New Horizon Experience. This article describes the New Horizon Experience. You can follow these steps on a computer or in the Horizon WebRef mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Watch the walkthrough first if you want to see the whole path, then use the steps below as you work. You can follow the video on a computer or in the Horizon WebRef apps.
Import from Spreadsheet is the walk-through officiating managers, schedulers, and organization administrators use to bring games into the Master Game Schedule from a file. Officials who only work games cannot import, and neither can coaches, athletic directors, League Personnel, or location personnel.
Use this article when you have a season file to load, a downloaded list to update, or a batch of games you would rather confirm once than type one at a time. If you also want Horizon to place people from official-name columns in that same file, read how to import assignments with a game spreadsheet after you finish this one.
If the page still says Schedule Mass Import and asks you to choose a CSV file, you are on the older legacy layout. Skip ahead to If you still see the older legacy desktop or laptop layout at the end of this article.
Where to open it
On the Master Game Schedule, open Add (the plus control) and choose Import from spreadsheet. You can also open Import from Spreadsheet.
If you do not see Add, either your membership cannot add games, or the organization has not allowed adding games. Organization administrators turn that on in System Settings when they want schedulers to add and import games.
Prepare the file
You may import up to 10,000 games in one file. Smaller batches finish faster and are easier to review. The file can be CSV, tab-separated or plain text, or an Excel workbook (.xlsx). Save older .xls files as CSV or .xlsx first, and keep the file at 8 MB or smaller.
On the first step, choose Download template if you do not already have a file with the column headers Horizon expects. Horizon downloads it as import-template.csv. You can keep working in that CSV, or use Save As in Excel and choose CSV or Excel Workbook (.xlsx). Do not save it as a PDF, and do not save it as the older Excel format (.xls).
Horizon asks Download a template? with two choices. Include example rows puts a sample game under the headers so you can see how each column is meant to look. Those sample values are only teaching. Home Example and Away Example are team names, not people's names. Remove that sample row before you import your own games. Blank file only gives you the same headers with no sample rows. Use the example file when you are learning the columns, and the blank file when you already know the layout and you are ready to paste your own games.
Type into the cells, or paste from another list. Empty optional cells are fine. You can leave the Official and Position columns blank when you are not placing people. Team names, location names, game codes, and league names in the file need to match the records you already have in Horizon. If you later change System Settings that add or hide columns (teams, leagues, system game IDs, or reference numbers), download a new template so the headers still match.
Column headers do not have to stay in the old legacy template order. Horizon maps each header by an exact header, a similar header, or the usual place in the file. Required columns still need to be present. Horizon never drops a value that is in the file. If a column cannot be used, you will see it in How we read this file.
Dates follow System Settings: mm/dd/yyyy with slashes, or dd-mm-yyyy with hyphens. mm-dd-yyyy is not accepted, and neither is dd/mm/yyyy. Game dates may be no older than the start of your current season and no later than two years from today.
Times may be 12-hour or 24-hour. Values such as 3:00pm, 3pm, 15:00, and 3 pm are all accepted. Start times must land on a 5-minute increment (for example 7:00 or 7:05), and TBA and TBD are allowed. Game length is minutes in 5-minute steps from 5 to 1440, or blank to use the organization default. When the time is TBA, Horizon stores a length of 0 minutes.
Type and names
The first step is titled Import type. Choose Add new games unless you started from a downloaded list that already has system ID numbers. Update existing games needs that system game ID in the file, so do not invent those IDs. Start from a downloaded list instead. See the mass-edit instructions if you need to get that list first.
Names in the file is about people's names, the officials you want Horizon to place. It does not control team names, location names, game codes, or league names. Those stay in their own columns and still need to match the records you already have in Horizon. No names (recommended) is the everyday choice when the file has no official names or positions. Choose Last name, first name or First name, last name only when you want those people imported with the games. Most organizations assign after the games exist, so they leave No names selected.
