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Hi,
I’m looking for a file-linked or import-only table so that we can regularly push data from our CRM into our Airtable project management app without having to manually re-import the CSVs every day.
It would be nice if we could schedule import or cause the re-import/update to be triggered whenever the CSVs are changed.
-Donald
Have you looked into Zapier? You can use it to connect Airtable and Google Sheets, and set it up so that when new records are created in Sheets they are also created in Airtable. I believe finding/matching/updating records when records are modified (rather than created) can also be done, though it is slightly more complicated.
Something that might be relevant: one of the blocks from our newly released Airtable Blocks platform is the CSV import block.
Now, the CSV import block doesn’t import CSVs automatically. However, the CSV import block will remember your field mappings when you import other CSVs in the future. That way, all you need to do is drag and drop the CSV file onto the CSV import block, and click one button.
Are there any plans to somehow allow import of CSV files to be triggered via Zapier or similar. Being able to automate the import of data from a csv would be incredibly powerful for our use cases.
Automated import depends on two very key requirements;
The generation and the delivery approach of the source [CSV] data, and …
The acceptance/ingestion mechanism for the target database.
Let’s say that Airtable provides a means for accepting CSVs and through it provides the automated loading of the data into a table without any human interaction. This addresses only half of the technical requirements; the CSV has to be delivered to Airtable in a manner that supports an automated ingestion gateway.
Tell me, how would the source CSV get generated automatically and then be conveyed such that a new Airtable ingest feature could receive it? What communications protocol would it use? And what security measures would it require?
I get the sense that this process is currently working for you, right?
Why is the CSV import block (or any new Airtable feature for that matter) needed when Zapier is perfectly capable of placing the data directly into the target table?
Is it because you believe …
Airtable should eliminate the need for the Zapier route and provide this functionality in a more seamless manner?
The Zapier route is needlessly complex or costly?
The Zapier integration is unreliable?
My curiosity is to understand the underlying requirements and how they could be made better.
In case it’s not apparent, I have a proclivity to avoid CSVs altogether and not withstanding legacy systems integration, the answer to automated CSV integration is to not do it. :winking_face: This is why they made the API.
Yes, Bill you are right. I am sure API would be a far better solution. The truth of the matter is that the relative difficulty of generating good api connections (for the uneducated), as compared to using already available simplistic tools built into both our stock management platform (scheduled csv export routines) and the Airtable Import CSV Block is what is putting me off going down the api route. One day I will bite the bullet and get a handle on developing api connections :slightly_smiling_face:
I am interested to hear that we could use Zapier to inject data to an already formed Airtable table though.
To explain in a little more detail, we have a table with a list of products and values associated with each product (Product SKU), such as inventory (Qty). Would we be able to use Zapier to inject these Qty values, thus overwriting those already in Airtable by matching records agaisnt the Product SKU (in the way we can do using mapped CSV import), rather than creating new records? If so, do you have any links to where I could best read up on how this is done?
Please forgive my ignorance here, I am relativity new to Airtable and have little experience of Zapier, neither, unfortunately, am I a programmer (one of the reason I am using this platform). That said, I do understand data integrity and the fundamentals of relationship databases etc.
I am really very greatful for your time and input here. :slightly_smiling_face:
No worries; the best innovations are created by business people, not coders. :slightly_smiling_face:
I think Airtable would love to make every feature possible where otherwise, code or complex Zapier configurations are required. But, these are resource-intensive features and reliance on their after-market-place is necessary.
I believe there is a way to do this without using the API, but since I tend to work more in API-land, I defer to a few of the Zapier and Integromap experts here in the community. I might also call out to @openside because I think they have a special toolset to do exactly this without writing code - could be wrong, but worth an investigation.
