Append CSV files to stack historical data

CSV files offer a simple and versatile way to gather, store and move data around your company, across departments and between software. But when you’re working with large volumes of data and constantly changing values these files can quickly get expand and multiply. Did you know you can connect CSV files to a spreadsheet to create an automated workflow and append CSV data entries automatically?

An automated data append workflow enables you to

• Save time — no more copy-pasting or manual work
• Streamline your work — no need to save old file versions
• Import CSV data into Excel or Google Sheets automatically
• Generate a historical data log, saving data at regular intervals
• Retain old CSV data and track trends over time
• Prepare your data for automated dashboards and reports

In other words, there’s no need to save old file versions, copy-paste data or created copies of dated spreadsheets, as you get an automated historical record of changes to your data in one spreadsheet.

How to append CSV data automatically

Step 1: Install Sheetgo

Install Sheetgo by clicking the button below.

Once inside the web application, click on +Create workflow and then Connect to create your CSV Append connection.

Step 2: Select CSV as your data source

Firstly, choose your source file from your cloud storage. This is the file containing the dynamic, changing data that you want to export and append in another spreadsheet.

In this example, I want to create a historical log of changes to a CSV file. I locate this file: “Social Media Following” inside my Google Drive.

Click Continue.

Step 3: Select your destination file

Under Send data to select your destination file. This is the spreadsheet you want to send data to. Data entries will be appended in this file at regular intervals, to generate a historical record automatically.

You can choose to send data to either:

• An existing file from your cloud storage.
• A new file. Sheetgo will create this file for you automatically. Just choose a file type and which cloud storage folder you want it to be saved in. Enter a name for this file in the New File Name box.

Sheetgo will create a new tab(sheet or worksheet) inside the destination spreadsheet containing the imported data.

As you can see, you can give this tab a name of your choice in the New tab box. If you don’t write a new name, Sheetgo generates an automatic tab name: Sheetgo_SourceFileName.

Step 4: Enable the Append setting

After you have selected your destination file, go to Settings.

Now switch on the Append button.

This will ensure that Sheetgo registers new data underneath previous entries in the destination tab. Over time, this will generate a historical record of changes to the data.

Click Finish and save to create the connection.

Your Sheetgo workflow has now been created. Click on Files and open your destination spreadsheet. You will see it contains a new tab containing the data imported from the CSV file.

To update the connections in the workflow, click Run on the floating workflow menu.

Each time the workflow is updated, fresh data will be transferred from the source file tab to the destination file tab (without affecting or changing the source data).

With Append enabled, each update creates a fresh data entry in the destionation sheet.

Step 5: Automate the workflow

Now it’s set up, you can automate the workflow. This means that data will be sent from the source to the destination sheet at regular intervals without you having to open Sheetgo or a spreadsheet.

Click Automate on the floating menu bar of your workflow.

Choose how often you want fresh data to be appended: hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. Sheetgo will create new entries underneath your old data at a set time.

Remember to only schedule automatic updates as frequently as your data changes. If your data only changes once a day but you schedule hourly updates, you will see repeated (identical) data entries in the spreadsheet.

Automated CSV data collection

That’s how to append CSV files automatically with Sheetgo.

Once you’ve started to build an automated workflow you can expand and built upon it by adding more connections to other files. For example, you can combine data from multiple CSV files into one central sheet, or filter specific information to another file. You can share your automated workflows with colleagues or even duplicate them to replicate a process for another task or department.

Want to automate more of your time-consuming spreadsheet tasks? Learn how to filter Excel data from one workbook to another.