Bulk import users with a CSV file Updated May 14, 2025 14:38 Create multiple users simultaneously by uploading a CSV file into Showpad. Most user management systems allow you to export your users’ data as a CSV file, which can greatly reduce your efforts. To verify the upload you initiated, you will receive an email outlining the Users who were successfully imported and the ones who were not. Note: We support CSV files in UTF-8 encoding. See how it looks Key features Bulk import Showpad Users with a CSV file Use our templates at the bottom of this article You need this to succeed Plan: eOS Expert, eOS Advanced, eOS Professional Previous plan: Showpad Coach Essential, Showpad Content Essential, or higher Permissions: Administrator, Promoted Member with User Management permission Prerequisites: A properly formatted CSV file of users to import (a template is provided in this article) A CSV file with columns separated by semicolons The quick way Export your CSV user list from another management system Properly format your CSV file Navigate to Users Select Add and choose Import CSV file Do this step by step Click Users in the top menu. Click Add, then select Import CSV file. If you'd like to use the Showpad template, click the link at the bottom of this article to download an example file. This will help you understand how to format your file correctly. Click Continue to go to the import screen. Note: The header row must include all the fields. When using commas in a field, add quotes so it's detected as one field. See the Column Reference table for a breakdown of the columns in the CSV. Note: The CSV file should not contain more than 1000 rows of data (users). Once ready, drag and drop your formatted CSV file or click Browse to find and upload it. Click Import. A prompt will notify you that the file has been queued for processing. You can use the shortcut buttons to Upload New CSV or Go to Users Tab. Once the file has been processed, you will receive an email with a user import summary, including any successful or failed imports. Follow the instructions in the email to solve any issues. Now that you know how to import users in batches, proceed to the next article to learn how to edit user details. Back to Top Column Reference Column Description Plan action Determines what to do with each user. It’s automatically set to create, but it can be replaced with update or delete fields, depending on the desired outcome. any first name The user's first name. Notes: This field has a maximum of 32 characters. This field is required. any last name The user's last name. Note: This field has a maximum of 32 characters. This field is required. any email The user's email address. Notes: It's not possible to update a user's email address via bulk upload. This field is required. any password The user’s password. If not specified, new users will receive an invitation email prompting them to enter a new password and sign in. If the Hold Invitation Emails settings are on, this field will not be saved, and an invitation will not be sent. any external id An external reference number you might use at your company. (e.g., dept. ID). any role The User and Manager roles are supported. Administrator roles must be created manually. If left blank, a User role will be assigned. any groups Specifies all of the groups a user should be assigned to, separated by commas. When using the update function to edit a user's fields, include all the existing and new groups you want to assign them to. If you only add new groups or leave the groups field blank, the user will be removed from their current groups. any activated Specifies whether the user is active. Type 0 for non-active users and 1 for the active ones. If left blank, the user will be activated. any reset password at first login Specifies whether the user must reset their password when they first log in. Choose 0 to not reset or 1 to reset. If left blank, no password reset will be required. any phone The user's phone number. any company The company a user is affiliated with. any position The user's job title or position in their company. any direct manager email The email address of the user's direct manager.The direct manager must already exist in Showpad. any language The user's language. It’s automatically set to en, but it can be replaced with: en, de, fr, es, nl, it, ja, zh_cn. any timezone The user's timezone in Country/City format. If the city part contains multiple words, it must be split by underscores (e.g., America/New_York). It’s automatically set to the company timezone. any countries A list of countries where the user operates, following the ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 standard. any license type The type of license assigned to a user. Depending on your organization's license types, it can be direct, partner, or view-only. The field is automatically set to direct. Note: This field is required when updating a user. eOS Expert eOS Advanced eOS Professional content license type The type of Content license assigned to a user. Depending on your organization's license types, it can be direct or partner. The field is automatically set to direct if the default content license option is enabled. If omitted, the content license will be removed during an update. Note: Users must have at least one license type (content or coach). Showpad Content Essential or higher coach license type The type of Coach license assigned to a user. Depending on your organization's license types, it can be direct or partner. The field is automatically set to direct if the default coach license option is enabled. If omitted, the coach license will be removed during an update. Note: Users must have at least one license type (content or coach). Showpad Coach Essential or higher Back to Top Example user list CSV file Showpad-User-Import-content-and-coach.csv 418 Bytes Download Showpad-User-Import-eOS-plan.csv 386 Bytes Download Related articles Bulk import users with a CSV file Edit published Courses with the Course Builder Using SCIM 2.0 via Entra ID Style and rearrange your Page/Custom Homepage Okta user provisioning with SCIM