Introduction

Within Lynx, we can find multiple Import Editors. Within this article we will focus on the general import editor within Lynx. This import editor can be found when selecting the three bars in the top left, select File and then Import or Import project from csv...

With the LYNX Import Editor it is possible to import most data categories that are available in LYNX from a table in Excel. The following data-categories can be imported:

• Calendar;
• Unit-of-Measure;
• Skill;
• Resource;
  • Holiday;
• Property value;
• Project;
• Task;
• Resource assignment;

These categories, including their specification, can be found within Assign column within the import editor itself.

(Master) data

Add data and/or update data:

1. The first functionality of the Import Editor is to quickly add (master)data to LYNX, through copying and pasting from, for instance, an Excel file. 
2. Secondly, it is possible to update existing records (like a task or a project record).
   • This also applies to single custom field values. For example, if you want to add/update a (custom) task field Budget hours, through an import via CSV or Excel. Examples are provided below.

Examples: Add data

Data can simply be copied by selecting the cells and copy with CTRL+C for example.  You can also choose to work with headers and also copy the headers. 

1a. Project, skill and task data

If you want to create a (simple) project, you can try to use the following method:

Copy project data, combining project, task, skill and duration to build or add to a (new) project.

If we present this data to the Import Editor within Lynx, this will look like the above figure. In which you have to Assign each column to specific data within Lynx.

1b. Import a project with task dependencies from Excel

Besides tasks, also their dependencies can be easily imported through the import editor. 

Ensure your project has the following structure in Excel:

Copy, pasting this information in the Import Editor and select the corresponding columns will give the following view:

Selecting execute will add Project P11 to LYNX, including the task dependencies:

 

1c. Global Properties Resources

The so-called global properties are characteristics that can be added to resources mentioned in the resource table.  These properties are not Skill specific but Resource specific.  Examples are the location where a resource is based or the department he belongs to, like is shown in the table below:

In the example below the location value is added as a property to both Robin and Jane:

The result of the import is as follows: 

For adding also the department value, just repeat the process as mentioned, but select as Unit-of-Measure: Department. 

1d. Skill and Resource data

Another possibility is to add resources and skill information to Lynx. Select the columns: Resources: Description and Skill: Description to add these values to Lynx. 

Copy names from resources and skills to build or add to a skill/resource matrix.

1e. Non-Availability periods

Non-availability periods, like holidays, training periods, can be imported from a table as well. In many cases this CSV is produced by an HR or ERP system, in which this information is already being maintained. To enter this information, following columns need to be selected:

Which will provide the following result for this resource:

Extra: Replacing Non-Availability Data

In order to replace and update the non-availability periods, it is required to run the following Command Line routine:

/noupdates /import /delimiter:";" /deleteholidays:yes /filename:EXPORT_FILENAME /user:YOUR_USERNAME /password:YOUR_PASSWORD /space:YOUR_SPACENAME

In this process existing non-availability records are deleted first, before new non-availability periods are added. This process can also be automated. 

Examples: Update data (using Identifiers)

2a. Add or update task (custom) field values

In this example the objective is to add or to update the custom field budget hrs. through the Import Editor, for tasks that are also identified by an Assembly and Activity value. 

The fields Assembly, Activity and Budget hours are all custom fields. Configure these fields either as string or as integer via the Unit-of-Measure table (more information about creating custom fields can be found within this article: Create your own custom fields).

The following data will be imported from an excel file, in which you can copy the data with the headers included: 

Paste this data into the grid of the import editor ánd select the corresponding fields from the Assign column dropdown. It could also be that the custom field is stored as FIELD_XXXX, so then you have to select: Task: FIELD_0001 for Task: Assembly, Task: FIELD_0002 for Task: Activity, etc.

Note that the mapping of columns is automatically done if the headers in the Excel table are exactly the same as the column names in LYNX. 

Identifiers

The next step is to make the Assembly and the Activity column as Identifiers, which allows to find the corresponding task to which a budget hrs. value need to be added or updated. 

Press Execute to start the import: 

The result is that budget hours values have been added to the three tasks in the example project, see figure:

If you want to update the Budget hrs. later: go through the same routine and the budget hrs. will be replaced with the new values. 

