If you would like to add or modify several Here Comes the Bus (HCTB) activities at once, you can upload all their data in bulk. To do so, follow these steps:

Note: For details about Here Comes the Bus activities, see Navigating the HCTB Activities Screen.

  1. Click  >> Activities.
     
    The HCTB Activities screen will appear.
      
  2. Click  at the top right of the screen.
     
    The Bulk Load Data dialog box will appear.
      
  3. If you are adding all-new activities, click Download Empty Template.
     
    If you would like to update the data for existing activities (and perhaps add new ones), click Download Activity List.
     
    The bulk load template, Activities.csv, will be downloaded to your computer.
     
  4. Open Activities.csv in Excel.
     
    The blank file will look like this:
       
    And the file with existing activities to be edited will look similar to this:
       
  5. Fill in the fields with the data specified in the column headers, with one activity's information in each row, as follows:
    Note: You may need to enable editing first, depending on your settings.
    • Activity ID: Ignore this field, whether you're adding new activities or updating existing ones. For all-new events, CalAmp K-12 will provide the ID; for activities you're editing, this must remain the same.
       
    • Activity Name: Type a descriptive name for the activity. This is the ONLY required field.
       
    • Activity Category: Type the name of the category in which you'd like to place the activity. This is an optional field.
       
    • Occurrence Start: If there is a definite start date, specify it in the format MM/DD/YYYY. This is also an optional field.
       
    • Occurrence End: If there is a definite end date, specify it in the format MM/DD/YYYY. This is also an optional field. If you leave this blank, your drivers will be able to start the activity at any time going forward (after the start date).
       
    • Tags: Type the keywords your parents can use to search for the activity, separating each tag with a | symbol. Make sure to include at least each word in the name of the event individually. This field is technically optional, but your HCTB account holders will need the data, so you should include the tags.
       
    • Default Vehicles: If there is a vehicle that will usually or always run the activity, type its name here. You can specify multiple default buses by separating each one with a | symbol. You might need to format this field as text if the database stores your vehicle numbers with preceding zeroes (such as 0032). This field is also optional.
       
      A file of new activities should look similar to this:
        
  6. When you save the file, make sure that you keep the .csv format.
     
  7. Back in the Bulk Load Data dialog box in CalAmp K-12, click Choose File.
     
  8. Navigate to and select your Activities.csv file.
     
    You'll be returned to the Bulk Load Data dialog box. The Activities.csv filename will appear in the Data File field and the number of activities you are uploading beneath that.
      
  9. Click Upload Activities.
     
    A success message will appear at the top right of the Activities screen, stating how many activities were added (and if applicable, how many failed).
    Note: If any errors occurred, they will be listed in the Bulk Load Data dialog box.
     
    You can repeat steps 4 through 9, replacing the values that produced the errors, or if you feel that you don't need the missing data, click Cancel to exit the dialog box.
  10. You might need to refresh the screen to see your new activities.

Note: If you have any issues with this procedure, we recommend contacting your CalAmp K-12 customer success manager for assistance.