Here are some tips and suggestions for Survey Vendors uploading XML files to the Data Coordinating Center.

1. When you create the XML data file, include the facility’s CCN number and the data collection survey period as part of the file name, as shown in the following example. This will make it easy for you to keep the files organized, especially when you have multiple facilities with which you have contracted.
   An example of a XML file name: ABCFacility_123456_2014_2.xml


2. If you are uploading multiple XML files individually by adding lines to the upload tool, we recommend that you upload 10 or fewer at one time. If you have more than 10 files, we recommend that you put those files in a single ZIP file and upload the one file.


3. If you have individual XML files that have large file sizes, we recommend that you ZIP those files. This will decrease the total upload time.


4. Only XML files should be included in a ZIP file. Do NOT put one ZIP file inside another ZIP file (nested ZIP files).


5. Do not include comments in your XML data files. XML files containing comments may not validate correctly. It is also important to keep the size of the files as small as possible because this will make the upload and validation process faster.


6. If you need to upload a "corrected" file to fix an error in previously submitted data, be sure to upload the entire file, not just the data elements that were corrected.