From a Comma-Delimited File

Bonsai Outliner for Windows > How Do I ... ? > Import Data > From a Comma-Delimited File

The desktop application supports importing an outline from a comma-delimited file (file extension 'CSV'). Each line in the file is used to create an item in the outline. There are 2 formats that can be used.

1.	The fields in the CSV should follow the same order as the standard Bonsai CSV export.

2.	The first line of the CSV provides the column names that are present in the CSV file.

Requirements for the CSV include the following.

•	A comma must separate each field.

•	Text fields must be in double quotes

•	The unique Id field can be 0, in which case Bonsai will assign a value.

Example line for fixed format:

"A test","0","1","0","0","3","4/16/01","4/16/01","4/17/01","4/17/01","Business","@Home","Smith","A note"

Example when providing a line that specifies the columns present in the CSV file:

"text","notes","category"

"A test","Some Notes","Business"

"Second item","Notes on the subject","Personal"

The Import command is located on the File menu. The command creates a new outline with the imported information. After performing the import, the save command will create a new Bonsai outline file.

Bonsai will also import a CSV file when it is dropped on the application window.

The column names used in CSV files are as follows.

"unique-id" or "id"

"create-date" or "created"

"start-date" or "start"

"due-date" or "due"

"completed-date" or "completed"

"level"

"precent-complete" or "precent"

"priority"

"type"

"custom"

"contact"

"keywords"

"text"

"notes"

"category"