Keep the reference lists

6 min The Administrator role, or a system administrator account

The lists behind every form: regions, districts, facilities, training institutions, professions, specialties, qualification types, documents and exam subjects.

What you will learn

Add or change an item on a list
Import a list from Excel
Remove an item safely

Reference lists: the lists on the left, the chosen list on the right.

Step by step

Open System administration → Reference lists.
Pick a list on the left:
- Regions, Districts, Facility types, Facilities, Training institutions, Zonal centres
- Professions, Specialties, Qualification types, Document types, Exam subjects
Search the list, and use the tabs In use, Turned off and All.
Press Add with the item name (for example Add institution), fill in the form and press Add.
Click a row to change it, then press Save changes.
To add many at once, press Import:
- Press Download a blank template to get the right column names.
- Fill it in and drop the Excel or CSV file in the box. Rows with a name that already exists are updated; new names are added.
To take an item away, press Remove on its row and confirm.

What you will see

If nothing uses an item yet, Remove deletes it. If records already use it, it is turned off instead: past records keep it, but it no longer appears in pick lists.
Press Turn on to bring a turned-off item back.

Check yourself

Pick an answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Nothing is saved or sent.