Areas - how do I set up Areas in Citizen Space?

If Areas are set up and assigned to activities, they allow respondents to search activities on your site by geographical location. A respondent may for example choose to search by their postcode, which will bring up any activities marked as relevant to that particular postcode.

Note: The Areas feature is not enabled on all Citizen Space sites.

How to set up Areas in Citizen Space

1) Create your .CSV file.

Please note that the .CSV file must be in the 'Windows Comma Separated Value CSV' file format.

We've attached a CSV template for you to use for this. You'll need to enter one postcode and one area per line, but you can use the same postcode on multiple lines and the same area on multiple lines if needed. There is an example file attached to this article for your reference.

Note that the example site-areas CSV file attached includes UK postcodes, instances in other territories may require changes to be made.

2) Once logged in as a Citizen Space Site Admin, select the 'Site' dropdown from the admin navigation bar and then select 'Settings'. This will take you to the Site settings section, where you'll find the link 'Areas' which will take you to the page for managing areas in your site.

3) On the next page, select the Choose file button and find where your CSV file is on your computer.

4) Select the correct button for whether you want to Add to existing areas or Replace all existing areas.

Keep in mind that if you replace all existing areas after you've gone live with activities, this will remove the original areas from previous activities. Please see FAQ #2 below for more detail.

5) Select Upload.

6) Once uploaded, you will receive confirmation the postcodes have been added along with any relevant messages regarding the file.

7) You're done!

FAQs

Is it possible to map multiple postcodes to ward names in Citizen Space and vice-versa?

It is possible to map multiple postcodes to areas and also to map multiple areas to postcodes.  You'll still need to ensure that only one postcode and one area appear on each line of the spreadsheet.

Can I change the areas in Citizen Space at any point? The wards in my area are changing and we need to reflect this change in Citizen Space.

You are able to change areas at any point, and either add to or replace existing areas.

However, please keep in mind that if you replace all existing areas, this will remove the original areas from previous activities. You may need to manually add the new ward/area to that particular activity.

To get around this, you can map multiple postcodes to ward names and vice-versa (see FAQ 1 above).

I keep getting an error message when I am trying to upload my CSV file. What is going wrong?

Double check that your CSV file format is in the 'Windows Comma Separate Value CSV' file format. If not, 'Save As' the correct file format and try uploading again.

Sample files