Importing Charts from Other Vedic Software

KarmaWheel can import chart libraries from four formats, auto-detecting which one your file uses. So if you've been keeping a chart library in another Vedic program, you can move it over without re-typing every birth time.

This article covers all four supported formats and how to do the import.

The four supported formats

The server auto-detects which format you're uploading — you don't pick it manually. Just drop in whatever file you have and KarmaWheel figures it out.

How to import

1. Sign in to KarmaWheel
2. In the sidebar, find the Saved Charts section
3. Click the Import… button (small button near the top of the saved-charts list)
4. Pick one or more files from your computer
5. Wait a few seconds — the status line shows progress
6. When done, a green message tells you how many charts were imported and from what format(s)

For multi-chart formats (Goravani / KarmaWheel TSV), one file can contain hundreds of charts. For single-chart formats (JHD / XML), select all the files you want to import in one go — KarmaWheel processes them in sequence.

JHD format — Parashara's Light, Jagannatha Hora, Kala

JHD (".Jyotish Header Data") is a plain-text format that became the de-facto cross-software standard. It's used by:

• Parashara's Light (modern versions) — File → Save As → JHD
• Jagannatha Hora — File → Save → JHD format (free software, popular in Western Vedic circles)
• Kala — File → Export → JHD

Each .jhd file contains one chart. The first lines hold birth date, time, location, and timezone in a fixed positional format.

To import:

1. In your Vedic software, save each chart to a .jhd file (your software likely lets you batch-export to a folder)
2. In KarmaWheel, click Import… and select all the .jhd files at once (Cmd+A on Mac, Ctrl+A on Windows)
3. KarmaWheel processes them all and adds them to your Saved Charts library

Sign convention quirks

JHD's longitude/timezone sign convention varies between writers. Older PL files use east-negative; modern files use east-positive. KarmaWheel's parser auto-detects which convention is in use by checking against a list of Eastern country names — so files from either era should import correctly.

If you find a chart imported with the wrong location (e.g., a chart for a Mumbai-born person showing up at the wrong longitude), tell us — we'll add a manual override.

Parashara's Light XML — older PL versions

Some users have chart libraries from older versions of Parashara's Light that used XML format instead of JHD. KarmaWheel handles those too.

A PL XML file looks like:

<BirthData>
 <BirthInfo>
  <FirstName>Bal</FirstName>
  <LastName>Gandharva</LastName>
  <BirthDate>2410815.251389</BirthDate>
  <Longitude>-73.866667</Longitude>
  <Latitude>18.533333</Latitude>
  <TimeZone>-5.350000</TimeZone>
  <DST>0.000000</DST>
  <City>Pune</City>
  <Country>India</Country>
 </BirthInfo>
</BirthData>

A few things KarmaWheel handles for you automatically:

• BirthDate is a Julian Day in UTC — KarmaWheel converts to local time using the TimeZone field
• Longitude and TimeZone are stored east-negative in PL convention — KarmaWheel flips the sign to its east-positive standard
• Empty fields (like <State></State>) — handled gracefully

Just select your .xml files (one or many) and click Import.

Goravani Jyotish Studio — legacy TSV

If you used the original Goravani Jyotish Studio desktop application, KarmaWheel reads its TSV exports natively.

To export from Goravani Jyotish Studio:

1. In Goravani Jyotish Studio, go to File → Export → TSV format
2. Save the resulting .txt file

To import into KarmaWheel:

1. Click Import… in Saved Charts
2. Pick the .txt file
3. Done — every chart is imported with its name, birth data, location, notes, and other fields

This format has 43 positional fields per chart and supports thousands of charts in one file.

KarmaWheel TSV — for round-trip backups

KarmaWheel's own TSV export lets you back up your library and re-import it later. Useful for:

• Periodic backups — export once a month as personal insurance
• Migration between accounts
• Sharing a chart library with a colleague (preserves notes and descriptions)

To export:

1. Saved Charts → Export TSV button
2. A .tsv file downloads to your computer

The exported file is human-readable, has a header row naming each column, and round-trips losslessly through the import.

How auto-detection works

When you upload a file, the server inspects the contents:

1. Starts with < and contains <BirthData → Parashara's Light XML
2. First three lines are numeric, file has no tabs, < 40 lines total → JHD
3. First row contains first_name, lat, tz_offset headers → KarmaWheel TSV
4. Otherwise (tab-separated, no header) → Legacy Goravani

You don't need to rename files or pick a format. Just drop in whatever you have.

Status messages

After import you'll see a status line like:

✓ Imported 47 of 47 (12 Parashara's Light XML, 35 JHD)

This tells you: - How many charts were successfully imported - How many records the files contained - The format breakdown — useful when importing a mixed batch

If some charts can't be parsed (rare, but happens with damaged files), the count of skipped charts shows after the dot. Check the browser console for details on each skipped record.

After import — what happens

Imported charts appear in your Saved Charts list immediately, sorted alphabetically by last name. They sync across every device you sign in to. You can:

• Click any imported chart to load it
• Edit its name / notes via the chart's edit menu
• Set any imported chart as your Default Chart
• Run synastry between any two imported charts
• Search across all imported charts via Chart Search / Research

Troubleshooting

"0 imported, 0 skipped" — the file format wasn't recognized. Check the file extension and contents. If it should be supported but isn't, email [email protected] with a sample file and we'll investigate.

Imported charts have wrong locations — the timezone or longitude sign convention may not match what our auto-detector assumed. Send us a sample file and the correct birth city, and we'll fix the heuristic.

"Read error" — the file couldn't be opened. Check that the file isn't corrupt and that you have permission to read it.

Imported chart name is blank — JHD files don't always include a name field; you can edit each chart's name in KarmaWheel after import.

Formats not yet supported

We don't yet import from:

• Shri Jyoti Star (.SJS) — proprietary binary format
• AstroSage / mPanchang online services — no machine-readable export
• Kundli software — varied internal formats

If you have a chart library in one of these and want to migrate, email [email protected] with a sample file. If we can read the format, we'll add support.

Related articles

• Saving and Organizing Charts
• Cancellation, Refunds & Account — for backing up before canceling
• Getting Started with KarmaWheel