Import formats
This page lists every data type you can import into Erde and the file format each one accepts. For the end-to-end workflow — choosing a type, validating, reviewing, committing, and rolling back — see Importing Data. For the columns each format expects — names, which are required, and defaults — see the Import field reference (and the Lab Report (EDD) format for the lab deliverable).
Every import runs through a default system-defined format (one per type). Open Imports from the left navigation and start a new import; the matching format is applied automatically when you pick a type. Each type currently maps to a single default format, so there is no format to choose.
Files every import accepts
| Aspect | Value |
|---|---|
| File types | CSV (.csv, .txt) and Excel (.xlsx, .xls) — or a .zip containing those files, which Erde unpacks and treats exactly as if you had uploaded the loose contents (every format except Logger, which takes a single file). A Logger import reads a wide or tall layout from either, but only CSV is unbounded — an Excel logger file is capped at 100,000 rows (see Logger load modes). The Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) format reads the lab's .zip EDD package the same way (see EQuIS EFWEDD) |
| Multiple files | Depends on the type. Single-sheet types (Sample, Location, Coordinate, Water Level, Well Purge, Field Parameter, Lab Result) take exactly one sheet — one CSV or a one-sheet Excel file — and reject extra files. Multi-sheet types (Lab Report, Well, Borehole, Sediment Core, Test Pit) take one Excel workbook with named sheets, or one CSV per sheet. A Logger import takes exactly one file. Except for Logger, the file(s) may instead be delivered together in a single .zip — Erde unpacks it and applies the same one-sheet / multi-sheet rules to the contents (non-data files inside the zip are ignored) |
| Header row | First row is treated as column headers |
| Row limit | 100,000 rows total across all files in one import — applies to the per-record formats; a Logger import from CSV is not bounded (see Logger load modes) |
| Template | Download a starter file with the Download Template button on the create form (a Logger import instead offers Wide template and Tall template buttons). The Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) format offers no template — it is EarthSoft's proprietary specification and the laboratory supplies the files |
Supported data types
Each type maps to one default format. Types that produce project-owned operational data require a Project; site infrastructure types do not.
| Data type | Format | Project required | Format notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab Result | Lab Results (Single Sheet) | Yes | Upload a single flat sheet; Erde organizes it into the report, sample, analysis, and result tabs for review. Works with or without lab report metadata, and accepts more than one report per file |
| Lab Report | Lab Report | Yes | Multi-sheet EDD — report, samples, analyses, and results on separate sheets. See the field-level format reference |
| Lab Report | Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) | Yes | The EarthSoft EQuIS EFWEDD 4-file lab EDD (Sample / TST / RES / BCH), usually delivered as a zip. Mapped into the same review tabs as the Lab Report format on upload — see EQuIS EFWEDD |
| Sample | Sample | Yes | One sample per row |
| Water Level | Water Level | Yes | One reading per row |
| Well Purge | Well Purge | Yes | One purge event per row |
| Field Parameter | Field Parameter | Yes | Flat sheet with dynamic parameter columns discovered at parse time |
| Logger | Logger | Yes | High-frequency telemetry; CSV or Excel, wide or tall layout auto-detected on upload (use CSV for very large exports) |
| Location | Location | No | Locations with optional primary coordinates |
| Coordinate | Coordinate | No | Coordinates for existing locations |
| Well | Well | No | Wells with optional completions and intervals |
| Borehole | Borehole | No | Multi-sheet workbook — borehole, lithology intervals, sampling runs, and groundwater observations on separate sheets |
| Sediment Core | Sediment Core | No | Sediment cores with lithology intervals |
| Test Pit | Test Pit | No | Test pits with lithology intervals and groundwater observations |
Only formats marked active appear as tiles on the New Import page.
What to upload
Each type expects a specific file shape, shown on the create page when you pick a type. Single-sheet types take one sheet and reject more than one file. Multi-sheet types take one Excel workbook with named sheets, or one CSV per sheet — name each CSV after its sheet (matching is case-insensitive).
