Import a Lineup or Agenda from Excel or CSV
If your speakers, acts or sessions are already in a spreadsheet, Hi.Events can import them in one go. You see exactly what will change before anything is saved. You can also export the lineup and schedule as a spreadsheet, or print a run sheet for your crew.
How to Get There
- Open your event
- Click Lineup & Schedule in the left sidebar (under Setup & Design)
- Click Import in the top corner
The Import lineup & schedule window opens. If you don’t see Import, you need edit access to the event’s organizer. Ask your account admin.
Choosing Your Rows
You can give Hi.Events your rows in two ways:
- Upload a file. Drop an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file onto the window, or click to choose one. Files can be up to 10 MB
- Paste rows. Copy the rows from Google Sheets or Excel, including the header row, then click Paste or press Ctrl+V (⌘+V on a Mac)
Not sure how to lay it out? Click Download a template with your current lineup. You get the same spreadsheet as Export → Download spreadsheet (.xlsx), in the right format and filled with anything already on this event.
Spreadsheet Columns
An import can include a schedule sheet, a people sheet, or both, as separate sheets in one workbook. Hi.Events recognises each sheet from its header row, not its name, so the header row needs to be within the first 10 rows. Sheets it can’t recognise are skipped and listed in the preview.
Schedule Sheet
One row per time slot. It needs a Start column, plus an End, Duration (min) or Date column. Each row needs a start time and either an end time, a duration, or a range in Start (like “14:00–15:00”). Rows without one are flagged in the preview and aren’t imported.
| Column | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The day, such as 2027-07-16. Not needed if Start already includes the date |
| Start | The start time, such as 19:30 or 7:30 PM. Can also hold a date and time, or a range such as 19:00-20:00 |
| End | The end time. An end earlier than the start means the slot runs past midnight |
| Duration (min) | The length in minutes. Use this instead of End if you prefer |
| Stage | The stage or room. New names create new stages |
| Title | The session name, such as “Opening keynote” or “Lunch” |
| People | Who’s on. Separate several people with a semicolon, like Ada Byrne; Tom Okafor, or put each on a new line in the cell |
| Description | Details about the session |
Each slot needs a Title, at least one person in People, or both.
People Sheet
One row per person. Only Name is required.
| Column | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Name | The person’s name |
| Billing | Headliner, Featured or Standard |
| Role | What they’re doing at this event, such as “Keynote” or “Closing set” |
| Tagline | The short line under their name |
| Bio | Their bio, as plain text. Blank lines start new paragraphs |
| Links | Their links, separated by spaces, commas, semicolons or new lines. Links must use https://. http:// and www. addresses are converted for you |
| Hidden | Yes to keep them off the event page for now |
Common alternatives work too. For example, Hi.Events reads Speaker, Artist, Host or Performer as Name, Room or Track as Stage, Session or Talk as Title, and Speakers, Artists or Who as People.
You can’t import photos. Add them to each profile afterwards (see Adding People).
Checking the Preview
Once Hi.Events has read your rows, it shows a summary before anything is saved:
- people to add, including anyone named in the schedule who doesn’t have a profile yet
- time slots to add
- new stages or rooms
- rows to fix, which are skipped
Below that, each row is listed. If your import has both time slots and people, switch between the Schedule and People tabs. If any rows have problems, turn on Only rows to fix to see just those. Each row is marked:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | A person with no profile yet. A new profile is created |
| Add | A new time slot |
| Saved profile | This person already has a profile and will be added to this event |
| Update | This person is already on the lineup and some of their details will change |
| No changes | Already on the lineup with the same details |
| Repeated | The same person appears more than once in your people rows. Only the first counts |
| Already scheduled | This exact slot is already on the schedule, or appears earlier in your file |
| Can’t import | Something’s wrong with the row. The reason is shown next to it |
Times are read in your event’s time zone, which the preview shows. If your dates could be read either way (is 03/04/2027 3 April or 4 March?), choose Day/Month or Month/Day.
Click Import to save. If something goes wrong while saving, nothing is changed, and the rows that need fixing are highlighted.
What an Import Changes
- It only adds and updates. Nothing already on your lineup or schedule is deleted
- People are matched by name, ignoring capitals and extra spaces. A name that matches a saved profile updates that profile instead of creating a duplicate. Profiles are shared, so new taglines, bios and links show on every event that person is on
- Blank cells change nothing. Leave a cell empty to keep what’s there
- Links are added to a person’s existing links, up to 12 in total. Links that start with
www.orhttp://are switched tohttps://, and anything that isn’t a valid web address is skipped - Bios keep their formatting unless you change the text. A bio you edit in the spreadsheet comes back as plain paragraphs
- Repeat slots are skipped. A row with the same start, end, stage, title and people as an existing slot isn’t added again, so you can import the same file twice safely
One import can include up to 500 people and 1,000 time slots, with up to 50 people in a slot. Names, taglines and titles can be up to 255 characters, and roles and stage names up to 100.
Exporting
Click Export on the Lineup & Schedule page.
Download spreadsheet (.xlsx)
Downloads an Excel file with two sheets:
- Schedule: Date, Start, End, Duration (min), Stage, Venue, Title, People and Description for every slot, in day and stage order
- Lineup: Name, Billing, Role, Tagline, Bio, Links, Time slots, Hidden, Has photo and Has bio for everyone on the lineup
The columns match the import, so you can edit the file and import it back. Venue, Time slots, Has photo and Has bio are there for your reference and are ignored when you import.
Printable run sheet
Opens a printable running order in a new tab. Choose All days or a single day, turn on Group by stage or room for one table per stage (it starts on when you have more than one stage), then click Print. Each row shows the start, end, length, stage, what’s on and space for notes. People hidden from the event page are still listed and marked as hidden, so the run sheet is for your team, not the public.
Tips
- Start from Download a template with your current lineup rather than a blank sheet. The headers are already right
- Put the full time on late-night slots and let the end run past midnight.
23:30to01:00imports as a 90-minute slot - Use Hidden to load a festival bill in advance and announce acts later
- Re-importing is safe. Add new rows to the same file and import it again, and only the new rows are added
- Print the run sheet grouped by stage and give each stage manager their own page
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