Importing Manual Scenarios from Excel or CSV

ACCELQ lets you create and update manual Scenarios in bulk, along with their steps and test data, from a single spreadsheet instead of authoring them one at a time in the application. One file can carry the Scenario name and description, every test step and its expected result, tags, custom fields, the test data for each test case, and the links to Requirements and Automation Scenarios that establish traceability. You can update existing Test Cases in the same import by supplying their IDs. This article walks you through a standard import from start to finish.

1.  Open the Import window

Go to your Manual Scenarios list (Navigator → Manual → Scenarios). In the toolbar, click the Import icon, next to the refresh button.

2.  Download the template

The Import Scenarios window opens. Before you upload anything, download the template. It is built for the project you are importing into, so it already carries that project's own custom-field columns and worked examples. Two formats are offered:

• Excel (recommended). Includes a Scenarios sheet (one row per step) and a Test Case Data sheet, so a data-driven Scenario can arrive complete with its values.
• CSV. Holds a single sheet, so use it only for Scenarios and their steps. Test data must come from the Excel template.

Always download the template from the project you are importing into. Custom-field columns differ between projects, and any custom field defined as a list arrives as a dropdown in the spreadsheet, so you pick valid values rather than typing them and risking a rejected row.

Download the template built for your project, then drop or browse your completed file.

3.  Fill in the template

Keep the sheet names and the header row exactly as they are. Beyond that, the two sheets work differently and are worth understanding before you start.

The Scenarios sheet

One row per step. All the rows belonging to one Scenario share its Scenario Name, and each row carries that step's description and expected result. Scenario-level columns such as the description, tags, and custom fields are supplied on the Scenario's first row.

Leave the Scenario ID blank to create a new Scenario, or fill it in to update the existing Scenario with that ID.

The Test Case Data sheet

One row per Test Case. Because every Scenario parameterizes different things in its steps, this sheet cannot have a fixed column per parameter. Instead it uses numbered pairs that scale to whatever a Scenario needs:

• Parameter 1 holds the name of the first parameter, and Value 1 holds the value it takes in this Test Case.
• Parameter 2 and Value 2 hold the second pair, and so on across the row.

Use as many pairs as the Scenario has parameters and leave the rest blank. A Scenario with three parameters uses the first three pairs; a Scenario with none needs no row on this sheet at all.

Leave the Test Case ID blank to create a new Test Case, or supply an existing ID to update that Test Case in place. The Scenario ID on each row identifies which Scenario the Test Case belongs to.

Supplying multiple values in one cell

Several columns accept more than one value. In every case, separate the values with commas in a single cell:

• Requirement IDs, to link the Scenario to one or more requirements in your tracker.
• Automation Scenario IDs, to link the manual Scenario to its automated counterpart.
• Tags.
• Any custom field defined as multi-select in your project.

These links are established whether the Scenario is being created or updated, so traceability is carried through the import rather than needing to be rebuilt afterward.

Updating an existing Scenario

The step rows you supply for a Scenario become its complete step list. Steps are replaced rather than merged, so include every step you want the Scenario to end up with, not only the ones you are changing.

4.  Upload your file

Back in the Import Scenarios window, drop your completed file onto the picker or browse for it. One file at a time, up to 2 MB and 200 Scenarios. As soon as you upload, the file is checked against your project's expected columns. If everything matches, the import simply continues. Otherwise, you may see one of the two screens below.

If the file doesn't match the template

Format problems are listed together, grouped per sheet, so you can fix them in one pass. Typical problems are a required column missing from the header row, a column that appears twice, or a column of data with an empty header. Nothing is imported. Choose Download template, copy your data into the fresh template, and try again.

Format issues are reported per sheet, for both Scenarios and Test Cases, with a link to download the correct template.

If the file has extra columns

If your file contains columns that don't map to anything in this project, they are simply ignored and never block the import. The columns are listed per sheet with the reason. Choose Continue without these columns to import everything else, or Cancel Import if you'd rather adjust the file first.

Unmatched columns are listed per sheet and are safely ignored when you continue.

5.  Review the preview and confirm

Before saving, ACCELQ checks the file row by row and shows you what the import will do. The preview reports how many Scenarios will be imported, and where a requirement tracker integration is configured, it resolves the requirement IDs found in your file so you can confirm the traceability being established.

If a Scenario changes its parameters

When a Scenario you are updating changes the parameters used in its steps, a confirmation screen appears so nothing is lost by surprise:

• A parameter is removed. The values it held in that Scenario's test cases become unused and are removed. This cannot be undone, so review it carefully.
• A parameter is added. Nothing is lost; the new parameter simply starts blank in every test case.

The confirm button shows how many Scenarios will be imported. Choose it to proceed, or Cancel Import. If no Scenario changes its parameters, the parameter confirmation is not shown.

A clear warning before any test data is removed, showing exactly which parameters change.

6.  Review the results

When the import finishes, the Scenario Import Complete summary shows what happened, reported separately for Scenarios and Test Cases: how many were imported (new versus updated), how many imported with warnings, and how many were skipped or rejected.

If anything was skipped or flagged, choose Download Error File before you close. The log names the sheet row, the Scenario, and the reason for every warned or rejected row, so you can correct just those rows and re-import them. The rows that imported the first time do not need to be sent again. Then choose Import another file or Done.

The completion summary, split by Scenarios and Test Cases, with a downloadable error log.

Good to know

• Blank ID creates, filled ID updates. A blank Scenario ID always creates a new Scenario; an ID like S-1042 always updates that one.
• Nothing is deleted. Import never deletes a Scenario or a Test Case, and never clears a field whose cell you left blank. When updating a Scenario, only non-blank cells are considered.
• Test Cases update by ID too. Supply an existing Test Case ID against an existing Scenario and that Test Case is updated in place. Leave it blank and a new Test Case is created.
• Multiple values are comma separated. Values for Requirement IDs, Automation Scenario IDs, tags, and multi-select custom fields all go in a single cell, separated by commas.
• Partial success is normal. Valid rows still import even when others are rejected.
• Test data needs Excel. A CSV holds one sheet, so parameter values must come from the Excel template.
• Not every Scenario needs test data. A Scenario with no parameters needs no row on the Test Case Data sheet.

Related

• Parameterization and concept of Test Cases in Manual Scenarios
• Creating Manual Test Scenario