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CoLoop supports the analysis of data from spreadsheet files. This can be useful for analyzing:
  • MROCs
  • Online Qual Projects
  • Open Ended Responses
  • Interview Notes
CoLoop accepts two spreadsheet formats:
  • .xlsx (Excel workbooks), which can contain multiple sheets
  • .csv (comma-separated values), which are imported as a single sheet
Both formats go through the same column mapping and import flow.

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Format your spreadsheet files

Check the list of supported community data formats before editing your data. CoLoop supports several providers out of the box.
CoLoop reads the first row of each sheet as column headers. You may need to edit your files so the first row contains your question or title headers, with participant responses starting immediately on the second row. Excel file with column headers in the first row Spreadsheet file uploads are capped at 500 rows per file. Break larger datasets into smaller files before uploading.

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Upload your spreadsheet file

Click Process community data to open the import mapping preview. Process community data button

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Map columns

When you open the import preview, CoLoop shows a data grid with a sample of your rows and one tab per sheet in your workbook. CSV files appear as a single sheet. CoLoop auto-detects likely column types based on header names, so many columns will already be mapped.
CoLoop only supports free text responses. Multimedia participant responses (audio, video, and image) are only available for Recollective and Incling projects.
Full import mapping preview with sheet tabs at the top, data preview grid with auto-detected column types, summary bar showing participant/segment/response column counts, and footer showing Ready to import

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Toggle columns on and off

Each column header has a toggle switch. Turn it on to include the column in your import, or off to ignore it. Close-up of two column headers side by side, one toggled on with the type dropdown showing Response, one toggled off with greyed-out Import column label

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Set column types

When a column is toggled on, use the dropdown next to the toggle to set its type:
  • Participant — the column that identifies who said what (e.g. “Username”, “Name”). Each sheet needs exactly one.
  • Response — columns containing the text you want to analyze (e.g. question responses, discussion posts). You need at least one response or segment column per sheet.
  • Segment — columns containing grouping information that will be applied as segments to your participants (e.g. “Member Tags”, demographic categories).
Column header with the type dropdown open, showing Participant, Segment, and Response options Leave metadata columns like “CreatedAt” timestamps toggled off to keep your data clean.

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Use the summary bar

The summary bar below the sheet name shows how many participant, segment, and response columns you have selected. Click the dropdown arrow on any summary chip to deselect columns in bulk, or to select all remaining unmapped columns as response columns. Summary bar with Participant column selected chip, 2 segment columns chip, 5 response columns chip with dropdown open showing Deselect all and Select all remaining, and Hide ignored toggle Toggle Hide ignored to collapse columns you have not included. This is useful for wide spreadsheets where only a few columns are relevant.

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Check sheet readiness

A sheet is ready to import when it has one participant column and at least one response or segment column. The tab for each sheet shows its status:
  • A green check mark means the sheet is ready
  • An amber warning icon means the sheet still needs column mapping
Sheet tab bar with two or three tabs, first tab showing a green check mark (ready) and second tab showing an amber warning icon (needs setup) If a sheet is not ready, an alert at the top of the preview tells you what is missing: “Select one participant column and at least one response or segment column.”

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Work with multiple sheets

If your xlsx workbook has multiple sheets, use the tabs to switch between them. Each sheet is configured independently. Sheets that are not fully mapped are automatically skipped during import. Import footer showing 1 sheet will be skipped because it is not fully mapped in amber text on the left, and Import 2 sheets button on the right

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Import

The footer shows how many sheets are ready and how many will be skipped. Click Import N sheets to start the import. Import footer with green check mark and Ready to import 3 sheets on the left, and Import 3 sheets button on the right

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Speaker merging

Participants with the same name across different sheets are merged into a single speaker. Make sure participant names are consistent across sheets if your data is spread across multiple files. Speakers with the same name merged across sheets

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Common formatting problems

These examples use xlsx files, but the same rules apply to CSV files. The first row must contain column titles, followed immediately by participant responses on the next row. Remove any extra rows (task numbers, descriptions, metadata) that sit between the header and the data. Merge task descriptions or question prompts into the column header itself.

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Task numbers in the top row

Spreadsheet with task numbers in the top row — incorrect formatting Spreadsheet with task numbers removed — correct formatting

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Metadata or descriptions in the spreadsheet

Spreadsheet with metadata rows between header and data — incorrect formatting Spreadsheet with metadata rows removed — correct formatting

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Question / prompt and its description spread across 2 rows

Question and description spread across two rows — incorrect formatting Question and description merged into one header row — correct formatting