Introduction
Use this article to connect a table in Tangelo to a data source so it displays data from an Excel file. Creating a new connected table takes three steps: connect the table, upload the data, and synchronize. This article also covers updating, removing, and managing connected tables.
Summary
After following this article, you can connect a table to a data source, upload source data, synchronize to display it, and disconnect or change a linked table.
Preconditions
Set up before you connect
Two things must be in place first: the data source must exist in Tangelo, and the relevant users must have the required permissions assigned. Once both are met, you can link the data source to the table from the table settings.
One Excel file per data source
A data source can contain only one Excel file. Use different data sources for different purposes or teams. To create a new data source, see Managing data sources at the bottom of this article.
Creating a new connected table requires all three steps below. To update an existing connected table, skip step 1 and start at step 2.
1 - Connect a table to a data source
Open the editor for the section involved and create an empty table - a table with one cell will do.
Next, connect the table to a data source. There are four ways to do this:
- Click in the table, then choose Connect to data source from the Table tab in the top menu.
- Right-click anywhere in the table and choose Connect to data source.
-
Click inside the table and use the breadcrumb menu: click Table, then Connect to data source.
-
If a data source is already connected, click once in the table and then click the black icon in front of the table.
Tangelo then prompts for the data source. Select the correct one (you can search for it too).
Keep data sources tidy
Adding a year number to a data source name helps keep everything organized.
After you select the data source, Tangelo displays the worksheet names within that file. You can use the search bar to find specific tabs in the Excel file.
A popup then appears where you select the cells to use. Use the dropdown menu to select a named range, or, if no named ranges are used, click the first and last cell you want to select.
Use named ranges
Named ranges are highly recommended because they adjust automatically when you add or remove rows and columns. Absolute ranges stay fixed.
2 - Upload the data
Upload the Excel file with the source data using the Data sources screen.
Select the correct data source to upload the data to.
Choose the Excel file and click Upload. When Tangelo finishes, it shows a green bar.
Uploading overwrites the previous file
Uploading a file overwrites the previous file in the data source. This cannot be undone.
3 - Synchronize the tables
To display the data source data in Tangelo, the data source needs to be synchronized. After you connect a table, the data is not shown yet - this is correct. The workflow is to add all the tables you need first, and synchronize once at the end. There is no need to synchronize after each table.
When tables are added and connected, or when a new file is uploaded, an orange exclamation mark appears on the synchronize button.
Click the synchronize button. Tangelo prompts which data sources to synchronize - check or uncheck each one, then click the red button to start.
Tangelo synchronizes and shows which tables have changed and what it is doing. When the process finishes, all connected tables are populated with the data from the data source.
Connected tables are read-only in Tangelo
Data in a connected table cannot be edited in Tangelo. Edit it in the source Excel file, upload the file again, and resynchronize.
Remove or change a linked table
To change or remove the link to the data source, click in the table itself, or on the small black icon next to the table.
- Use the Disconnect button to disconnect from the data source.
- Use the Choose button to change the data source - for example to select a different Excel tab or different cells.
When a table is disconnected, the data that was in it becomes editable again, since it is now a regular table.
Managing data sources
Users can manage data sources using this option:
Video: add a table synchronized with Excel
Prefer to follow along visually? The walkthrough below covers the same steps as this article: inserting a synchronized table, selecting the data range, and synchronizing it to keep your data up to date.