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Import some or all sheets from an Excel workbook

When you upload an Excel workbook with several sheets, Mammoth lets you choose which sheets become datasets and how each is read. The dataset's panel in the Data Library shows "This file has multiple sheets to be extracted." with an Extract sheets button. For other files that read wrongly, see Fix how Mammoth reads a messy file.

Pick, read and save the sheets

  1. Click Extract sheets. Under Sheets, tick the sheets to include. Mammoth reads each sheet when the window opens and shows how many tables it found (for example, "Reads as 2 tables").
  2. Click a sheet to see its Source next to the dataset it makes. A sheet is Read automatically by default.
  3. To change how a sheet is read, click Say how to read and the sheet name (for example, Say how to read Q1). Describe it, for example "row 3 is the header" or "rows 1 to 3 are a table", and click Run this instruction. Back to automatic read undoes your read.
  4. When tables share the same columns, Mammoth groups them: "Combining adds a Source column to tell them apart." Tick two or more and click Combine (for example, Combine 3 datasets), or keep them Separate.
  5. Click Looks right. The save step lists the Datasets to create with their Cols and Rows.
  6. Untick any you don't want, rename them, and click Save (for example, Save 3 datasets).

One recipe produces all the datasets, and every run updates them together.

Replace the workbook or add sheets to a watched folder

  • Replace this file: drop or choose another workbook (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xls or .csv) to rebuild the recipe from it. If you already edited reads, renamed sheets or changed which datasets to save, Mammoth warns Replacing loses your edits, with Keep this file and Replace anyway.
  • When a later file has different sheets, the window says "This file has different sheets from the last one." and names the sheets that are new or gone.
  • When the workbook was uploaded to a watched folder, the save button reads, for example, Add 3 sheets to Monthly sales: "They go in as new batches, the way any file added to this folder does."
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