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This guide covers common issues with uploading the CSV file of a participant's list to an Event. For instructions on how to edit the keywords and other metadata of images using a CSV file, please see this guide.

Also click HERE for more information in the Events feature.



When uploading a participants list to an event, the file must meet some specific criteria before the system will accept the list.

Here Is the List of the Criteria That Needs to Be Met

The file must be saved as a CSV file

If the file is saved in any other format such as .xls, .xlsx, .pdf, etc, then it cannot be uploaded as the participants list.

The top most row must be used as the column headers

The first row should not contain any participant data.  Instead, it should be used to indicate what kind of data is displayed in that column.

Example header labels include names, student ID numbers, email addresses, passcodes, classroom numbers, etc.

The file must contain at least two columns

If the file only contains one column, it cannot be used as the participants list.

At minimum, the participants list should at least contain one column for the participants' names and another for their unique IDs. A column for email address is suggested but is not mandatory. A column for passcodes is not mandatory as you can choose to have the system generate the passcodes if no passcode column is provided.

Here is an example of a complete participants list CSV file with an added optional Email column.

The column that contains the Unique ID must have unique data in each cell

If there are any duplicate data in the Unique ID column, the system will not accept CSV file. All of the data under the column chosen as the unique ID column must be unique and not duplicated.

The column that contains the Passcodes must have unique data in each cell

If there are any duplicate data in the Passcode column, the system will not accept CSV file. Each data in the column chosen must be unique and not duplicated.

The file must not have any empty cells in the column used as the Unique ID

Every cell under the Unique ID column must contain some data. If there is an empty cell, the system will not accept the file as the participants list.

There should be no commas in any of the cells

To maintain the structure of the CSV (comma separated values) file, no commas should be used in any of the cells in the file.


If you would like to add both the first name and last name in the participants list, either display both names in one cell without any commas or display the first name and last name in their own columns.

Example of a complete participants list CSV file with columns for the first and last names:




If you're unable to upload the CSV file as the participants list of an event, review the file to make sure that it meets all of the above criteria.

If after reviewing the file, you are still not able to upload the CSV file, please contact Zenfolio support through this page HERE

Make sure to attach the CSV file to the message so we can review the file.