Matching options
Horizon first looks for an exact match. The summary on the Type step says Exact names (safer) until you change a fallback, so leave it there unless you already know you need something else. Open Change matching only when you do.
Use partial matches is off by default because off is safer. When it is on, a close team name, location name, game code, league name, or official's name can be used if nothing matches exactly.
Under When a name is not found, each list is for a different kind of name: home team, away team, location, game code, league, and named official. Each list can Show an error, Use TBA, or (when your membership allows it) Add a new record. Show an error keeps the import from guessing. Use TBA only when a missing team name, location name, game code, or league name should become your TBA record. Add a new record is for experienced importers who want Horizon to create the missing team, location, game code, or league.
Under When a cell is blank, voucher can Fill with No, Fill with Yes, or Show an error. Officials needed and game length can use the Organization default or show an error. Named official can Show an error or Skip that assignment.
If you change those lists, Horizon asks whether to keep your changes or restore defaults. Safer imports leave matching on exact names and Show an error.
Add the file
Continue to Spreadsheet file, then drop the file on Drop a file here or choose Choose file. After a file is selected, that control becomes Choose a different file. Download template is also here if you still need a sample.
If the type is not accepted, Horizon asks you to save as CSV or .xlsx. Older Excel (.xls) is called out separately. A file larger than 8 MB must be split into a smaller file.
Review games before you import
The Games step shows every importable row. Read it carefully, because it is easier to choose Cancel import and fix the file than to repair games after they exist.
Four counts sit at the top: All, Needs a fix, Warnings, and Ready. Tap a count to filter the list. Needs a fix blocks import for that row. Warnings still import after Horizon applies a safe tweak, such as removing extra spaces or filling a blank with the organization default. Ready rows import as written.
Select a row to open Fix this. That panel has four parts when they apply:
Your file shows the cell Horizon used, including extra spaces drawn as a middle dot so you can see them.
Horizon checked explains the search (exact match, how many records, whether partial matching is off, or the team name, location name, or official's name it used after cleaning spaces).
Closest matches lists the team names, location names, or people's names you can copy into the file.
Do this next tells you how to fix the cell, turn on Use partial matches, or skip an assignment.
Extra spaces in a cell used to look identical to the real team name, location name, or official's name. Horizon now matches after cleaning those spaces, then proves what it found. Extra spaces appear as a middle dot in Your file, and Horizon checked says it searched for the cleaned value.
Typical Needs a fix items include a date Horizon cannot read, a date outside the current season through two years from today, a time that is not on a 5-minute increment, or a team name, location name, game code, or league name that was not found while matching is set to Show an error. Typical warnings include a blank length or officials-needed cell that will use the organization default, a voucher Horizon will fill, a team name or location name imported as TBA, or extra spaces that still matched.
Rows that still need a fix are left out of the import. Ready rows and warning rows are imported. If every remaining error is an assignment problem, skip those assignments so the games still import, or go back and fix the file. See the assignments article for Skip this assignment and Import anyway.
How we read this file
On the Games step, and again on Officials if that step appears, open How we read this file when a team name, location name, official's name, or column looks wrong. This is not a second import. It is the diagnostics view that shows how Horizon understood the spreadsheet.
The File card lists type (CSV, tab-separated text, text, or Excel workbook), size, encoding, separator, sheet (for Excel), whether the first row is column names, rows read, and columns found.
Columns we read maps each letter to the header in the file, the Horizon field, and how it was matched: Column name, Similar column name, Usual place in the file, or Near the usual place. If a required column could not be matched, Horizon stops and asks you to add a header it can read or use the template.
Filter by problem groups issues such as home or away team names not found, location names not found, game codes not found, dates that could not be read, extra spaces, unused columns, or times that are not in 5-minute increments. Choosing a group filters the preview so you can work one kind of problem at a time.
