Import files to create new sheets

You can import any sheet or report from the following formats:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Project 
• Google Sheets
• Atlassian Trello board

To enhance the automation of your data imports, you can import files in two different ways:

• From the top navigation bar, select File > Import. 

You can choose from four options to import your data and four options for automating your data import. For more information on automating your import, see Create an upload workflow in Data Shuttle.

• From the top navigation bar, go to Connection menu > Create workflow or Manage workflows to manage your import automation directly from Data Shuttle.

Import always creates a new sheet. To bring data from other programs into an existing sheet, use copy and paste.

Before you import

For successful import, files must meet the following criteria:

• The file can't exceed 50 MB
• You can import up to 20,000 rows, 400 columns, or 500,000 cells at a time
• Microsoft Excel files must be in .xls, .xlsx, or .csv format, and the first tab of the workbook can't be blank
• Microsoft Project files must be in .mpp, .mpx, .mspdi, or .xml format

Formulas aren't preserved. Due to the differences between Excel and Smartsheet formula syntax, imported formulas might not function in Smartsheet.

To work around this, store formulas as text by removing the equal sign before the formula and then save the sheet. Once in Smartsheet, you can add the equal sign back and modify the syntax to make the formula work.

Start your import

1. On the left navigation bar, select the plus icon.
2. Select Import.
3. Select the source application that you're importing from.

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          Smartsheet prompts you to locate and upload the file from your computer.

3. After you've uploaded your file, type a sheet name and select your Primary column for the sheet. 
4. Select Import.

Your imported file appears as a new sheet on Browse in the left panel.

You may need to manually adjust the sheet after it's imported to make it look and function as you want.

You may notice that the system doesn't retain some aspects of your imported items. Common items that may require adjustments include:

• Capabilities not available in Smartsheet or included in the imported sheet: Merged cells, multiple sheets in a workbook, or cell borders. 
• Drop-down lists for data validation, which need to be re-created.
• If you import an Excel sheet or Google Sheet that uses a formula that isn't supported in Smartsheet, an #UNPARSEABLE error message appears in place of the formula. 
• Images from an external file.

Check for hidden worksheets in your Excel workbook if your imported sheet doesn't contain the expected data. To import the correct data, unhide all hidden worksheets and move your desired worksheet to the first position.

Microsoft Project has some features, such as constraints, that aren't supported in Smartsheet, and may cause rows to be out of order when importing .mpp files. To resolve this, save the .mpp file as .xml and import the new .xml copy. If the issue persists, contact our support team.

Import multiple sheets from a Microsoft Excel workbook

Only an Excel workbook's first (left-most) worksheet tab gets imported. Look at the bottom of your Excel workbook to see if you have multiple tabs.

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If you have multiple tabs you'd like to import to Smartsheet:

• Import the workbook into Smartsheet once to create a new sheet.
• Return to the Excel file, select a tab and drag it to the left to move it into the left-most position.
• Save the Excel file, and import it to Smartsheet again. This creates a new sheet based on the information in the tab you just moved into the left-most position.
• Repeat the process until you've created a sheet for each tab in the workbook.
• In Smartsheet, consider moving all the sheets into a folder or workspace for organizational purposes.

What to expect when you import an Atlassian Trello board

You can import 5,000 cards or 50 lists from an Atlassian Trello board. If your cards include cover images, note that there’s a cumulative 10 MB limit for importing these image files.

Select the board you want to import and select OK to create a new sheet with the imported data. By default, the sheet will be displayed in Card View.

When you import an Atlassian Trello board, the following columns will always be created in Smartsheet (you'll see these columns in Grid View): 

• Task Name Fields in this column will display the names you used for the cards in Trello. It will be formatted as a text/number column.
• List This column will contain all the list names from the Trello board. List names will appear as column set names in Smartsheet's Card View.
• Members This column will include all of the names of Trello board members (the people with whom you shared your Trello board) in a dropdown list.
• Due Date If you've set a due date for a card, it will appear in the field in the Due Date column, which is formatted as a date column.
• Description Description text from the Trello board will be included here. This column will be formatted with a text/number column.

Additional columns and information on the cards will be included depending on what was included in your Trello Board.

Archived cards will not be imported from Trello.