Bulk imports (spreadsheet)
The spreadsheet has the following columns:
For all date columns:
The format is
yyyy-mm-dd
.If you type in e.g. '1 Mar 20', it should automatically update to '2020-03-01'.
For all relationships columns:
The related work must already have its own row in the spreadsheet.
Its FRBR URI should be final.
To select a related work, start typing its title in the dropdown and the list of options will shrink.
There's no need to record both sides of a relationship in the spreadsheet; use the one that works best for your workflow.
Column | Description / Examples | Notes |
Core details | Used for working out the FRBR URI (unique identifier). Most fields are mandatory. | |
country | 2-letter country code: ZA for South Africa, KE for Kenya | Case insensitive. Must be the same code as the country you're in on the platform. |
locality | locality code: cpt for Cape Town in South Africa | Leave blank for national legislation. Case insensitive. Must be the same code as the locality you're in on the platform. ZA municipalities on Wikipedia |
title | The short title of the work: Criminal Procedure Act | May or may not include the year at the end – house style decision. |
cap | Chapter (Cap.) number: 12 for Chapter 12 | Not all countries use Chapter numbers. |
doctype | The code for the work's type: act, statement | In most places the default is 'act', and this column can be ignored. |
subtype | The code for the work's subtype: ln for a Legal Notice, by-law for a By-law, p for a Proclamation, si for a Statutory Instrument | Case insensitive. Leave blank for Acts. |
actor | A code decided on internally for the author of a work: mepc | No spaces allowed. Can mostly be left blank. |
number | The number of the work: 9 for Act 9 of 2012, 34 for SI 34 of 2012 | Use words separated by hyphens for works without a number and for by-laws. |
year | The year of the work: 2012 for Act 9 of 2012 | |
Publication details | Used to try and automatically link the relevant Gazette when creating the work on the platform. | |
publication_name | Usually the name of the Gazette: Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette | For national Gazettes, try just 'Government Gazette' at first to find matches on gazettes.africa. |
publication_number | The Gazette number: 12345 for Gazette 12345 of 1 March 2020 | Found on the front cover of the Gazette. |
publication_date | The Gazette date: 2020-03-01 for Gazette 12345 of 1 March 2020 | Found on §the front cover of the Gazette. |
gazette link | Automatically generated based on the previous three columns, if available on gazettes.africa | Don't edit these cells, but do delete the formula if it's slowing down the spreadsheet loading (especially if no links are found). |
Other relevant dates | Date format is If you type in e.g. '1 Mar 20', it should automatically update to '2020-03-01'. | |
assent_date | The date on which the work was signed by the relevant authority | |
commencement_date (main) | The date on which the work came or will come into force | If the work has more than one commencement date, enter the main one here. |
consolidation_date | The date up to which the work has been consolidated | Leave this blank if the work hasn't been consolidated. |
as_at_date_override | The date up to which the work is up to date | Only fill this in if the place has an as-at date and the work's doesn't match. |
Other info | ||
principal | Mark this work as principal, i.e. a work for which the content should be pulled in | An 'Import content' task will be created on bulk import. |
stub | Mark this work as a stub, i.e. a work for which the content will not be pulled in: Commencement notices, amending works, repeal notices (works without substantive provisions) | Stubs are hidden by default on the works listing page (select 'Stubs' or 'All' to see them). |
disclaimer | Include a disclaimer for this work, which will appear on the coverpage of all expressions | |
taxonomy | Optional taxonomy tag/s to be applied to the work, separated by ';'s: lawsafrica-special:COVID-19 for the Laws.Africa Special Collection titled 'COVID-19' | Choose an item from the dropdown. The taxonomy must exist on the platform first. |
Passive relationships | The related work must already have its own row in the spreadsheet, and its FRBR URI should be final. To select a work's FRBR URI from the dropdown, start typing its title in the cell and the list of options will shrink. There's no need to record both sides of a relationship in the spreadsheet; use the one that works best for your workflow. | |
primary_work | The FRBR URI of this work's parent / primary work | Only use for subsidiary legislation (e.g. Regulations / SIs). |
commenced_by | The FRBR URI of a work that commences this work | Leave this blank if the work gives its own commencement date (either on publication or at another date). |
commenced_on_date | The date on which this work is commenced by the commencing work | The commencing work will most often commence on publication, but may give a different commencement date for the work being commenced. |
amended_by | The FRBR URI of a work that amends this work | |
amended_on_date | The date on which this work is amended by the amending work | If nothing is given here, the commencement date of the amending work will be used (if it has one). |
repealed_by | The FRBR URI of a work that repeals this work | |
repealed_on_date | The date on which this work is repealed by the repealing work | If nothing is given here, the commencement date of the repealing work will be used (if it has one). |
Active relationships | The related work must already have its own row in the spreadsheet, and its FRBR URI should be final. To select a work's FRBR URI from the dropdown, start typing its title in the cell and the list of options will shrink. There's no need to record both sides of a relationship in the spreadsheet; use the one that works best for your workflow. | |
subleg | The FRBR URI of this work's children / subsidiary works, separated by ';'s | |
commences | The FRBR URI of a work commenced by this work | |
commences_on_date | The date on which that work is commenced by this work | The commencing work (i.e. the current work) will most often commence on publication, but may give a different commencement date for the work being commenced. If nothing is given here, the commencement date of this work will be used (if it has one). |
amends | The FRBR URI of a work amended by this work | If this work amends more than one work, list each on its own line (Option or Alt + Enter). |
amends_on_date | The date on which that work is amended by this work | If nothing is given here, the commencement date of this work will be used (if it has one). |
repeals | The FRBR URI of a work repealed by this work | If this work repeals more than one work, duplicate this work's row as many times as needed, only changing this column (and the next one if relevant). |
repeals_on_date | The date on which that work is repealed by this work | If nothing is given here, the commencement date of this work will be used (if it has one). |
Housekeeping | ||
Ignore | When doing a bulk import, put anything in this column and the importer will skip it. Putting a ✔ will make the cell green, to show it's been imported. Putting a "?" will make it yellow, to show research must still be done. It will be red as long as it's empty, to show it must still be imported. | If a work already exists and is reimported ('Ignore' is left blank), it won't be overwritten on import and will be shown as a 'Duplicate', but the taxonomy and any relationships will be linked if they weren't linked previously. If any other non-core details were corrected on the platform in the meantime, they should be updated on the spreadsheet before it's reimported. |
frbr_uri | A formula in this cell will generate the FRBR URI: /akn/za/act/2020/1 for Act 1 of 2020 in South Africa | Do not edit this cell: If it looks wrong, check the core details. |
frbr_uri_title | A formula in this cell will generate the FRBR URI followed by the title: /akn/za/act/2020/1 - Banking Act, 2020 for Act 1 of 2020 in South Africa | This column populates the dropdown lists for all relationships. |
Comments etc | ||
comments | Text from this column and any others you add won't be imported; use them as a record for yourself | |
LINKS ETC (add columns as needed) |
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