This guide helps you if you have issues navigating DataTable.
Troubleshooting DataTable
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Special characters alongside numbers in a source dataset (currency symbols, commas, percent signs, etc.) don’t interpret as numeric values when you import into DataTable number fields.
Cause
Smartsheet will write any values in the underlying data set that contain alpha or special characters as text strings in DataTable Number fields. Smartsheet brings it into the sheet via connections as strings. The one exception to this rule is scientific numbers which interpret as valid numbers. If the number exceeds the bounds limited to, Smartsheet writes to a sheet as a string.
Troubleshooting steps/resolution
Make sure that the underlying dataset stores numeric values as numbers with a single decimal point only since Smartsheet parses user input with the default (US-centric) number format.
If you want your data to land on sheets as numbers:
- When loading percentages from an underlying dataset, format percentages as a decimal without a % symbol (i.e. 0.5 instead of 50%).
- When loading dollar values from an underlying data set, format monetary values as a decimal without commas or currency symbols (I.e. 15000.00 instead of $15,000.00 or 15,000.00)
If you want to load data into DataTable to land on sheets as numbers, you must:
- Set the DataTable field type to Number.
- Send data into the DataTable with the following restrictions:
- Remove commas for numeric values (e.g. 1000 instead of 1,000)
- Convert percents to decimal format (e.g. .99 instead of 99%)
- Remove currency symbols (e.g. 123.45 instead of $123.45).
What happens if my sheet fills up?
Your sheet can fill up when the filter criteria for your DataTable connection match too many records or add more data to your sheet.
- If your sheet reaches the capacity limit of 500,000 cells, the connection stops syncing data.
- If syncing stops, update the filter criteria for your connection to be more specific and remove rows from your sheet.
Once you have created room in your sheet, you can activate the connection again.
For a lookup mode connection, what happens if there are multiple rows in my sheet with the same unique identifier?
Each row in the sheet has the corresponding values mapped in based on how you configure the connection
For a lookup mode connection, what happens if there are multiple records in my DataTable with the same unique identifier?
The connection uses the record it finds first. Typically, that is the record with the lowest record ID
For a lookup mode connection, what happens if I change the unique identifier in my sheet?
The DataTable overwrites existing data in the sheet cells that map to the DataTable.
How do I create a date field in my DataTable?
When you create a new DataTable, add a field, select Date as the type, and specify the date format.
The date format tells the DataTable how to parse the data in your CSV or Excel file when Data Shuttle loads data into your DataTable. The date format only affects how the dates parse when importing data. For example, if you select 12/31/1999, the DataTable will expect your dates to load in the format mm/dd/yyyy.
- If you load in data to a DataTable without specifying the Date format, the expected date format is yyyy-mm-ddThh:MM:ssZ, e.g. 2020-09-17T00:00:00Z. This is the case if you create your DataTable initially from a DataShuttle workflow.
- If you later change the date format, the DataTable needs time to process the change before you can load data in the new format. In addition, you’ll need to update any records in your DataTable that have dates in the old format before they can filter correctly in a connection.
How do I filter based on a date field in my DataTable?
When you create a new connection, select the field type Date and then choose the date with the date picker, using the format mm/dd/yy. For example, to filter records after July 9, 2021, you would enter 07/09/21. For date comparisons, you can use operators like is less than, is greater than, is between, is equal to, and is not equal to.
The In the Next/Last N days filter option excludes the current day. To address this, use the filter option from today/tomorrow/yesterday. This allows you to include today's date in the relative date filter criteria if desired.
Sometimes my numbers import as strings, not numeric values. Why is that?
DataTable doesn’t interpret special characters like currency symbols or commas as defining numeric values. DataTable only sees those characters as part of a text string. Use decimal places to indicate currency amounts or percentages instead.
- To format percentages in your data set, use a decimal without a % symbol. For example, 0.5 instead of 50%
- To format monetary values, use a decimal only. Don’t use a comma or any currency symbols. For example, 15000.00 instead of $15,000.00 or 15,000.00
To have your data appear on sheets as numbers:
- Set the DataTable field type to Number.
- Send data into the DataTable with the following restrictions:
- Strip out commas for numeric values; for example, change 1,000 to 1000
- Convert percents to decimal format. For example, change 99% to 0.99 or 78.23% to .7823
- Strip out currency symbols; for example, change $123.45 to 123.45