Data Shuttle - just want to add new rows

Christa Brown

Hello!

This is probably a silly question but for some reason I am really struggling with it. I want to just add new rows to an existing sheet.. pretty simple.. but for some reason the unique identifier requirement is throwing me off. What do I do in data shuttle to just add new rows from an excel file to an existing sheet?

Thanks!

Paul Newcome

In the "Target" step you should be able to add new rows as they are added to the source file.

Christa Brown

thank you!! I don't know why I was struggling with this one so much!

Paul Newcome

No worries. Happy to help. 👍️

jacoblyons16

Did this solution work? I'm running into the same issue here. I'm trying to build an email campaign importer but am struggling to get past this 'key identifier' nonsense as the data being imported doesn't have a key field - all fields in the sheet have a possibility of being duplicates as it can reference the same product, be the same campaign type, etc. Is there any way to just have DataShuttle import data from an XLSX/CSV file without trying to tie to an identifying column, or, is there any way to create a unique identifier column in the destination sheet without having it be a column on the file being imported? I tried to do an auto-number or column formula in hopes that Smartsheet would just apply the logic / formula when importing, but neither added the test row into my sheet. Any help on this would be extremely helpful as the existing setup is limiting (I completely understand why the key identifer column is helpful but there should be a way to ignore that if it's not relevant to the Data Shuttle being created).

JD_PowerSouth

This solution did not work for me. I do not have a key column in my source sheet, I simply want to add all the data as new rows, never replace, and never update. How can I accomplish this?? @Paul Newcome

Paul Newcome

@JD_PowerSouth I would set up a data shuttle to replace all data in a different sheet. On this sheet you can have a formula with a cross sheet reference to check a box if that row is not already found on the original sheet then set up a copy or move row automation (must be time based with a condition of the box being checked) to push the new rows over to the original sheet.

JD_PowerSouth

@Paul Newcome That'll work! I didn't think of trying a work around, I thought this was something that Data Shuttle might do on it's own, but I will set this up. Thank you!

Paul Newcome

Data shuttle can only determine what is new data if it has the ability to recognize existing matches. Because of the amount of data that could potentially be stored in a single row across numerous columns, they have to restrict looking for a match to be on a single indicator column. Thus the need for the Key Indicator.

One thing to keep in mind (briefly mentioned in my last comment but very important)... A cell containing a cell link or cross sheet reference cannot be used to trigger an automation (concerns with circular logic creating infinite loops). You will have to set the trigger up to be date based and select a custom recurrence. In the custom recurrence, you can set it to match the daily, weekly, etc. piece of your Data Shuttle. Once you close that window, at the bottom of the trigger section you will see where you can set the time. I would set this for an hour after the Data Shuttle is set to run to make sure all data is pulled in first. Finally the condition would be when that checkbox column is checked, and action would be copy/move row (your choice).

MariaYanes

I had the same issue and came up with a solution. To create the primary column with a unique identifier, I built a separate sheet with a form for my users to add the attachment. They select the name from a dropdown in the form (this is to avoid errors in typing the name). The primary column won't allow a dropdown, but there is a trick to it. Use another column for the dropdown and add this formula (=Report Name@row) to show the attachment name in the cells of the primary column. I have six Excel sheets with different names to upload, which will be six data shuttle workflows. I hope this makes sense.