With the Bingo Import tool, you can import up to 75 bingo squares at once using a spreadsheet. If you are familiar with using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, you can write out your bingo squares using those programs. We recommend starting from our template file to have a general layout to follow, but you can create your template from scratch with your program of choice.
This article will guide you through using Google Sheets to import bingo squares into your bingo game. Microsoft Excel also works, as will most modern spreadsheet programs. As long as you follow the layout and export your spreadsheet as a .CSV file, you can write your bingo content in practically any spreadsheet program.
Importing questions erases your existing data! Importing bingo squares will remove all crowd responses in your experience, as well as all existing square content. That includes all Rankings, Crowd Activity, and Crowd Lead Data. Be sure to Export Experience Results & Data before importing.
Crowdpurr's starter spreadsheet imported into Google Sheets
What are Comma-Separated Values? A Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file is file format for saving spreadsheet data. Each row is converted into a line of text where each cell is separated by a comma.
You can actually open .CSV files in any text editor to see the results.
Configuring Bingo Squares
Square Body
When writing your bingo squares in a spreadsheet, each square must go on a separate row. Column 1 should contain the square text. The entire square text must be in the cell - do not spread it out across multiple rows or columns. You may adjust the width and/or height of each cell to make longer square text easier to read.
Square Hint
Column 2 should be the content for the Square Hint. This is only applicable if you'll be hosting a Quiz Mode bingo game where a hint allows you to display a clue under the Quiz Mode format, instead of the square.
Square Column
Column 3 allows you to indicate which column you would like the specific bingo square to go under. Crowdpurr bingo cards have 5 columns, so you can simply type in a number from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating the first column of the card while 5 reflects the right-most column.
Square Image URL
Column 4 allows you to paste in a Square Image URL, such as an image link address to display as the square.
If you prefer to upload your own image to squares directly on the platform, you're welcome to leave this column blank to later select your desired bingo square media after importing the spreadsheet.
Uploaded images must remain uploaded! When importing and exporting self-uploaded images and stock images, they must remain uploaded on an existing experience in your account to re-import correctly. Or, they must be uploaded images originally cloned from a library game.
If you’ve uploaded an image or added a stock image, export it as a CSV spreadsheet, then delete the experience, question, or image; it will not re-import the uploaded or stock image, as the image will be deleted from Crowdpurr's servers.
Oppositely, GIFs do export and import as normal, as they use an external URL from Crowdpurr, so these media never get removed from their original servers.
Exporting to a .CSV File
Now that your bingo squares are written, it's time to export your spreadsheet. Crowdpurr's import tool only accepts .CSV files. It is a universal format that any modern spreadsheet program is able to export.
In Google Sheets, go to File → Download → Comma Separated Values (.csv) in the upper-left dropdown menu. Your spreadsheet will download to where your default download location is, likely on your desktop or your Downloads folder.
Downloading the Google Sheets spreadsheet as a .CSV file
What if I'm using Microsoft Excel? Microsoft Excel can also export CSV files. However, we recommend setting the file encoding to UTF-8. Some characters like apostrophes (') and quotation marks (") will automatically change in Microsoft Office programs. This can cause problems when importing.
This article on WebToffee demonstrates how to set the file encoding to UTF-8 in a variety of spreadsheet programs How to Save CSV and Excel Files as UTF-8 Encoded?
Importing Your Bingo Squares
On the blue Bingo Setup tab, click on the gray Square Tools tab to open the Square Tools panel. Click on the Import Questions button, which will display the light blue Import Questions dialog.
Square Tools box
Import Bingo Squares dialogue
Finally, click the Import Bingo Squares button and select the .CSV file you exported from your spreadsheet program. After a few moments, your new questions will finish uploading, and your trivia game or poll will be ready to start!
Importing will reset and delete your data! Importing a CSV of questions will reset your experience and delete all existing bingo squares in your experience. If you need to save your bingo squares or crowd responses, consider cloning the experience beforehand and importing the spreadsheet into the clone instead. You can also export your Crowd Activity data to save it on your device.