How to Use Round Trip for Editing

Updated: November 2024

Audience: Anyone importing content into Jama Connect

Products Applicable: Jama Connect®

Use Case

How to Use Round Trip for Editing

Best Practice

The Round Trip feature allows bulk editing of multiple items in Jama Connect but is limited to Excel documents only. 

This is done by exporting the desired items to an Excel document, making the desired changes offline, and importing the edited document back into Jama Connect, where you will see the updated changes.

Implementation

Step 1: Selecting and Exporting Items for Round Trip

In this example, we will use test cases. While in List View, select the files you want to export for Round Trip. You can select multiple items by holding the Ctrl button and clicking on those you need.

Go to the "Export" in the top right corner, and select "Office Templates."

This will open a pop-up window. Select "Excel Export for Round Trip" and click "Run."

NOTE: Round Trip can only be exported to Excel. Rich Text fields can often create difficulties within Excel and should not be used for Round Trip.

Your export should open shortly, looking similar to the image below. 

Step 2: Editing Your Excel Document

You can now make changes to your document. In the picture above, we see three test cases with names that need to be changed, which we have corrected in the image below.

Adding Items

New items can be added to the Round Trip export, which will be included in Jama COnnect once the document is imported. 

If you add an item to your Round Trip document, it will appear at the bottom of the Set or Folder you decide to import to. Please remember that you can only add one type of item, which will be the same as the chosen set or folder. Once imported, the ID and Global ID will be assigned to the item, so leave those columns blank. Assigned and Priority are all columns that can be filled out but are not required. 

Step 3: Importing Your Modified Document

When you're satisfied with the changes to your document, it's time to go ahead and import it back into Jama Connect (be sure to save the file before importing). Go to the folder or set you exported your items from, and select "Import."

Select your file and then click "Next."

Step 4: Adjusting Settings

Jama Connect will now prompt you to select the Excel options for your import. This section should note two important points.
1. The Excel Header Row starts at two (2) on the Roundtrip export; change it as it will automatically be selected as Row 1.
2. Ensure that the "Update Items" box is checked. You can also decide how your item will update if there is a conflict between your Excel document and Jama Connect. Change this option if you want your Excel document to "win" should a conflict occur.

The Field Mapping area has many item fields for customizing the details of the item you are importing. You will map this the same way you map a typical Excel document. You will have something like the image below. 

Step 5: Set the Hierarchy

Since this is a Round Trip document, you will likely not need to set the hierarchy, and we will not for this example. However, should you need to use hierarchy in your other Excel imports, you can do so by indenting or coloring cells. Please be aware that in Round Trip reports, hierarchy changes will apply only to new items added to the report.

More information on hierarchies is available in the User Guide, which is available here.

Step 6: Review and Submit Your Import

To see your updates in Jama Connect, please refresh your window.

If you are still experiencing issues with Round Trip, don't hesitate to contact Jama Software Support; we will be happy to help you further!

References

• Export/Import via Jama Connect-to-Excel round-trip
• Success Programs
• Success Catalog
• Datasheets
• Request a Solution Offering or Training from the Success Catalog

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