Upload data from Excel to ALM

After you format requirements, tests, and defects in your sheet, you can upload them to ALM.

Considerations for uploading data to ALM

  • To upload data to ALM, you must first map ALM fields to the Excel sheet columns. You can manually map ALM fields to sheet columns, or the Microsoft Excel Add-in can map fields automatically. For automatic mapping to succeed, the column headings in your sheet must be identical to the field names in ALM.

  • When you upload a new or existing requirement, test, or defect to ALM, it is created with the user name that you use to upload it.

    Example: If you upload a defect to ALM with alex_alm as the user name, the defect’s history shows alex_alm as the person who changed the defect.

  • You cannot upload the following ALM fields from Excel:

    Module Name Field Name
    Requirements Date, Time, Modified, ReqID, Direct Cover Status
    Test Plan Modified, Test Step Actual, Test Step Exec Date, Test Step Exec Time, Test Step Source ID, Status
    Defects Defect ID, Modified

  • You must have full create and modify permissions in ALM for the type of record that you are uploading.

    Example: If you are uploading tests, you must have permissions for adding and modifying the test plan tree, design steps, and folders.

  • You cannot upload automation tests from Excel.

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Version control considerations

You can upload requirements or tests from Microsoft Excel to a version control enabled project in ALM.

Consider the following when uploading to a version control enabled project:

  • When you upload a new requirement or test, it is created in ALM, with a checked in status.

  • When you upload an existing requirement or test that is checked in, it is automatically checked out and then checked in during the upload. ALM adds a comment to the version history specifying that the requirement or test was updated by uploading from Excel.

  • If you upload an existing requirement or test that is checked out by the same user that you use to upload the data, the data is uploaded. If the requirement or test is checked out by another user, the upload fails and an error message is displayed.

For more information on version control, see Version control.

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Step 1: Log in to ALM

To log in to ALM from Excel:

  1. Open Microsoft Excel. Go to the ALM Excel Add-in tab, and click Login. dialog box opens.

  2. In the ALM login window, enter your credentials and click Authenticate.

    Standard login

    Enter the following:

    • Your ALM server.

    • The virtual directory name in the format of http://<ALM server name>[:<port number>]/qcbin.

    • Your username.

    • Your password.
    Single sign-on

    Enter the following:

    • Your ALM server.

    • The virtual directory name in the format of http://<ALM server name>[:<port number>]/qcbin.

    After clicking Authenticate, you are redirected to your corporate credentials (at a URL belonging to your corporate domain). If your company set up Single-Sign-On with ALM and you already logged in to another application with your corporate credentials, you may be redirected to the ALM application without logging in again.

  3. Enter your ALM domain and project.

  4. To set your proxy settings, click Show Proxy Settings.

    By default, the connection is done using the system proxy settings. To use a different proxy server, click Use a Proxy Server and enter the proxy details and credentials.

  5. Click Login.

To enable access to an ALM server configured with a web server that requires client certificate authentication:

    1. Locate the file ExcelAddIn.dll.config in the Excel add-in installation folder:

      • If the Excel add-in is installed for Only for me, this file is located in %localappdata%\Programs\Micro Focus\Addins.
      • If the Excel add-in is installed for Anyone who uses this computer (all users), this file is located in C:\Program Files\Micro Focus\Addins.

    1. Open the file, change the value of the following key to "Y" (default value is "N"), and save the file:

      <add key="CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_REQUIRED" value="Y"/>

    2. Restart Microsoft Excel.

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Step 2: Map data

Map ALM entity fields to Microsoft Excel columns.

Before mapping data

We recommend you add headers in the first row of your sheet or leave the first row empty.

Create new mappings

  1. In the ALM Excel Add-in tab, click Mapping.

  2. From the Entity type list, select an entity type (Requirements, Defects, or Tests) for the sheet data.

    • The ALM Field area displays all fields of the selected entity type. The ALM Field - Excel Column mapping area lists the required ALM fields to be mapped.

    • If you select Requirements in Entity type, you can choose to assign a single requirement type to all sheet data.

      Click the Assign single requirement type to all option, and select a requirement type.

  3. In the ALM Field - Excel Column mapping area, do the following:

    • Specify a Excel column for each required ALM field.

    • To map non-required ALM fields, first move these fields to the ALM Field - Excel Column mapping area, and then specify columns for these fields.

  4. If you want to add a header row for your sheet, or you want to update the existing headers with the established mapping, do the following:

    1. Click Auto-map.

    2. In the Specify the row number in Google Sheets where the field labels appear option, enter the row number where headers are added.

      By default, headers are added in the first row. If the first row has entity data, the data is replaced with headers.

    3. Select the Add or update ALM field label as header to Excel option.

  5. To save the field mapping in a file for future use, click Save. In the File Name field, specify the name for the file.

    You can use this file to establish mapping next time. See Create mapping using a mapping file.

  6. To apply the mapping to the sheet, click OK.

Create mapping using a mapping file

  1. In the ALM Excel Add-in tab, click Mapping.

  2. In the Field Mapping window, click Open and select the mapping file.

  3. To apply the mapping to the sheet, click OK.

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Step 3: Validate data

Once you have mapped your Excel data to the ALM fields, you must check that your data is valid for its mapped field. For example, if the ALM field allows only certain values, your Excel data cannot contain other values.

To validate your data:

  1. Select the cells that contain your data and click Validate. Do not select the header row.

    The ALM Microsoft Excel add-in validates your data against the requirements for each ALM field.

    Any invalid cells are marked in red, and an error message is displayed when you put your cursor on the cell.

  2. Correct any invalid cells and click Validate again.

Note: If you subsequently add or modify your data, you can validate again, selecting only the modified or added cells or selecting all the cells. If you do not validate prior to uploading your data, the add-in validates your data before uploading.

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Step 4: Upload data

Upload your Excel sheet data to ALM.

To upload your data:

  1. In your Excel sheet, open the ALM Excel Add-in tab. Select the rows of data you want to upload.

  2. Click Upload to ALM.

    Note: If you click Upload to ALM without first clicking Validate, the add-in validates your data before uploading. Any invalid cells are marked in red, and an error message is displayed when you put your cursor on the cell. If there are no errors, the data is uploaded to ALM.

  3. Refresh the view in ALM. Review the uploaded data and make necessary additions and adjustments.

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