Every type except Logger also accepts a .zip of those files — handy when a
lab or colleague sends the deliverable as a folder they compressed. Erde unpacks
the zip and applies the same one-sheet / multi-sheet rules to the contents, so a
zipped bundle and the same files uploaded loose behave identically; non-data files
inside the zip are ignored.
| Type | Shape | Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Sample, Location, Coordinate, Water Level, Well Purge, Field Parameter | One sheet | A single CSV or one-sheet Excel file |
| Lab Result | One flat sheet | A single CSV or Excel file; Erde splits it into the review tabs |
| Lab Report | Workbook, or one CSV per sheet | LabReport (one row), Sample, Analysis, and Result — all four required. There is no Batch sheet; batch codes ride in the Analysis sheet's typed batch columns |
| Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) | The lab's .zip package, loose .txt/.csv section files, or one Excel workbook | Sample (EFW2FSample and/or EFW2LabSMP), TST, and RES required; BCH optional. Sections are recognized by their column names, never by file name or column position |
| Well | Workbook, or one CSV per sheet | Wells and/or Intervals required; Locations optional |
| Borehole | Workbook, or one CSV per sheet | At least one of Boreholes, Lithology Intervals, Sampling Runs, Groundwater Observations; Locations optional |
| Sediment Core | Workbook, or one CSV per sheet | At least one of Sediment Cores, Lithology Intervals; Locations optional |
| Test Pit | Workbook, or one CSV per sheet | At least one of Test Pits, Lithology Intervals, Groundwater Observations; Locations optional |
| Logger | One file | A single CSV or Excel file; wide or tall auto-detected (see Logger load modes) |
Format handling
The default formats differ in how they read a file. Most map one entity per row; a few discover columns or layouts dynamically.
| Handling | Applies to | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| One entity per row | Sample, Water Level, Well Purge, Location, Coordinate | Each row is one record |
| Multi-sheet workbook (parent + child sheets) | Well, Borehole, Sediment Core, Test Pit | A parent sheet (the feature) plus separate child sheets — Lithology Intervals for Borehole, Sediment Core, and Test Pit, Sampling Runs and Groundwater Observations for Borehole, Groundwater Observations for Test Pit, Intervals for Well — preceded by an optional Locations sheet. As CSV, supply one file per sheet |
| Multi-sheet workbook | Lab Report | Report, sample, analysis, and result rows live on separate sheets — the lab EDD. Every sample, analysis, and result carries the lab sample code that links the sheets; analyses carry their batch codes in three typed columns. See the field-level format reference |
| Single flat sheet, collapsed into tabs | Lab Results (Single Sheet) | You upload one wide sheet with report, sample, analysis (including the three typed batch columns), result, and validation columns interleaved. On upload Erde collapses it into the same report / sample / analysis / result tabs as the Lab Report format, so you review and edit grouped tabs instead of one wide grid. The upload shape (a flat sheet) deliberately differs from the review shape (the tabs); the Download Template button still gives you the single flat sheet to fill in |
| 4-file EDD, mapped into tabs | Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) | The EQuIS sections are renamed, translated, and joined into the same report / sample / analysis / result tabs as the Lab Report format on upload — see EQuIS EFWEDD |
| Dynamic columns | Field Parameter | A column per parameter is discovered at parse time |
| Auto-detected layout | Logger | Wide (a column per channel) or tall (one reading per row) is detected on upload |
EQuIS EFWEDD
The Lab Report (EQuIS EFWEDD) format accepts the standard EarthSoft EQuIS EFWEDD 4-file lab deliverable and maps it into the same review tabs as the Lab Report format — after upload, review, validation, and commit behave identically.
