This feature allows Graders to update explanations using an Excel file offline. Once modified offline, the file can be uploaded back into Inspera Assessment to synchronize changes. 

This article shows you how to download the Excel file, how to modify and upload the file, and explains the data overwrite rules and system limitations.

Start by downloading the Excel file

1. Navigate to the Grade module, and open the Option dropdown menu.
2. Under Download select either Marks and Explanations as Excel or Grades and Explanations as Excel.
   • Marks and Explanations as Excel: This file includes both marks and explanations (if available).

   • Grades and Explanations as Excel: This file is available only if grading is set to Grading is needed and includes both grades and explanations (if available). 

     

3. The downloaded file will have the same name prefix, "marks_and_explanations_export" or "GradesAndExplanationsExport", followed by a unique identifier, depending on the file selected. 

Modifying the Excel file

Once the file is downloaded, you can modify the grades and explanations offline.

1. Open the downloaded file on your local machine.
2. Edit the File in Excel by adding explanations under the Explanations column, or modify existing explanations for each candidate as needed. 
   • If the explanation column is blank, it will not override existing explanations in Inspera unless a new explanation is provided.
   • If explanations already exist in Inspera, it will be included in the file. Rich Text explanations will display as a placeholder message indicating that this formatting is unsupported. Rich text formatting is not supported in the Excel download.
3. After making the necessary changes, save the Excel file. Ensure that it is saved in a supported format, either .xls or .xlsx.

Uploade the Excel file back to Inspera

Once you have completed your offline work, you can upload the modified file back into Inspera.

1. Navigate to the Grade module, and select the Option dropdown menu.
2. Under Import select either Marks and Explanations from Excel or Grades and Explanations from Excel. 
3. A confirmation message will appear asking if you are sure you want to upload the grades and explanations. Review the file and click Upload.

Handling different scenarios

Here is how Inspera handles different scenarios when uploading explanations and grades.

Rules for updating explanations

• If a new explanation is provided in the uploaded file, it will replace the existing explanation in Inspera. 
• If the file contains a blank field or rich text format for explanation, the existing explanation will remain unchanged in Inspera.

• If the file includes non-text data types such as true/false, numbers, or date/time formats as explanations, the upload will fail. The explanation field only accepts text input.

• If Inspera has already sent an explanation to the candidate, it will not be overwritten or modified by an Excel upload with the same explanation for that candidate.

• If an invalid explanation results in an error, all data processed up to that point will be saved. However, the system will stop processing any remaining data after encountering the error. Successfully processed data will be stored, while any data after the point of failure will remain unprocessed.

Example scenarios

The system has predefined rules for how it handles different situations during the upload process.

For a given file upload, different combinations of these cases may occur across the candidates included in the upload, and the appropriate message would be displayed. 

• If an explanation exists in Inspera but has not been sent to the candidate, and a new explanation is provided in the uploaded file, the new explanation will overwrite the old one. If all the candidates in the upload fall in this category, the following message will be displayed. 

  Message: Either of these two messages will be displayed depending on the file. 

  

• If there is no explanation in Inspera, and a new explanation is provided in the uploaded file, the uploaded explanation will be added. If all the candidates in the upload fall in this category, the following message will be displayed. 

  Message: Either of these two messages will be displayed depending on the file. 

   

  

• If an explanation exists in Inspera and has been sent to the candidate, and a new explanation is provided in the uploaded file, the new explanation will NOT overwrite the old one, and the old one will remain. If one or more candidates in the upload fall in this category, the following message will be displayed. 

  Message: 

  

• If an explanation exists in Inspera but hasn’t been sent to the candidate, and the file doesn’t include an explanation, the existing explanation will persist. If one or more candidates in the upload fall in this category, the following message will be displayed. 

  Message: 

  

Error messages

If there is an error you will encounter these messages.

• Error Notifications: If issues occur during the upload (e.g., invalid formatting, unsupported file type), you will be notified with an error message and a link to troubleshooting documentation.
• File Formatting Error: If the Excel file has formatting issues, an alert will appear: File formatting error has occurred.
• Unsupported File Type: If the file format is incorrect, the error message will state: File type not supported error has occurred.
• Content Error: If the explanation column has invalid text or formatting, including rich text, an error message will appear: File content is not supported.

Limitations

The bulk upload feature will apply to both Shared Marking and Private Marking in the following grading settings: 

• Candidate level Grading (where each candidate is confirmed individually).
• Test level Grading (where all candidates are confirmed at once). 

However, results alignment for Private Marking will be out of scope for this feature.