 

Possible Import values

Assign column (name):	Explanation:	Data Type	Values / Example
Calendar: Description	Name of the calendar added.	String (Text)	E.g. Standard
Unit of measure: Description	Name of the unit of measure.	String (Text)	E.g. Resource Hours
Unit of measure: MultiSelect	If unit of measure is a picklist that allows selecting multiple values.	Boolean	True or False
Unit of measure: MultiLine	If unit of measure is standard and allows multiple lines for the text field.	Boolean	True or False
Unit of measure: PickList	If unit of measure is a picklist. This means it's a dropdown where you can select a value from the set list.	List	E.g. "Department A", Sales, "Department B"
Unit of measure: UomName	Name of the conversation rate.	String (Text)	E.g. Output
Unit of measure: UomIsDefault	For unit of measures with value entered as duration or for value holds financial data. Shows if this is the default converstion rate for a workpackage or if it is the default entry for costs.	Boolean	True or False
Unit of measure: CurrencyPerUnitText	For unit of measures with value holds financial data. Shows the value for currency per unit text.	String (Text)	E.g. €/h
Unit of measure: CurrencySymbol	The symbol that shows next to the unit of measure.	String (Text)	E.g. h for Estimate in hours.
Skill: Description	Name of the skill.	String (Text)	E.g. Mechanical Engineer
Skill: Calendar	Calendar assigned to the skill.	String (Text)	Match Calendar Description e.g. Standard
Skill: SkillType	Type of the skill.	String (Text)	Normal, Virtual, Team or Global
Skill: Rate	The internal rate per hour of the skill for the budgeting module.	Integer	E.g. 50
Skill: Availability	Number of units available for the skill for Virtual / Team Skill.	Integer	E.g. 3
Skill: TeamManagers	User(s) assigned as a team manager(s) for skill with type Team skill.	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. James Smith
Skill: ExternalRate	External rate per hour of the skill for the budgeting module.	Integer	E.g. 50
Resource: Calendar	Calendar assigned to the resource.	String (Text)	Match Calendar Description e.g. Standard
Resource: AllowMultiTasking	Setting if the resource is allowed to multitask, set as a boolean.	Boolean	True or False
Resource: Description	Name of the Resource.	String (Text)	E.g. James Smith
Resource: NettoAvailability	Percentage availability the resource has. For example, a team lead only works 20% of their time on the task.	Integer	E.g. 0.8 for 80%
Resource: Rate	Internal rate per hour of the resource for the budgeting module.	Integer	E.g. 50
Resource: Comments	Comment on the resource. Seen in the resource table under the properties tab.	String (Text)	E.g. On call resource.
Resource: InService	Start date of Resource's availability. Can be seen in the resource table "Available From".	String (Date)	23/11/2024
Resource: Reference	Reference of the resource.	String (Text)	E.g. JS for James Smith
Resource: ResourceManager	User assigned as a resource manager for the resource (Under "General" in Resource table).	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. John Smith
Resource: OutOfService	End date of Resource's availability. Can be seen in the resource table "Available till".	String (Date)	23/11/2024
Resource: User	User linked to the resource (Under "User" in Resource table).	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. James Smith
Resource: ExternalRate	External rate per hour of the skill for the budgeting module.	Integer	E.g. 50
Resource holiday: Description	Name for the availability schedule of resource. Describe the holiday/leave.	String (Text)	E.g. Week holiday
Resource holiday: PeriodStart	Start date for the resource is no longer available.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Resource holiday: PeriodEnd	End date for the resource is no longer available.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Property value: Value	Value of the property.	String (Text)	E.g. for Property "Location": value  "Germany"
Project: Calendar	Calendar assigned to the project.	String (Text)	E.g. Standard
Project: ID	Unique ID for the project.	String (Text)	D02
Project: Description	Name of the project.	String (Text)	E.g. Project A
Project: Project start date (Start)	Planned start date of the project.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Project: Project end date (End)	Project deadline.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Project: Priority	Projects' business priority value.	Integer	E.g. 3
Project: Status	Status for the project.	String (Text)	Scheduled, Released, Paused, Completed, Aborted.
Project: Release date	Date when the project is released for released projects.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Project: ScheduleEngine	Setting if the tasks are scheduled as soon as possible or just in time.	String (Text)	ISA95_Forwards (default with schedule ASAP), ISA95_Backwards (default with schedule JIT), CCPM_Jit_With_Jit_FeedingChains, CCPM_Jit_With_Asap_FeedingChains, CCPM_Asap_With_Jit_FeedingChains, CCPM_Asap_With_Asap_FeedingChains
Project: Hours per day	Number of hours per day that the project can be worked on.	String (Text)	E.g. 8:00.
Project: Reference	Reference to identify the project.	String (Text)	E.g. Client 1
Project: PM	User assigned as a project manager to the project.	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. John Smith
Project: FIELD_0001	An example of a custom field for a project. When creating custom fields, a key is set automatically (see table in configure). Match the key to the custom field your column is referring to.	Chosen in Custom Fields Table
