Step 1 How to Export and Prepare Car Tag Data for Parent Pickup Label Creation

Learn how to download your parent pickup spreadsheet from Google Sheets and export it as a CSV file to generate car rider tags for school dismissal.

July 29, 2026 By Adriana Mondone

This guide explains how to prepare spreadsheet data and templates to generate car tag labels for a school's parent pickup carline. Completing this process allows you to efficiently format student information into a printable mail merge for the beginning of the school year.

This workflow applies to school administrators or support staff managing the car rider dismissal process. It should be performed as a bulk batch at the start of the academic year, while any students added later will require individual manual labels.

Accessing Templates and Reference Files

Step #1: Open the Parent Pickup Carline System folder in Google Drive. — Open the **Parent Pickup Carline System** folder in Google Drive.

Step #2: Double-click on the Carline Tags folder. — Double-click on the **Carline Tags** folder.

Step #3: Open the Parent Pickup Car Tag Label Notes document to reference the required font sizes and instructions. — Open the **Parent Pickup Car Tag Label Notes** document to reference the required font sizes and instructions.

Step #4: Locate and download the Avery5168ShippingLabels landscape template. — Locate and download the **Avery5168ShippingLabels landscape** template.

Step #5: Locate and download the car tag template draft file to use for your tag sizes. — Locate and download the **car tag template draft** file to use for your tag sizes.

Exporting Car Rider Data

Step #6: Open your parent pickup system spreadsheet in Google Sheets. — Open your parent pickup system spreadsheet in Google Sheets.

You must download this file to your computer to perform the mail merge locally. After you finish printing the tags, delete the downloaded file to protect student information.

Step #7: Click File, hover over Download, and select Microsoft Excel (.xlsx). — Click **File**, hover over **Download**, and select **Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)**.

Step #8: Open the downloaded Excel file and click Enable Editing at the top of the window. — Open the downloaded Excel file and click **Enable Editing** at the top of the window.

Step #9: Click the Grade Level Car Number tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to view tags organized by homeroom. — Click the **Grade Level Car Number** tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet to view tags organized by homeroom.

Step #10: Click File, select Export, click Change File Type, and select CSV (Comma delimited). — Click **File**, select **Export**, click **Change File Type**, and select **CSV (Comma delimited)**.

Step #11: Save the CSV file to your local Downloads folder. — Save the CSV file to your local Downloads folder.

Step #12: Click OK on the warning prompt to confirm that only the active sheet will be saved. — Click OK on the warning prompt to confirm that only the active sheet will be saved.

Step #13: Close the Excel workbook. If prompted to save any remaining changes to the workbook, click Don't Save. — Close the Excel workbook. If prompted to save any remaining changes to the workbook, click **Don't Save**.

Formatting the Data for Word

Before moving to Microsoft Word, you must configure the CSV file to prevent it from dropping any leading zeros on the car tag numbers.

Step #14: Navigate to your Downloads folder and double-click the newly saved CSV file to reopen it in Excel. — Navigate to your Downloads folder and double-click the newly saved CSV file to reopen it in Excel.

Step #15: When prompted about automatic data conversions, click Don't Convert to ensure any extra leading zeros remain intact. — When prompted about automatic data conversions, click **Don't Convert** to ensure any extra leading zeros remain intact.

Step #16: Click Save in the top-left corner to confirm the formatting, then close the file. — Click **Save** in the top-left corner to confirm the formatting, then close the file.

Step #17: Open Microsoft Word and click Blank document to prepare for the mail merge. — Open Microsoft Word and click **Blank document** to prepare for the mail merge.

Q: How often do I need to perform this batch label creation process?

A: You only need to run this bulk process once at the beginning of the school year. Any students added to the system after this batch run should have their labels created individually.

Q: Why should I download the Google Sheet rather than working directly online?

A: Downloading the data creates a temporary working file for the mail merge. After generating the tags, you can delete this local copy to protect student information, leaving the main system secure on the cloud.

Q: Why is it important to click "Don't Convert" when opening the CSV file?

A: Clicking "Don't Convert" ensures that Excel does not automatically remove any leading zeros from the car rider numbers, which are necessary for the tags to be accurate.

Term	Definition
CSV (Comma Separated Values)	A plain text file format used to store tabular data, such as spreadsheets, making it easy to transfer information between different applications.
Carline	The school's parent pickup system and traffic queue used during dismissal to safely match students with their guardians' vehicles.
Template	A pre-formatted document used as a starting point to ensure that labels print at the correct physical size and spacing.

Step 1 How to Export and Prepare Car Tag Data for Parent Pickup Label Creation

Learn how to download your parent pickup spreadsheet from Google Sheets and export it as a CSV file to generate car rider tags for school dismissal.

July 29, 2026 By Adriana Mondone

Accessing Templates and Reference Files

Exporting Car Rider Data

You must download this file to your computer to perform the mail merge locally. After you finish printing the tags, delete the downloaded file to protect student information.

Formatting the Data for Word

Before moving to Microsoft Word, you must configure the CSV file to prevent it from dropping any leading zeros on the car tag numbers.

Q: How often do I need to perform this batch label creation process?

A: You only need to run this bulk process once at the beginning of the school year. Any students added to the system after this batch run should have their labels created individually.

Q: Why should I download the Google Sheet rather than working directly online?

Q: Why is it important to click "Don't Convert" when opening the CSV file?

A: Clicking "Don't Convert" ensures that Excel does not automatically remove any leading zeros from the car rider numbers, which are necessary for the tags to be accurate.

Term	Definition
CSV (Comma Separated Values)	A plain text file format used to store tabular data, such as spreadsheets, making it easy to transfer information between different applications.
Carline	The school's parent pickup system and traffic queue used during dismissal to safely match students with their guardians' vehicles.
Template	A pre-formatted document used as a starting point to ensure that labels print at the correct physical size and spacing.