CSV Connector

Who can use this feature?

The CSV Connector can be used by those with the Builder subscription plan.

For more details, see our pricing comparison matrix.

The CSV Connector can be used to pull data from a .csv file that is hosted on a web server. It also gives options for filtering and refreshing that data.

Add a CSV Connector to your project by opening the CONNECTIONS drawer in the object browser, selecting Google Sheets from the dropdown box, and clicking the plus button:

CSV Connector Properties

DEFINITION

To connect to a .csv file, the webserver needs to be defined using a URL.

FILTERING

These properties can be used to filter the data coming into Squirrel.

• Filters - a range bound to the spreadsheet that defines the set filters for the data coming through.

The selected range above is the range that is bound to the "Filters" property.

There are two filter options:

1. Defining the specific filter value i.e. "Smith, John" to only return rows in the column that contains "Smith, John".

2. Using an asterisk (*) to return all values defined in the set column.

If filtering is used, the filters must contain either a defined value or an asterisk (*) or no data will be returned.

• Enforce case sensitivity - checking this property defines that any filtering set must be case sensitive. If not, no data will return

• Return header row - when checked, this value will also return the header values after the Filters have been defined

• Selected Columns - when bound to a cell that contains a comma-delimited list of column numbers, the connector will return those columns i.e. a cell containing "1,3" will return the 1st and 3rd columns in the .csv file, while still filtering based on the defined filters.

USAGE

The USAGE drawer of the properties panel allows for some control over how and when the data is refreshed. If the Google Sheets connector is to a Google Sheet that is constantly being updated, then it may be useful to have the Squirrel project update the imported data at regular intervals or in response to triggers in the Squirrel project.

• Refresh on load – This is the default setting and means that the Squirrel project imports the data from the Google Sheet on the project load. Unchecking it will mean that one of the other usage properties will need to be checked for the data to be imported.

• Refresh on interval – Check this file to set a recurring interval. The Squirrel project will import the data from the Google Sheet after each interval. The interval value is measured in seconds, setting it to 30 will ensure that the Squirrel project will pull the data from the Google Sheet every 30 seconds.

• Refresh on cell change – Bind to a cell that will have its content updated during runtime. This could be caused by the user interacting with a control, input from a data mover function, or the result of a calculation, etc.