The meeting covered how to integrate spreadsheet data with Databox using Google Sheets or Excel.
Attendees learned the required formatting for spreadsheets, methods for connecting sheets, and using the Databox wizard to build custom metrics.
Key steps and best practices for preparing sheets and creating metrics were reviewed.
No immediate decisions or deadlines were established, as this was an instructional walkthrough.
Action Items
None noted in this meeting.
Integrating Spreadsheets with Databox
Databox allows integration with both Google Sheets and Excel for tracking spreadsheet data alongside other data sources.
Users can connect spreadsheets directly through the sidebar in Databox, choosing either Google Sheets or Excel.
Excel files can be linked via cloud storage or manually uploaded, with manual uploads having some syncing limitations (refer to Databox help articles for details).
Spreadsheet Formatting Best Practices
Spreadsheets must be formatted before connecting to Databox.
Data can be organized vertically (each column labeled in the first row) or horizontally.
Each metric requires at least one date field and one value field; dimension fields are optional.
Recommended column order: date (or date and time), dimensions (e.g., product name, product category), followed by value columns.
Group multiple dimension columns together, followed by value columns.
Building Metrics in Databox
Once the spreadsheet is formatted and connected, users can select their sheet from the data source list.
The custom metrics wizard detects correctly labeled and grouped columns, streamlining metric creation.
To create metrics, users select the appropriate value, dimension, and date columns as prompted by the wizard.
Advanced options are available for data aggregation, number formatting, and defining favorable trends.
Users can repeat the process to create additional custom metrics from their spreadsheet data.