How to Bulk Upload Custom Content Titles

Sections on this page:

1. Infobase Hosted Content Bulk Upload

2. Infobase Hosted Content Bulk Upload using Google Drive

3. Self Hosted Content Bulk Upload

Bulk Upload Template Fields

Upload Success/Failure

What is Infobase Hosted custom content versus what I have been using previously?

Infobase Hosted Custom Content is now available, where Infobase will host all of your videos.  Self Hosted Custom Content is content that you host on your own servers.

Supported file types are .mp4 and .mp3. There is no official limit on size for Infobase Hosted videos, although files larger than 1G may time out and not upload correctly. 

To add more than one custom content title at a time, click on the Bulk Tools drop down and select Bulk Upload.  The bulk upload template is located at the top of the bulk upload popup window.  To ensure a seamless upload every time, it is highly recommended that a new template is downloaded every time prior to uploading a new batch.  The system will not process a spreadsheet if the template does not match.  To improve the reliability of the upload process, several fields in this template are required and contain drop downs, instead of allowing free form text.

You must select a server.  The "Infobase Hosted" server will be the default selected server. 

If the server is "Infobase Hosted", you will be notified at the top of the popup as to how many titles you have remaining in your Infobase Hosted account.  You will have the option to "Take Action" on your Infobase Hosted Custom Content if you have less than 20 titles remaining on your Infobase Hosted account.  To view more information on Infobase Hosted Custom Content, click here.

1. Infobase Hosted Custom Content Bulk Upload

• Select "Infobase Hosted" from the drop-down menu. 
• Download the "Infobase Hosted" spreadsheet template that appears at the top, and fill out the appropriate fields. The filenames of the videos must match EXACTLY the filename you put on the template in order for the title to upload correctly. Do not include the .mp4 or other file type specifications in the spreadsheet.
• Click the "Upload Template" field and upload the completed template.
• Click the "Upload Videos" field and select your files, or drag-and-drop them into this area.
• Click the box certifying that you have the right to add this content.
• Click upload

2. Infobase Hosted Custom Content Bulk Upload - Google Drive Option

Rather than waiting as the files upload from your desktop, you can add them directly from Google Drive and simply get an email when they're ready. 

• First, host the materials in your Google Drive (personal or organizational). They must be in a public folder. Everything in .mp4 format in the folder will be uploaded and should have a corresponding entry in the "Infobase hosted" spreadsheet (see below).
• Select "Infobase Hosted" and then change "Do you want to upload the files from a specified folder" to "Yes." 
• In the box "Folder Path," paste in the entire Google Drive folder URL from the "share" function. Ensure that the permissions are set to public (you can change it back to private after the upload is complete, if you wish.)  
• Download the "Infobase Hosted" spreadsheet template from the Admin Portal bulk upload interface and fill out the appropriate fields. The filenames of the videos in Google Drive must match EXACTLY the Filename you put on the template in order for the title to upload correctly. Do not include the .mp4 or other file type specification in the spreadsheet.
• Upload the "Infobase Hosted" spreadsheet in the "Upload Template" box.
• Click the box certifying that you have the right to add this content. 
• Enter your email; this will send you a notification when the upload is complete
• Click upload

The interface will close, and you should receive an email when the upload process is complete. Depending on file size and number of files, this could take up to 24 hours.

3. Self Hosted Custom Content Bulk Upload

For non-Infobase Hosted Custom Content Bulk Upload (Self-Hosted), you will download the self-hosted template.

If the server selected is not "Infobase Hosted", the "upload video" field will not show, nor will the alert box at the top that indicates how many titles you have remaining. 

Bulk Upload Template Fields:

1. Filename (Required)(no extension) - text field for entering the filename of the video or audio file, without any extension.  If your video was named, "mymp4video.mp4," you would only enter "mymp4video" in this field.
2. File Extension (Required)(Non-Infobase Hosted content only) - drop down containing the current two options for custom content: MP4 and MP3.
3. Title (Required) - text field used for the title of your video or audio file.
4. Description (Required) - text field used for the description of your file.
5. Subject (Required) - Dropdown including all subjects available for your product.
6. Producer (Required) - Text area to insert the producer for your titles. If the producer does not already exist, or does not exactly match an existing producer, it will be treated as a brand new producer and be added to the producer tab.
7. Series - text field used to associate titles to a series.  If the series does not already exist, or does not exactly match an existing series, it will be treated as a brand new series and be added to the series tab.
8. Copyright - text field for copyright year, support format example: 2016.
9. Keywords - comma separated list of keywords.
10. Expiration Date - text field for expiration date.  Once this date is reached, the title will automatically disappear from the platform on the following day.  Support format is: 8/31/2021.
11. Thumbnail Path (Non-Infobase Hosted content) - text field for the complete path to the video thumbnail stored on your own server.  

**Note - it is not necessary to manually select an option in each row of your spreadsheet when completing drop down fields.  If for example, everything has the MP4 file extension, you can select MP4 in the first row, and then copy that selection and paste it into all other relevant rows in your spreadsheet.

Upload Success/Failure

Titles that fail for one reason or another will be skipped, and not added to your list of titles.  The system will add any titles that did not fail.  If you have failed titles, the item number in the first column of the returned spreadsheet will contain an error message and reason as to why it failed, in place of an item number.  Only successfully added titles will have an item number in this column.

Once the upload process is complete, the system will return an updated spreadsheet back to you, with the custom content IDs included in the first column of the spreadsheet.  If the titles are Infobase Hosted, it may take up to 24 hours before the videos appear on the platform.

If you have chosen the Google Drive option, you will receive a link to download this spreadsheet in the confirmation email. Unlike the traditional bulk upload process, when using Google Drive titles can be added with errors; if you see the status "error" in the Admin custom titles listing, you should delete the video and try again. Please contact [e-mail] with any questions or concerns.