# Programatically Importing the Sample Submission Excel File
Compatibility: API version 2
The Clarity LIMSweb interface provides an example Sample Import Excel file which can be manually uploaded to submit new samples to a selected project within the LIMS.
This application example shows how the Sample Import Sheet can be uploaded programatically with just one change to its format.
### Solution
This example uses the same Sample Sheet with an additional column 'Project/Name'. The script processes the Sample Sheet, creates the samples and adds the samples to their respective projects.
This script leverages a python module xlrd, which is not included in the standard python library. It is used to extract data from .xls and .xlsx excel files.
#### Parameters
The script accepts the following parameters:
-f
The full path to the location of the excel file. (Required)
-g
The full path to the location of the log file. (Optional)
An example of the full syntax to invoke the script is as follows:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```
python /path/to/file/SampleSheetImporter.py -f /Users/mywd/ClaritySampleSheetprojects.xlsx -g /Users/logs/samplesubmission.log
```
{% endcode %}
### About the code
*parseFile*
This method carries out several operations:
* Opens the excel file and reads the text
* Stores the column headers in a dictionary variable called COLS
* Stores the row data accessibly in an array variable called ROWS
*createProject*
This method in turn carries out several operations:
* For each project name the script encounters it searches the LIMS to identify if a project with this name has already been created.
* If the project does not exist, the script will create the project. This example script is easily modifiable, however as written:
* * Project researcher is System Administrator
* Project open date is today
* No project level UDFs are created
*processRows*
This method prepares the data needed to create a sample in LIMS:
* Assembles the UDF values, the project ID and container ID.
* For each non-tube container the script encounters it searches the LIMS to identify if a container with this name already exists.
* If the container does not exist the script will create the container.
* * If container type is not specified, TUBE will be assumed.
* For TUBE, well location will always be 1:1
The script contains additional supporting methods to generate XML which is POSTED to the API.
### Assumptions & notes
* The UDFs in the Sample Sheet header have been configured in LIMS prior to submission.
* The following column headers are required: Sample/Name, Project/Name and any sample-level UDFs that are mandatory within your system.
* The script need not be run on the Clarity server, however it must have a connection to the Clarity LIMS API.
* You are using Python version 2.6 or 2.7.
* The Python installation contains the **non-standard** xlrd library.
* The \_auth\_tokens.py file has been updated to include the information for your Clarity installation.
* The example code is provided for illustrative purposes only. It does not contain sufficient exception handling for use 'as is' in a production environment.
### Attachments
\_auth\_tokens.py:
{% file src="" %}
ClaritySampleSheetprojects.xlsx:
{% file src="" %}
SampleSheetImporter.py:
{% file src="" %}