Excel Template
Excel Template
* This page is currently out of date. The template linked to below is not being actively developed or maintained, and we are not accepting descriptions produced using the template for inclusion on the Hub. We may look at developing a more up-to-date version of the template in the future, but we do not have a timeframe for such work at the moment. We have retained the page and the link on the Hub website however, because we are aware that the project is of interest to users, who are welcome to download and use the version of the template below in their own work if they find it helpful. (April 2017) *
We have created a template which allows users to enter ISAD (G) compliant archival description data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and export it as EAD. We would suggest that this is not the optimal method for creating archival descriptions, which are multi-dimensional, but it certainly suffices, particularly for summary descriptions.
A flat structure spreadsheet does not allow for the hierarchial nature of archival description, so some editing is required:
- Components (lower level entries) need to be integrated after export
- Multiple access points have to be separated by pipes to enable us to treat them as separate entities
However, the spreadsheet allows you to use a simple method to create valid EAD records.
If you'd like to know more about how we produced the template and why there are some limitations on functionality, you can find out in our blog post Using the Archives Hub Excel Template.
You are welcome to use the Excel template for cataloguing. There is no obligation to contribute your descriptions to the Archives Hub, but if you would like to, please contact us.
The template consists of two Excel workbooks: one for collection or top-level descriptions, and one for components or lower-level descriptions.
You can download the template here:
These links should download an .xslx document. If you're using Internet Explorer, the files might download as .zip files. This is a known bug in IE with downloading newer Office files. Please contact us and request a copy of the template.
If you have any questions or comments about the template, or have found it useful, we'd love to hear from you!