Importing and Exporting POIs

Site admins can export and import POIs in bulk via the POI Types menu.

There are two file formats for exporting POIs: .json and .csv.

There are three file formats for importing POIs: .json, .csv and .zip.

Unique identifiers can be imported and exported with POIs in .json and .csv format.

• To back up POIs or transfer them between sites, use the .json format.

• To import or export POIs from or to another program, such as a facility management application, use the .csv format.

• POI types and POI type groups, but not POIs, are merged with existing ones in the site when importing.

Delimiter and number formats

.csv files vary in how they separate values from each other and how they format numbers. When exporting or importing .csv files, you need to know which delimiter and number format you are using. The number format typically varies by language. For example, the English 1,000.00 is the German 1.000,00. The delimiter is chosen so that it works with the number format, but details may vary between applications. If you are unsure of the format of your .csv file, you can open it in a text editor to check. If a POI export/import fails because of a formatting problem, try again using a different setting. Some spreadsheet applications also support selecting the delimiter and number format when opening or exporting .csv files.

Exporting POIs

Exporting POIs in .json Format

If you select  the .json file format to export POIs we recommend that you do not manually editing the .json file.

Exporting POIs gives you a complete backup of all POIs, POI types, and POI type groups, in their hierarchical structure, that were in the site at the time of exporting. Follow these instructions to back up the POIs in your site, or to transfer them between sites.

Exporting POIs in .csv Format

If you select the .csv file format to export POIs, we recommend editing the .csv files in a spreadsheet application. Make sure you re-export the file to .csv format after editing.

Use the .csv format to synchronize your POIs with an asset database or other application.

The exported .csv file has one entry (line) for every POI in the site.

Important: If you want to transfer POIs between sites or instances, we recommened using the .json format as this includes all information, whereas CSV format only includes  the following:

• POI position.

• POI name and description in all available translations.

• The names of POI type and type group.

• Any information inherited from the type or type group.

Exporting Procedure

1. Open the POI Types menu.

   

2. Expand the Import/Export POIs panel.

   

3. Expand the Import/Export POIs panel.

4. Click Export POIs to open the export Options.

5. Choose a coordinate system for the export. The following options are available:

   1. Select Site coordinate system to export the POIs in the coordinate system that was previously chosen for the site.

   2. Select Spatial reference system to export the POIs in another spatial reference system. Search for a spatial reference system and select it from the drop-down menu.

   3. Select Dataset to export the POIs in the coordinate system of a specific dataset. Search for the name of a dataset and select it from the drop-down menu.

   4. Select Other (.csv format only).

6. Click either .json or .csv file formats.

7. Select the correct Delimiter (.csv format only, see Delimiter and number formats).

8. Select the correct Number format (.csv format only, see Delimiter and number formats).

9. Select Include attachments this will create a .zip file with a file attachments. Use this option when migrating, either to NavVis Cloud, or whole site migrations and backing up your data.

10. Click Export POIs and save the file to your hard drive.

    

Importing POIs

Importing Procedure

Follow these instructions to import the POIs to your site.

1. Open the POI Types menu.

   

2. Expand the Import/Export POIs panel.

   

3. Click Import POIs and select the .csv file to upload from your hard drive.

   Make sure the file conforms to the standards in the data fields and example file section.

   

4. By default, POIs will be imported with existing IDs. You have the option to assign new IDs when importing POIs by selecting No, assign new IDs.

   

5. If you do not want to assign new IDs to POIs, you can overwrite POIs with the same ID by selecting Yes, update existing POI with same ID. If a POI with the same ID already exists, it will be replaced on import. Otherwise, a new POI will be created.

   

6. Select the correct Delimiter (.csv and zip file format only, see Delimiter and Number formats).

7. Select the correct Number format (.csv and zip file format only, see Delimiter and Number formats).

8. Select which user groups can view and edit the POIs.

   These permissions will be set for all POIs in the .csv file. Group permissions will not be impacted.

   

9. Click Import POIs.

Note: On import, NavVis IVION will detect the coordinate system that the POIs are in and will import them in the same coordinate system. If this information is not available, the POIs will be imported in WGS-84.

POI Data Fields and Example File

Information about data fields for both .json and .csv file formats, and an example .csv file.

.json File Format

For a full reference of the fields describing POIs, see the REST API documentation for Points of Interest (POIs), POI Types, and POI Type Groups.

We do not provide an example .json file here, but you can export the POI hierarchy from one of your sites to see the full structure. It looks like the example responses in the REST API documentation, with individual POIs nested inside POI types and POI types nested inside type groups.

.csv File Format

The file should contain these columns:

In this example .csv file, all the required columns and one additional translation are filled out for two POIs. The example file also contains optional fields. You can edit it in a spreadsheet application to fill in the information about your POIs.

The names of the POI type and type group must be available in at least one language. You can add further columns with the translations in other languages. The POI name and description are not required but can also be given in multiple languages.

will alert you if any required information is missing from the import file. However, it cannot detect if additional translations are missing.

POI Types Merging on Import

When importing POI type groups and POI types in either format, tries to merge duplicates based on their names. This does not apply to individual POIs.

Here is how the merging process works:

• first matches POI type groups, then matches the POI types within each group.

• It tries to match types and type groups based on their names in any of the available translations (i.e., same language, same string. The matching is case-sensitive).

• The IDs of the type groups and types are ignored for the merging process.

• If one translation matches, merging updates the translations:

  • It adds any translations found in the import file but not on the server.

  • Any translations found on the server but not in the import file stay on the server.

  • For any translations that are different between the server and the import file, it uses the one from the import file.

Assigning POIs to Datasets on Import

If you are importing POIs to an instance but are not done aligning everything, you can preserve the POIs' relative positions by linking them to datasets.

Follow these instructions to link POIs to specific datasets:

1. Set the dataset name in the import file.

   When exporting POIs, the dataset name field is included. That means if you are transferring POIs between sites and both sites contain the same datasets, the POIs will be assigned to the same datasets as they were before.

   • In .json : dataset_name

   • In .csv : POIS_DATASET

2. Import the POIs to your site.

   NavVis IVION checks if there is a dataset with that name in the database. If so, it creates the connection from the POI to the dataset.