	What the import does
Will be added	Adds the person to the space with the row’s role. Cesura creates an account for anyone who doesn’t have one. A member whose access expired is renewed.
Will change group	The person is already a member. The import moves them to the group the file names. The table shows their current group.
Already members	No change.
Not allowed	Not imported. The row asks for something your role doesn’t permit, such as a role above your own.
Invalid email	Not imported. Fix the address and import again.
Group name too long	Not imported. The group name is longer than 100 characters.
Duplicate	Not imported. The address appears earlier in the file, and only the first row is used.

Some rows carry a note that explains what happens to them:

Role not recognized; the default role is used
This role can’t be set from a file; the default role is used
Already a member, so their role is not changed
You can’t assign a role above your own
A name must be 3 to 50 characters, so this one was not used

The import never changes an existing member’s role or name, even if the file lists a different one. To change a role, use the member’s row on the Members tab.

When you are ready, click Import. The button shows how many rows will be imported.

3. Results

The results list how many members were Added, Renewed, Moved to another group, and Already members, unchanged, and which groups were created. Rows that could not be imported appear under Not imported, each with a reason.

If you turned off Send invitation emails now, the results say how many people are not invited yet. If some invitation emails could not be queued, the results say so too. Either way, those members are marked Not invited yet, so you can send their invitations later.

Membership starts at once, whether or not the invitation has gone out. A person who already has an account sees the space right away. Only the email waits.

Send invitations later

Every member the import adds or renews is marked Not invited yet until their invitation is sent. On the Members tab:

The Not invited yet chip shows how many members are waiting, for example Not invited yet (3). Click it to show only those members. Click it again to show everyone.
A Not invited yet label appears in each waiting member’s row.

To send the invitations:

Optional: select the members you want to invite.
Click Send invitations.
Choose Selected members or Everyone not invited yet.
Click Send.

People who already have an account are told they were added to the space. People without one get a link to set a password.

A member who was invited in the last 10 minutes is not sent another email.
Members without an email address are left out. The dialog says how many of the selected members it leaves out.
Members whose access is disabled or expired are skipped.
If nobody is waiting for an invitation, Send invitations is turned off and says why.

After sending, a message reports how many invitations were sent, skipped, or could not be sent. If some remain, click Send invitations again to continue.

Limits

Files up to 10 MB and 2,000 rows, in .xlsx or .csv format.
Up to 100 new groups per import.
Roles from a file: Learner, Instructor or Admin. You can’t assign a role above your own.
Not available in testing spaces.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause & fix
I don’t see Import	You need to be the space owner or a space Admin. In a testing space, the button doesn’t appear.
“Only .xlsx and .csv files can be imported.”	Save the file as .xlsx or .csv and try again.
“A file can hold at most 2,000 rows. Split it and import each part.”	Split the file and import each part.
“No email column was found.”	Choose the column that holds the email addresses in Email column.
“Groups are turned off for your organization, so the file can’t assign groups.”	Remove the group column, or ask an organization admin to turn groups on.
An instructor should see only some groups	An imported Instructor covers the whole space. Set their groups on the Members tab afterwards.

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