Import & Export Entities
Conversational AI Cloud offers the option of importing one, or multiple entities at the same time through an import functionality exposed through the entity overview screen. In this guide, we'll examine how to import entities into Conversational AI Cloud. At the end of this article, you'll have imported a CSV file containing one, or multiple entities.
Conversational AI Cloud built its import functionality around the use of CSV files. CSV files are widely used for managing (complex) datasets in a variety of ways.
Import Entities
For the purpose of this how-to guide, we'll provide you with a template containing dummy content to help you visualize how the different settings will look. If your project already contains entities, you can export them and use the same file to import new entities or add additional words to existing entities.
Download the import file for entities.
When preparing your CSV file, you should keep the following in mind:
A file size limit of 25MB
A maximum of 50 different entities can be imported
Entity entries cannot be empty
When adding additional words to a pre-existing entity, all existing words must also be contained within the file
Each word in an entity is located on a separate row
The "|" symbol is used as the CSV delimiter
Importing expressions and compound entities with more than two words is not recommended. You can best create these types of entities directly within the CMS so you have a better visualization of the settings.
Import Entity Template Fields and Settings
The first row of your entity import file will contain the following fields:
Name|Type|Description|Words|WordFixed|WordInBetween|WordOptionPosition|Expression
For each word that you want to add to an entity, you will need to fill these in with a value, however not all fields are required to be filled in (see table).
Value | Description | Required |
Name | The name of your entity | Yes |
Type | Standard or Expression entity type | Yes |
Description | Enter a description for what the entity is used for | No |
Words | The word(s) for the entity | Depends on the type. Yes when importing a standard entity. No when importing an expression entity |
WordFixed | Used to adjust the settings for the order of your compound words | Yes when importing compound |
WordInBetween | Yes when importing compound | |
WordOptionPosition | Yes when importing compound. Use “0” if unsure of position. | |
Expression | The regular expression (regex) string | Depends on the type. Yes when importing an expression entity. No when importing a standard entity. |
Name: Enter the name of the entity
Type: Enter Standard or Expression
Description: Type in a description for the entity
Words: Type in a single word if not using a compound.
When creating a compound word*, you can enter the following settings to determine how Conversational AI Cloud should match the compound words.
WordFixed: use one of the following options to adjust the settings for the order of your compound words:
• OrderFixed – the words must be entered in this order to be recognized
• OrderAny – the words can be entered in any order to be recognized
WordInBetween: - use one of the following options to adjust the settings for words in between your compound words:
• None: no words are allowed in between the compound words
• One: Only one word is allowed in between the compound words
• OneOrMore: one word or more words is allowed in between the compound words
• ZeroOrOne: no words or only one word is allowed in between the compound words
• ZeroOrMore: no words or more than one word are allowed in between the compound words
WordOptionPosition – enter a value (0-8) to show where you want the above settings to take place in between words. This value depends on the number of words (max 8) contained in your compound.
Importing expressions and compound entities with more than two words is not recommended. You can best create these types of entities directly within the CMS so you have a better visualization of the settings.
Now that you know what fields are contained within the import template, here’s an import file that contains examples of all the settings above:
Once you have your entity import file ready, you can import them directly within Conversational AI Cloud CMS.
Follow these steps to import:
Go to the entities screen and select the “more options” icon next to the search bar
Select “Import”
Click “Select a CSV file to upload” and select your import file
Click the “Upload and Validate” button
If you received an error message, resolve the error in your import file. Go back to step 3 and upload again until you receive the “upload and validation successful” notification
Click the “Import” button. A pop-up will appear for you to confirm the import process
Once your import is complete, you’ll see an “Import successful” message
Good job! You’ve imported a CSV file containing entities. Check your imported entities to control that everything was added correctly.
Export Entities
Entities can be exported directly from the entity screen by selecting the "more options" menu next to the search bar and selecting "Export".
The export file will be downloaded in a CSV format.
