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How to do a Player Custom Field Import

  • Updated

The Player Custom Field Import fills in one player custom field, such as a jersey number or a school, for many players at once from a CSV file. Each row names the player by Player Id - TeamSideline, the player's TeamSideline ID from your Account Information or Enrollment Information report, so the import only adds or replaces values on players you already have: it never creates accounts or duplicate players. Create the custom field first, then import one field per file.

Applies to: Admins whose role includes Import Data · All plans · Player custom fields of the Text, Multi-line Text, Drop Down List, Date, Email and Time types

Where: Administration > Import Data > Start Import > Player Custom Field Import (listed under Customer)

Before you start: create the custom field

The import fills a field that already exists. If you don't have it yet, go to Administration > Configurations > Custom Fields, click Add Custom Field, choose Player as the Category, pick the Field Type and click Save. For a Drop Down List field, add every choice in Item Name. See Custom Fields settings reference (Administration > Configurations > Custom Fields) for each setting.

Only Text, Multi-line Text, Drop Down List, Date, Email and Time fields can be imported. Check Box, Phone and File fields aren't in the import's Custom Field list.

Get your players' IDs

  1. Go to Reports > Report Exports and click Account Information.
  2. Under Include, check Players. Leave Date Range at All Dates.
  3. Under Columns, add Player Id - TeamSideline, and the players' names to help you fill in the values.
  4. Choose an Export Type and click Export.

To list only the players registered in certain programs, use the Enrollment Information report instead, with Type set to Player and your programs checked, and add the same Player Id - TeamSideline column.

Build the import file

  1. Go to Administration > Import Data. Under Customer, on the Player Custom Field Import row, click the icon in the Sample File column to download the template.
  2. Fill in one row per player: Player Id - TeamSideline (numbers only) and Custom Field Value. Copy the IDs from your report, and remove the name columns before you import.
  3. Remove every comma from your values, and keep each value on one line.
  4. Save the file as CSV. It can be up to 10 MB.
Field type What the Custom Field Value must be
Text, Multi-line Text Up to the field's Max Length.
Drop Down List Exactly one of the field's Item Names, with the same capital letters and spelling.
Date A date, such as 9/15/2026.
Email A valid email address.
Time A 24-hour time, such as 19:00. A time written like 7:00 PM isn't accepted.

Run the import

  1. On Administration > Import Data, click Player Custom Field Import.
  2. On Step 1 of 3: Upload File, click Select next to File Name and choose your file. Leave Includes Headers checked.
  3. In Custom Field, choose the field to fill.
  4. Check Overwrite Existing Data to replace values players already have. Leave it unchecked to fill only players who have no value yet; the others keep theirs.
  5. Click Next Step.
  6. On Step 2 of 3: Map the Fields, check that Player Id - TeamSideline and Custom Field Value point to your two columns. Columns whose header matches are chosen for you. Click Next Step.
  7. On Step 3 of 3: Review and Confirm, read the messages. If there are errors, fix your file and start again. When there are none, click Queue Import.

What you'll see: "Your import has been successfully uploaded and will be processed shortly." The import runs in the background, a few rows a second. When it finishes, you get a "Data Import Status" email, and on Administration > Import Data > Status the import shows "Processed N records: X imported, Y skipped." when you expand it. The values then show on each player's record.

Check the values after the import

A value that doesn't fit the field (a drop-down choice spelled differently, a date, email or time the import can't read, or a blank) isn't saved, and nothing on the Status page tells you: the row still counts as imported. Only text that's too long gets a message, "Record not loaded due to custom field exceeding the maximum length:" followed by the value. So after the import, export the field and look for blanks: in Account Information or Enrollment Information, custom fields are listed with "(c)" before their name (see Understanding Report Field Types). Fix those rows and import just them again.

If it doesn't work

  • "Please enter a value for "Custom Field"." Choose the field in Custom Field on Step 1 of 3.
  • The field isn't in the Custom Field list. It isn't a Player field, or it's a Check Box, Phone or File field, which can't be imported.
  • "Value is invalid (blank when required, too short, too long, invalid format, etc)." A Player Id - TeamSideline is blank or has something other than digits in it.
  • "The file you have chosen to upload does not contain the same number of columns in every line (failed on line: N)." A value on that line contains a comma. Remove the commas and upload again.
  • Players who already had a value didn't change. Overwrite Existing Data wasn't checked. Import those rows again with it checked.
  • A value went missing. The import doesn't check that each Player Id - TeamSideline is one of your players, so a mistyped ID is counted as imported but fills in none of your players. Check the IDs against your report and import those rows again.

Good to know

  • The import can't clear values: blank rows are skipped. To clear a field for everyone, use Reset All Values to Blank on the Custom Fields page.
  • To type the values for a program's players on one page instead of importing a file, use Customers > Account Management > Multi Edit.
  • For parent custom fields, use Parent Custom Field Import (By Id), which matches parents by the Customer Id or Customer 2 Id column of the Enrollment Information report, or Parent Custom Field Import, which matches Parent First Name and Parent Last Name: the last name must match and the first name on its first three letters, and a row that matches more than one parent isn't updated ("No update: more than one" followed by the name and "found."). See Customer and registration imports: accounts, enrollments, custom fields, transactions, coupons and background checks.

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