Task: ID	Unique ID of the task.	String (Text)	Automatically created by Lynx. E.g. D02-T1
Task: Description	Name of the task.	String (Text)	E.g. Build Prototype
Task: Actual start	Date when the task status was set to started.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: Actual stop	Date when the task status was set to completed.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: AutoExpand	Boolean value for level of effort and summary tasks if their duration automatically changes when the tasks under them have an increased/decreased duration.	Boolean	True or False
Task: Auto Complete	Boolean value for if the task is autocompleted.	Boolean	True or False
Task: Fixed duration	Boolean value for if the task has a fixed duration.	Boolean	True or False
Task: Deadline	Deadline date for the task.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: Priority	Value for the tasks' priority.	Integar	E.g. 3
Task: Duration	Duration of the task. By default it is in days, however, you can add d or h to indicate if the number is days or hours.	String(Time)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Task: Task type	Type of tasks.	String (Text)	Normal, WorkPackage, SummaryTask, LevelOfEffort, FeedingBuffer MilestoneBuffer, ProjectBuffer
Task: Status	Status of the task.	String (Text)	Released, Started, Paused, Completed, Aborted.
Task: Start	Baseline start date of the task.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: Stop	Baseline end date of the task.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: Work remaining	Remaining hours on the task (ETTC).	String(Time)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Task: Size	Task size for workpackage type tasks.	Number	E.g. 20
Task: Constraint	Type of constraint. The options are None (default), Do not level, Finish no earlier than, Finish no later than, Ignore task, Must finish on, Must start on, Start no earlier than, or Start no later than.	String (Text)	AsSoonAsPossible, FinishNoLaterThan, StartNoEarlierThan. With no limit to constraints setting:  FinishAtOrBefore, DoNotLevel, Ignore, MustFinishOn, MustStartOn, StartNoLaterThan
Task: Constraint date	Date for the constraint.	String (Date-Time)	23/11/2024 12:30:01
Task: Comments	Commend on the task. You can see this in the task details in the general tab.	String (Text)	E.g. Double check requirements.
Task: TaskManagers	User(s) assigned as task manager(s) to the task.	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. John Smith
Task: FIELD_0002	Example of a custom field for a task. When creating custom fields, a key is set automatically (see table in configure). Match the key to which custom field your column is referring to.	Chosen in Custom Fields Table
Task: Row ID (#)	Row number of the task, for example the first task is 1.	Integer	E.g. 12
Task: Predecessor(s) row ID	Row number for the predecessors of the task. Can be used in combination with Task: RowID of other imported tasks.	List	E.g. 5 or 5,6,7
Task: Parent row ID	Row number of the parent task of this child task.	List	E.g. 5 or 5,6,7
Task: Duration (d)	Duration of the task in days.	String(Time)	Use h for hour. E.g. 5
Task: Fill color	Fill color for the task's bar in the Gannt chart in RGB.	RGB	E.g. 16777215
Task: Edge color	Edge color for the task's bar in the Gannt chart in RGB.	RGB	E.g. 16777215
Task: Predecessor(s)	Predecessors added by the task description, separated by a comma.	List (Text)	E.g, Task A, Task B
Resource assignment: Units	Units available for the resource assignment in the task.	Number	E.g. 100
Resource assignment: Duration	Duration for the skill/resource assigned to a task. You can add d or h to indicate if the number is days or hours.	String(Time)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Resource assignment: WorkRemaining	Estimated time to complete a resource assigned to a task.	String(Time)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Resource assignment: Status	Status of the resource assigned to a task. The options are Not started, Started, Completed, Paused, or Aborted.	String (Text)	Scheduled, Released, Paused, Completed, Aborted.
Card: ID	Unique ID of the card.	String (Text)	Automatically created by Lynx. E.g. D02-C1
Card: Description	Description/details of the card.	String (Text)	E.g. Subtask 1
Card: Caption	Name/title of the card.	String (Text)	E.g. Design Prototype
Card: Card Type	Type of card.	String (Text)	Match Card Type. E.g. Subtask
Card: Parent	ID of the parent card for this child card.	String (Text)	E.g. D02-C1
Card: Is closed	Boolean value for if the card is closed.	Boolean	True or False
Card: SortOrder	Order in which cards appear in the workpackage view in MyActivities or in the cards window under the project.	Integer	E.g. 20
Card: CardEttc	Expected time to complete of a card	String (Text)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Card: Estimate	Estimated time to complete in hours.	String (Text)	Use h or d for hour or day. E.g. 5d
Card: Points	Number of points for the card.	Integer	E.g. 3
Card: Status ft	Status of the card.	String (Text)	Open, Analyse, Develop(wait), Develop, Review(wait), Review, or Done.
Card: Status st	Status of the card.	String (Text)	Open, In progress, Review(wait), Review, or Done
Card: User	User assigned to the card.	String (Text)	User's First Name and Last Name e.g. John Smith
Card: FIELD_003	Example of a custom field for a card. When creating custom fields, a key is set automatically. You need to match the key to which custom field your column is referring to.	Chosen in Custom Fields Table