Import Data From Excel

Regular and external users on paid accounts can import XLS files.

⏱ 5 min read

• Overview
• Important Information
• Import XLS Files to Wrike
• Format XLS Files for Import to Wrike
• Add Data to XLS Files

Overview

Import tasks, folders, and projects from XLS files into Wrike.

Check out our Help Center page to learn how to export XLS files: Export Data to Excel.

Important Information

• Before importing, please make sure that there aren’t any formulas in your Excel file.
• If you format text in the description cells of your XLS document, that formatting will not be preserved when you import the XLS document to Wrike.
• Importing only creates new items in Wrike, you cannot edit the existing data via XLS import.
• There is a limit of 5,000 tasks per import. If more tasks need to be imported then the file can be split into separate smaller files and multiple imports can be performed.

Import XLS Files to Wrike

1. Create a new Microsoft Office Excel file (.xls or .xlsx).
2. Format and add data to your spreadsheet. Details on how to do this below.
3. When your Excel file is ready, open Wrike. From the left-hand Navigation panel, select the folder/project or Space into which you want to import your data. 1
4. Click on the three-dot menu button within the project/folder or Space. 2
5. Hover over “Import”, and select “Excel”. 3
6. Click “Choose file” in the pop-up that appears. 4
7. Select the file that you want to import.
8. Click “Next”. 5
9. If you have names listed in the “assigned to” column, you will be asked to associate users from your Wrike contact list with those indicated in the “Assigned To” column of the spreadsheet. 6
10. Click “Next” again and you will be asked to refresh your page. 7
11. Click “Yes”. 8

The information from your XLS file is now available in Wrike!

Format XLS Files for Import to Wrike

In order for you to be able to import data from Excel into Wrike, the XLS file must be formatted correctly. There are two ways to get a correctly formatted XLS file:

Download a Sample XLS File (already formatted)

1. Select any folder/project or Space from the left-hand Navigation panel. 1
2. Click the three-dot menu button within the item selected. 2
3. Hover over “Import” and select “Excel”. 3
4. From the pop-up that appears click “download a sample Excel file”. 4

Manually Format an XLS File

1. Open a new Excel spreadsheet.
2. In the first row, use the following terms as column headers: key, parent task, title, status, priority, assigned to, start date, duration, end date, depends on, start date constraint, and description. Required headers are: key, title, status, priority, assigned to, start date, duration, end date, depends on, and description. The columns can be empty, but the required headers should be filled in on the top. 1

Remember to add a key number for each new row. It has to be unique, but there is no specific order required 2

• For Business and Enterprise users: to add Custom statuses via Excel you should add a "Workflow" column to the left of the "Status" column and a "Custom Status" column to the right of the "Status" column.
• For users on Wrike for Professional Services accounts and accounts with effort, add an "Effort" column anywhere before the "Description" column in your excel file.

Add Data to XLS Files

Directly from within your XLS file you can:

• Create a Folder or Project
• Create a Subfolder
• Create a Task
• Create a Milestone Task
• Include a Task in Several Folders
• Create Subtasks
• Add a Task Description
• Add a Task Status
• Create a Dependency

Please remember, each row should have a unique number in the “Key” column.

Create a Folder or Project

1. In the “Title” column (of an empty row) type in the preferred name for your folder or project.
2. Include forward slashes before and after the folder/project name. For example: /folder name/. 1
3. For projects: specify a project status in the "Status" column. To add custom project status, add a column called "Default task workflow" prior to the column "Title" and add the name of the workflow in front of the project’s name. Make sure to fill in the “Custom workflow” cell and the “Custom Status” cell accordingly.

Note! Currently only Business and Enterprise accounts created after 4/15/2019 have Custom Workflows for projects.

Create a Subfolder

In a new row, click the cell in the corresponding “Title” column, type the parent folder’s name (with slashes before and after the name), followed by the title of your subfolder. For example: /folder name/subfolder name. 2

Create a Task

Adding a task in Excel is easy: just enter the task’s title in the “Title” column. Then use the other columns to enter any additional information you would like to specify about the task 3. If you would like to create your task within a folder: first create the folder (per steps above), then add the task in a row immediately beneath the folder's row.

Add start and end dates for the tasks using the slash symbol as a separator (for example: 23/10/2019) . The duration is calculated automatically, based on start and end dates. The end date is calculated automatically when you add the start date and duration. If the start and end dates are in place and you manually add the duration, which is more than the automatically calculated duration, the end date will be shifted after the import and will be adjusted to fit the duration.

Create a Milestone Task

Enter the task’s title in the “Title” column. Add a date in the "End Date" column, but leave the "Start Date" column empty. Then use the other columns to enter any additional information pertaining to the task.

Include a Task in Several Folders

To include a task in several folders, begin by adding your task to one folder. Then, to include the task in an additional folder, simply copy the entire row with the task information (including the key number) and paste it beneath another folder. 1

Create Subtasks

Add data as you normally would for a task and then add the parent task's name in the "Parent Task" column. The parent task must appear in the file before the subtask. 2

If you would like to create a subtask of the subtask, the entire task path has to be specified in the “Parent task” column.

Note! In order to perform XLS import, the parent task and subtask cannot have the same name. There should be at least one symbol of difference.

Add a Task Description

Add your description in the “Description” field. Data entered there is added to the description section of the task in Wrike. 3

Add a task Status

Add a status to a task by typing one of the default statuses in a task’s “Status” column 1. For accounts created before 12/20/2016 the default statuses are: active, completed, deferred and cancelled. For accounts created after 12/20/2016 the default statuses are new, in progress, on hold, completed and cancelled.

Business and Enterprise users have the option to add a Custom Status to a task. First, go to the task row where you would like to add the custom status, type in the custom workflow’s name in the “Workflow” column 2 and then type the desired status in the “Custom Status” column 3. If the Custom status or workflow cannot be found upon import, then a status from the default workflow will be applied.

Create a Dependency

A dependency between two tasks can be created by using the “Depends On” column 1. Go to the row of the task for which you would like to add a dependency and, in the “Depends On” column, enter the key number of the task 2 on which the current task will be dependent. In the same cell (without any spaces) add one of our dependency codes 3. For example, your “Depends On” cell might look like this: 5FS. If you want to add several dependencies, separate them using a comma and space (for example: 22SS, 32FS). Lastly, add start and end dates for the task in the appropriate columns (or only an end date if the task is a milestone).

Accepted dependency codes:

• FS – the dependent task starts when the predecessor task finishes
• SS* – the dependent task starts when the predecessor task starts
• FF – the dependent task finishes when the predecessor task finishes
• SF* – the dependent task finishes when the predecessor task starts

* The dependency type is not applicable to Milestone tasks

Please note, upon import to Wrike, dependent tasks are automatically rescheduled to start as early as possible without breaking the dependencies. However, you can delay some dependent tasks by specifying their preferred start dates in the start date constraints column. Dependencies do not affect dates of milestones and if the dependency that includes a milestone causes a conflict, it will be highlighted in red on the Gantt Chart after the import.