What to upload. Any one of: the lab's .zip package (tab-delimited
.txt or .csv section files inside; other files in the zip are ignored with a
notice), the section files individually, or one Excel workbook with the
sections as sheets. Sections are recognized by their column names — file
names and column order never matter, so renamed or reordered lab variants load
fine. EFW2FSample and EFW2LabSMP both map to the Sample tab and can appear
together. #-prefixed banner, field-name, and type lines in the text files are
handled. Sample, TST, and RES sections are required; BCH is optional.
Reports come from the SDG. EFWEDD has no report-level file, so Erde groups
rows into one Lab Report per
sample_delivery_group (falling back to the older generation's lab_sdg); the
SDG becomes the report code. Rows with no SDG group under a report named after
the uploaded file. The laboratory (lab_name_code), earliest
sample_receipt_date, and chain_of_custody are carried onto the report.
Field mapping highlights.
| EFWEDD | Erde |
|---|---|
sys_sample_code | The lab sample code, and the field sample code for field-origin rows — it anchors to your existing project Sample by code + date |
test_type | Run type (INITIAL → Initial, REEXTRACT → Reextraction, DILUTION → Dilution, …) |
total_or_dissolved | Fraction (N — not applicable — maps to Total) |
basis (on TST) | Result basis (Wet/Dry/NA → Wet Weight / Dry Weight / As Received), stamped onto each of the test's results — basis is result-level identity in Erde |
sample_type_code | Sample type (EB → Equipment Rinsate Blank, LB → Method Blank, FS → Split, LR/SD → Laboratory Duplicate, …) |
test_batch_type + test_batch_id | The typed batch columns on the test's analysis row (PREP → Preparation Batch, ANALYSIS → Analysis Batch, LEACH/LEACHATE → Leachate Batch); each BCH row stamps the lab's real batch id into the matching column. Batch identity is code + type in both systems, so an id reused across types (e.g. 38652 as both PREP and ANALYSIS) imports as two batches sharing the code, and a batch whose tests span several SDG-derived reports becomes one batch per report — no assignments are dropped. A BCH row with no matching test, or an unrecognized test_batch_type, warns and that assignment is skipped |
quantitation_limit | Other detection limit, typed PQL |
percent_moisture, lab_sample_id (on TST) | Lifted to the sample (moisture; the lab's LIMS id is kept in the sample notes) |
Legacy names (analytic_method, fraction, prep_method, combined date-times, …) | Renamed/split automatically — older-generation files load without editing |
Values outside the known EQuIS vocabulary pass through as-is and surface as
per-row validation feedback for you to fix in the review grid. Unknown columns
never fail the upload — they are listed in a notice; known-but-unmapped columns
(field-sampling details like sys_loc_code, sampler, or depths, which Erde's
project samples already own) are listed separately. Locations and field samples
are not created by this import — samples must already exist in the project,
matching EQuIS's own behavior of requiring locations up front.
No template. EFWEDD is EarthSoft's proprietary specification, so Erde does not offer a Download Template for this format — the laboratory produces the files. Obtain format documentation from your lab or EarthSoft.
.zip uploads require the .zip extension in Administration → System
Settings → File Storage → Allowed extensions (included by default).
Logger load modes
A Logger import offers a Load Mode because logger telemetry arrives two ways. The two options on the Load Mode field are:
| Option | Template | File shape |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk - one file, many locations (LocationCode column) | Wide / Tall | Includes a LocationCode column; auto-creates logger streams for one or more locations |
| Single stream - load a results-only file into one chosen stream | Wide / Tall | Omits LocationCode; rows target the one Logger Stream you select on the form |
In both modes, Wide uses one column per parameter and Tall uses one
reading per row (Parameter, Value, Unit). The layout is auto-detected, so
either template works.
A Logger import from CSV is not bound by the 100,000-row limit. Instead of
staging one row per reading, it stages a per-location summary (one row per
location) and streams the readings straight into the database at commit. An
Excel (.xlsx, .xls) logger file is read into memory first, so it is capped
at 100,000 rows — export very large logger data as CSV. A bulk import is limited
to 5,000 distinct location codes per import.