Import and results
When no blocking game errors remain, choose Import. Horizon asks Import these games? Ready rows are added or updated, and rows that still need a fix are left out. If you are updating existing games, assignments on those rows are replaced, and officials who lose a published assignment are emailed.
After the work finishes you see Import finished with counts for Created, Updated, and Assignments skipped. If your organization uses linking, Horizon can offer Link games so imported games that belong together can be linked for faster assigning.
Choose Close to return to the Master Game Schedule. If you need to start over before anything is saved, Cancel import leaves the schedule unchanged.
Limits that still apply
These limits apply on both the New Horizon Experience and the old legacy page, except where the legacy section says otherwise:
Up to 10,000 games per file. Smaller batches finish faster.
Dates: current season start through two years from today.
Date format is System Settings mm/dd/yyyy (slashes) or dd-mm-yyyy (hyphens) only.
Times: 12-hour or 24-hour, including 3:00pm, 3pm, 15:00, and 3 pm. Start times use 5-minute increments unless the time is TBA or TBD.
On the New Horizon Experience, the maximum file size is 8 MB, and accepted types are CSV, text, TSV, and .xlsx.
Preview the file before you import. Cancel and fix the file when something looks wrong.
Importing officials' names with games is an advanced path. Most organizations assign after import. See how to import assignments with a game spreadsheet.
If you still see the older legacy desktop or laptop layout
Some members still see the old legacy import page. You will know you are there if the heading says Schedule Mass Import, the file picker only accepts CSV, and the button at the bottom says Import CSV File. The New Horizon Experience walk-through above does not match that page, so use this section instead.
On the Master Game Schedule, choose Add Games on the top toolbar, then Import from Spreadsheet.
In the top right, choose Download Template File. Horizon asks Include Examples? Choose Yes, Show Example Games (your organization word for games may appear there) or No, Just the Blank File, then Download File. The page also tells you which columns are required (for example columns A through a letter) and which are optional. Those letters follow System Settings, so download a new template after you change teams, leagues, system game IDs, or similar settings.
The old legacy page accepts only a CSV (comma-separated) file. Save from Excel or a similar program as Windows CSV, and do not add, remove, or move columns. Empty optional cells are fine, but required columns still need values. If you included example rows, remove them after you have reviewed the format, then put in your own games.
Under Spreadsheet Settings, choose an Import Type: Add New Games To Schedule or Update Existing Games Schedule. Update still needs the system game ID, so start from a downloaded list. See the mass-edit instructions if you need that list first.
Then choose a Name Format: No Names for games only, or Lastname, Firstname / Firstname, Lastname if you are also placing people. Name Format is about officials' names, not team names or location names. Most legacy imports should stay on No Names, because importing officials' names on this older page is a complete override. Horizon does not run availability, eligibility, or conflict checks. See how to import assignments with a game spreadsheet if you still want to place people from the file.
The matching questions start with If we cannot match the ... what should the system do? Horizon always searches for an exact team name, location name, game code, or league name first, then a partial match, then your fallback. Partial matching always runs on this old legacy page. The safer legacy default is Show error message and do not import that game. Other legacy choices include Convert Unknown ... to "TBA" and, when your membership allows it, ADD NEW TEAM, ADD NEW location, ADD NEW GAME CODE, or ADD NEW LEAGUE.
Blank voucher can AUTOFILL with "NO", AUTOFILL with "YES", or NO AUTOFILL (show an error). Officials needed and game length can use the organization default or show an error. If a named official cannot be matched, legacy import can YES - Import the Game Anyways or show an error and skip that game.
If you change those legacy matching lists, Horizon warns Expert User Stuff and asks you to confirm you are an expert. Safer legacy imports leave the defaults as they are.
Choose the CSV with Browse or Choose File, then choose Import CSV File. Read the Preview Page carefully, and cancel to fix the file when something looks wrong. The same 10,000-game limit, season-date window, date formats, and time formats still apply.