Creating .csv files
Want to create a large amount of projects or documents, all with different preset variables? You can! With Headlime, you can load in a .csv file with information on the variables, and Headlime will automatically generate matching projects or documents.
In this guide, we will explain how to create a csv file that Headlime can use.
A .csv file is basically a file containing data in a very basic way. This data can be read by programs like Headlime to easily generate matching content. You can create a .csv file using any basic text editor.
First, open any basic text editor. For this example, we will be using Windows Notepad.
Headlime-compatible .csv files have a simple structure. The first line will contain the variables that we want to include. Any line below that stands for one document or one project, depending on what you want to create.
So for example, the text file below has three lines. That means that if you upload this into Headlime, it will generate two projects or two documents.
Information in a Headlime-compatible .csv file is divided by a comma. This means that you type a piece of information, like a variable, then enter a comma, and then immediately write the next piece of information. See the example above.
Note: make sure you don't use a space after a comma. If you wanna write down the Company Name variable followed by the Product Name variable, that's "Company Name,Product Name", not "Company Name, Product Name".
The first line should contain the actual variables you want to automatically fill out. You can enter these in any order you want. Find the first variable you want to enter, and type it out. In the example above, it's Company Name. Then enter a comma, and then enter the second variable. In the example above, that's Product Name. Continue like that until you have entered all the variables you want to enter.
Note: the variable is basically the default value that you can see between curly brackets in Headlime. This is also case sensitive!
When you've typed out your variables, you can then enter your values in the lines below. For every line below the first one, Headlime will create a project or document. Next, it will look at the variables you've set in the first line. Then, it will look at the second line and enter the corresponding values for the relevant variables.
For example: in the above example, the first variable in the top line is Company Name. In the line below that, the first value entered is ConvertWell. For the new project or document Headlime will generate for this line, it will then enter ConvertWell as the value for the variable Company Name. The second variable is Product Name. The second value on the second line is Headline Formulas. For that same project or document, Headlime will then enter Headline Formulas as the value for the variable Product Name.
When Headlime is done processing the second line, it will move on to the third line. For this, it will create a new project or document, and it will then start the process again. So in this example, this second project or document will get Landingfolio entered as the Company Name, Wireframe Kit as the Product Name, etc.
Using this system, write out your .csv file. You can add as many lines or add as many variables as you wish.
Once you're done writing, you should save the file as a .csv file. The exact way you do this depends on the software you're using, but generally it comes down to saving the file as All files and manually adding the .csv extention.
To stick with Notepad for this example, hit "Save As...". Set the Save as to something like All files (in this example: Opslaan als: Alle bestanden due to a Dutch computer), and manually add .csv to the end of the filename. So in this example, I'm saving it as Headlime_generation.csv.
And voila! You now have a .csv file ready to be uploaded to Headlime! Yours may look different, but that doesn't matter.
Note: some software, like Excel, allows you to automatically export your document as a .csv file. However, these aren't always compatible with Headlime. We can't guarantee what will happen when you upload a file saved in this way.
You are now ready to generate projects with it!
In this guide, we will explain how to create a csv file that Headlime can use.
What is a .csv file?
A .csv file is basically a file containing data in a very basic way. This data can be read by programs like Headlime to easily generate matching content. You can create a .csv file using any basic text editor.
Creating a .csv file
Writing the file
First, open any basic text editor. For this example, we will be using Windows Notepad.
Headlime-compatible .csv files have a simple structure. The first line will contain the variables that we want to include. Any line below that stands for one document or one project, depending on what you want to create.
So for example, the text file below has three lines. That means that if you upload this into Headlime, it will generate two projects or two documents.
Information in a Headlime-compatible .csv file is divided by a comma. This means that you type a piece of information, like a variable, then enter a comma, and then immediately write the next piece of information. See the example above.
Note: make sure you don't use a space after a comma. If you wanna write down the Company Name variable followed by the Product Name variable, that's "Company Name,Product Name", not "Company Name, Product Name".
The first line should contain the actual variables you want to automatically fill out. You can enter these in any order you want. Find the first variable you want to enter, and type it out. In the example above, it's Company Name. Then enter a comma, and then enter the second variable. In the example above, that's Product Name. Continue like that until you have entered all the variables you want to enter.
Note: the variable is basically the default value that you can see between curly brackets in Headlime. This is also case sensitive!
When you've typed out your variables, you can then enter your values in the lines below. For every line below the first one, Headlime will create a project or document. Next, it will look at the variables you've set in the first line. Then, it will look at the second line and enter the corresponding values for the relevant variables.
For example: in the above example, the first variable in the top line is Company Name. In the line below that, the first value entered is ConvertWell. For the new project or document Headlime will generate for this line, it will then enter ConvertWell as the value for the variable Company Name. The second variable is Product Name. The second value on the second line is Headline Formulas. For that same project or document, Headlime will then enter Headline Formulas as the value for the variable Product Name.
When Headlime is done processing the second line, it will move on to the third line. For this, it will create a new project or document, and it will then start the process again. So in this example, this second project or document will get Landingfolio entered as the Company Name, Wireframe Kit as the Product Name, etc.
Using this system, write out your .csv file. You can add as many lines or add as many variables as you wish.
Saving the file
Once you're done writing, you should save the file as a .csv file. The exact way you do this depends on the software you're using, but generally it comes down to saving the file as All files and manually adding the .csv extention.
To stick with Notepad for this example, hit "Save As...". Set the Save as to something like All files (in this example: Opslaan als: Alle bestanden due to a Dutch computer), and manually add .csv to the end of the filename. So in this example, I'm saving it as Headlime_generation.csv.
And voila! You now have a .csv file ready to be uploaded to Headlime! Yours may look different, but that doesn't matter.
Note: some software, like Excel, allows you to automatically export your document as a .csv file. However, these aren't always compatible with Headlime. We can't guarantee what will happen when you upload a file saved in this way.
You are now ready to generate projects with it!
Updated on: 05/02/2021
Thank you!