Custom Table Importer
Description
This article describes the Custom Table Importer.
Agencies regularly need data inside Skills Workflow that does not come from any connected system — a rate card, a media plan, a budget breakdown, a list from a client, a report exported from another tool. Building a dedicated integration for each of those is rarely worth it, but retyping them is worse.
The Custom Table Importer solves that. It watches a folder, and every Excel file dropped there becomes a Custom Table inside Skills Workflow — available to views, reports and dashboards like any other data in the platform. No integration project, no development: the agency exports a spreadsheet and drops it in a folder.
Data Exchange Technology
The importer runs automatically, once an hour, on a folder agreed with the agency.
On each run it:
- Looks in the folder for files matching the configured extension and file-name filter.
- Reads the first worksheet of each file, using the configured header row to name the columns.
- Creates the custom table in Skills Workflow — the table name comes from the file name, up to the first digit — and loads the rows into it.
- Moves the processed file into a Success or a Failure subfolder.
- Sends a run summary by e-mail.
Rows are uploaded in batches, so large spreadsheets are handled without timing out.
How the Data Lands in Skills Workflow
The file name decides the table name. Everything up to the first digit in the file name becomes the custom table name. This is what allows the agency to deliver the same table repeatedly — for instance a dated export — and always have it land in the same place.
The header row decides the columns. The row configured as the header supplies the column names; the rows beneath it become the table rows.
Each load replaces the previous one. The custom table is recreated on every import, so the table always reflects the latest file rather than accumulating older versions. This also means the file has to be complete: it is a full replacement, not an update of individual rows.
Text is capped. Values longer than 100 characters are truncated when stored.
Settings the Agency Controls
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Directory Path | The folder that is watched |
| File Extension | Which files are picked up |
| Filename Contains | Optional filter, so only matching files are imported |
| File Row Header | Which row of the worksheet holds the column names |
| Chunk Size | How many rows are sent per batch |
| Administrator Mail | Address that receives the run summary |
What the Agency Needs to Provide
- The folder where the files will be dropped, reachable by the importer.
- Agreement on the file naming, so that each file lands in the intended custom table.
- The row that contains the column headers, if it is not the first one.
- An e-mail address to receive the run summaries.
Monitoring and Error Handling
Every run sends a summary e-mail containing the number of rows loaded, any warnings, any errors, and the total running time.
A file that could not be fully imported is moved to the Failure subfolder and can be corrected and dropped again. A file that imported successfully is moved to Success, which keeps the working folder clean and gives the agency a record of what has been processed.
Good to Know
- Only the first worksheet of each file is read. Additional sheets are ignored.
- The import is a full replacement of the table. Anything removed from the file disappears from the custom table on the next run.
- Because the table structure is derived from the file, changing the columns in the spreadsheet changes the columns in Skills Workflow — which will affect any view or report built on top of it.
- The importer runs hourly, so a file dropped just after a run will be picked up on the next one.