Automate import of data

💡 Suggestions & ideas
1

It would be helpful to have a folder with templated XLS or CSV files that were exported from another source to be automatically added to the end of a table or sheet. A quick check for the proper titles and existing rows before importing the rows as ‘New’. In other applications I usually do this through scripting.

2

Hi Could you elaborate on the use case here a bit more?

Some random thoughts,questions…

  1. How much new data per operation are we talking? How frequently are we doing this?
  2. Can this data be appended via REST API?
  3. Is it conceivable that the data can be copy-pasted from CSV into the Spreadsheet sheet?
  4. Is it conceivable that the copy paste can be automated via RPA?
3

Good questions.

  1. Typically an import would be about two or three rows into a table of something like “Orders” and at the same time import about 20-30 lines into a different table like “Order Items”. This would happen daily.

  2. A REST API is certainly an option. My experience shows that some apps can automatically export a CSV or similar file when an order event happens … the export can append or create a template file in a designated directory/folder. I have used this option with programs like Excel or Google to look for the files then do the import, but a REST API would work too.

  3. Data can be copied/pasted into the Spreadsheet sheet as an alternative, but would require the end user to watch for new data and be sure to complete the process manually without errors.

  4. RPA is another good option.

Here’s my concern: Using the automated tools is the goal, but they must also be capable of detecting errors and checking for duplication of data. My experience with this has always been with some scripting either within the spreadsheet file or an independent program written in code like Javascript. Obviously, the fewer the independent links, the cleaner the routine. This is why I am asking about the support for this from within Spreadsheet - I am not sure what your vision for this type of scripting is going to be …

Thanks for the questions and reply.

Jim