Importing and Exporting Data

You can import data into Rally or export data from Rally to another program.

Importing data

Import data from other products into Rally using a Comma Separated Value (CSV) formatted file. Each Summary view in Rally contains an Import menu option from the Actions button which launches an Import Wizard.

When importing data, be sure to consider the following:

• Data import specifications
• Formatting files for CSV import

To import a CSV file:

1. Verify your CSV file is correctly formatted by downloading and using the Data Import Template. The header columns in these templates must be exactly reproduced in your CSV file for successful import. Each template can be modified for your import.
2. Click the Actions button from a Summary view and select Import.
3. Click Browse to locate your CSV file.
4. Select your file and click Open.
5. Click Import and your data is imported and displayed at the end of the summary view.

Data is added to the end of the summary view. Remember to scroll to the last page of the display to view your imports.

If the path to your import file location is 256K or greater and your operating system is MS Windows, your file cannot be imported. This is a limitation of MS Windows.

If your administrator has marked some fields as required, you must provide values for those columns in the CSV file.

Any custom attributes or custom fields you have added to a work item are included in the related Data Import Template. Standard attributes are listed first, followed by custom attributes.

Importing a file that has been exported from the parent project will only import into the current project. It will not import into multiple projects.

Data import specifications

Different work items offer different levels of data import. Use the following table to guide you when importing work items.

Formatting files for CSV import

The import dialog contains a download link to Rally Data Import Templates which helps you format your CSV (Comma Separated Value) file correctly to ensure all your data is imported. Each work item has a specific Data Import Template which provides a format for all fields contained within the work item. To successfully import a file, the column headers must match those present in the Data Import Templates. Rally suggests you download the provided template to verify correct formatting each time before you import your file. Each template can be modified for your import.

CSV file formatting considerations:

• Fields are separated by commas and enclosed in quotes if they contain commas or quotes.
• Embedded quotes in your input data are doubled.
• Embedded spaces do not require surrounding quotes.
• There is no comma following the last field on the line.
• Null fields are represented by two commas in a row.
• Leading and trailing spaces on fields even inside quotes are ignored.
• File must normally end with a single CrLf (Carriage return, Line Feed or both).
• The length of the Path to your CSV file can not be longer than 255 characters.
• Both Windows and non-Windows file browsing are supported when browsing to locate your CSV file.

You will be prompted with message dialogs from Rally should the following situations occur:

• Importing a file with a size greater than 2MB will yield a message informing you the allowable file length has been exceeded and the import could not continue.
• If the header is missing or not correct, an error message displays stating the file is not in a Rally import format. The import will not continue until the header is entered or corrected.
• Using an invalid value for boolean fields. Valid values are: t, T, F, f, True, False, true, false
• All numeric fields must contain valid numerics.
• All dates must be formatted as mm/dd/yyyy.
• User name fields (Owner, Submitted By) will prompt an error message during import if the user name does not exist.
• Attempting to import a file that is not a CSV file will produce a message informing you of the invalid format and the import will not continue.
• Importing attributes with list values are case-sensitive and must match exactly. For instance, if Priority has values of Critical, Important, and Useful and the user is trying to import a Priority value of High, this field will be set to a blank.
• Importing an empty file will return a message that there is nothing to import.

The first line of the Data Import Template consists of column headers. The second line of the template contains sample data.

Exporting data

Rally offers export capabilities for user stories, test cases, defects, releases, iterations, portfolio items, and tasks. Choose to export your data to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) or XML file. Open this file with any application that can access CSV or XML file format and manipulate your data to display in charts and reports and other presentations to share and disseminate your information.

1. Access the Summary view for the work item or artifact type you wish to export.
2. Click the Actions button and select your preferred export format:
   • CSV
   • XML
3. Select one of three actions to perform for your export:
   • Open the exported file with a detected default application
   • Save the file to a Disk
   • Cancel the Export
4. Click OK and your selected action is performed on your file.
5. The exported file is named with the title of the window for all views except where iteration or releases are shown (Iteration Status, Release Status). In this case, the name will be release or iteration Status and the date with / changed to -.

The CSV export functionality exports the fields that are shown on the summary page. You can create a custom view and include additional fields to get your desired export data.

Child user stories are exported and ordered by parent user story rank, then hierarchy and child user story rank. The Parent ID field contains the ID of the parent user story.

You must have at least edit-level security to export a work product. Your export will vary based on the view being exported.

You can filter and sort your view prior to export, and your export will reflect only the data contained within your view. If drag-and-drop ranking is active and you attempt to export a view and re-rank your data outside of Rally, your export will reflect a page order rather than a rank number . Upon importing the data, your new page order will be preserved; however, the imported work items will be appended to the end of the view. Existing work items are not overwritten, but instead are treated as new work items.