1. If your institution has not yet set up units, you’ll be directed to the Units page, which includes instructions for building a single unit hierarchy, an overview of the unification process, and configuration options under File Download Settings. 
   
2. Scroll down to the File Download Settings section to select the settings to be used for unification. These settings determine how the unification spreadsheet is laid out.
   
   • Select a Module to Use as the Source for Units: Choose either Lifecycle or FAR as your source.
     

     The source units will remain unchanged. Only unmatched units from the other module may be added. 

      

     If the institution uses FAR, it is often (though not always) the more complete and up-to-date unit hierarchy. In the unit unification spreadsheet, the column corresponding to the selected source module (either Lifecycle or FAR) will display that module’s full unit hierarchy. The non-source column will contain our best attempt to match units from the other module to the source.

     At the bottom of the non-source column, you’ll find units that could not be automatically matched. These should be carefully reviewed and repositioned within the column to align with their appropriate counterpart in the source column. If unmatched units remain at the bottom, they will still be created when the unification spreadsheet is uploaded.

      
   • Configure Download or Manually Match Units: Choose whether to use the algorithm to automatically match units or leave all units unmatched for full manual control.

1. Once the desired settings are selected, click the Download Template File button.
   

   You may download the spreadsheet multiple times to explore different formats. However, you may only upload the file once, so ensure it’s final before submission.

    

   Administrators may choose to update unit hierarchies directly within each module’s user interface rather than editing the unification spreadsheet. If they choose this approach, after making changes in the UI they must re-download the spreadsheet with the “Manually match all units” option selected. After downloading, no further edits should be made to the spreadsheet. They will simply upload it as-is to complete the unification process.

    
2. Open the downloaded file and complete the unit unification task. To complete the unification task, review the non-source column and align each unit with its corresponding row in the source column. This ensures an accurate and unified hierarchy across modules.
   

   Be sure to copy and paste the rows exactly as they are and do not move units from one column to another. Only move units up and down within the non-source column to align with the correct match in the source column. It is critical that the administrator DOES NOT modify the content of any of the cells in the spreadsheet, including unit names or extra text. Any changes will cause the upload to fail.

    
3. When the administrator downloads the unit unification spreadsheet, the layout will be consistent:
   • Column A: Lifecycle units
   • Column B: FAR units
   • Column C: Confidence % (indicating the strength of the automated match)

Once the matching is completed and confirmed you will upload the finalized spreadsheet, the system will process and apply the unit hierarchy, and you’ll transition to Platform Unit Management.

• Units (Administration > Setup > Units) will be read only in regards to unit details.  However, administrators can still configure administrative rights on the unit configuration page.
  
• Upload Units and Configuring Unit Upload will no longer be available.
  

The Users & Groups > Units tab for RPT and FS will no longer be shown. Administrators may see a call out about managing units directing them to the platform units page.

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Generally, you’ll choose the side that will be least impacted by the changes you need to make. If your institution has invested more time maintaining FAR, it’s often the better choice as the source, though this may vary depending on your setup.

The module selected as the source when downloading the unification spreadsheet also defines the source during upload.

If a unit in the non-source column is assigned a different level than its corresponding unit in the source column, it will be automatically adjusted to match the level of the unit in the source column during the unification process.

We recommend downloading the spreadsheet multiple times using different matching settings. This allows you to experiment and identify the configuration that produces the most accurate unit matches for your institution.

In most cases, processing the unification file takes less than 15 minutes. While we recommend uploading the file during off-peak hours to minimize disruption, it is not necessary to block user access or take the site offline. Users can continue working in the system during processing, though we advise avoiding major unit-related changes until the upload is complete to ensure consistency.

• Non-source column: Blank cells in the non-source column will be automatically filled using the corresponding unit from the source column.
• Source column: The source column should never contain blank cells, except at the bottom of the spreadsheet where unmatched units from the non-source column are listed. Administrators should review these unmatched units to try to find their matches, if applicable, in the source column.
• Unmatched units: If unmatched units remain at the bottom of the non-source column, Interfolio will attempt to locate their parent units within the non-source column and create them under the corresponding parent in the source column during upload.

No. Units should not be removed directly from the unification spreadsheet. If there are unmatched or unwanted units in the non-source column, they should be deleted either before downloading the sheet or after the unification process is complete. Removing units from the spreadsheet itself will cause the unification process to fail.