Short links
Move your short links from another tool
Export your links as a CSV, import them in one go, and fix any rows that fail without redoing the ones that worked.
Links are included from Free.
What carries over
- The destination URL of each link
- A custom slug, when the file has one
- A comment and an expiry date
- UTM source, medium, campaign, term and content
What does not carry over
- Click history and reports from the old tool
- Folders, tags and campaign groupings
- QR codes: new codes are made for the new short links
- The old short domain, if it belongs to the old tool
What you need
- Export your links from the old tool yourself, as a CSV file.
- A header row that includes a target_url column. All other columns are optional.
- A Formspring workspace and permission to view links. Links are included from Free.
How it maps
| In your file or old tool | In Formspring | Note |
|---|---|---|
| target_url | Destination | Required. Must be a valid web address |
| slug | Short link path | Generated when empty. Must be free and not reserved |
| comment | Comment | Free text |
| expires_at | Expiry date | Optional |
| utm_template | UTM preset | The name of a preset saved in your workspace |
| utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content | UTM parameters | Added to the destination |
Addresses and domains
- Short links on a domain you do not own cannot be moved. The old short URLs keep working only while the old tool does.
- To keep short URLs on your own domain, verify that domain in Formspring (custom domains, included from Pro) and import the same slugs.
- Printed QR codes that point at the old domain keep pointing there. Replace them with codes for the new short links.
Check before you commit
There is no dry run for links. Import a small file first: every row is checked on its own, and a bad row never blocks the good ones.
- Rows per file
- Up to 500
- File size
- Up to 1 MB
Steps
- Export your links from the old tool as a CSV.
- Rename or add a header so the destination column is called target_url.
- In Formspring open Links, then Import links, and choose the file.
- Read the result. Download the errors file, correct the rows it lists and import again with the same import key.
Reconcile the result
- Check that created, skipped and failed add up to the total.
- Open the errors file: each failed row has its line number and the reason.
- Re-import the corrected file with the same import key. Rows that already worked are skipped, not created twice.
- Open three links and compare their destinations with the old tool.
A worked example
A sample file with four rows, one of which has an invalid destination.
Sample data
- Rows in the file
- 4
- Links created
- 3
- Rows that failed
- 1
The invalid row is reported with its line number and the reason, and the other three links exist. Importing the corrected file with the same import key reports the three existing links as skipped.
Switching over
Update the places that use the old short links, one campaign at a time, and keep the old links active until their traffic has moved.
Other guides
- Canny - Import a file, with a dry run
- Hosted form endpoints - Swap the form action, no data import