Our Google Sheets integration is officially in beta! You can add it to your Unito account, but there are a few things you should know first.
How does this beta work?
When an integration on the upcoming integrations page gets enough interest, we start working on adding it to the Unito toolbox. We then release a beta version of the integration so you can get access to it earlier. That opens it up to your feedback so we can tailor it to better fit your use case.
Our Google Sheets integration is now in beta, meaning you can use it with Unito right now! However, there are a few differences between a beta integration and a regular integration that you should know about.
Supported fields and other features
With Unito's Google Sheets integration, you can pull crucial data out of your sheets and plug it into any other tool in your stack. Here's how it works.
When syncing information from Google Sheets, Unito will keep the structure in your sheets and translate it into something the other tools in your stack can
understand.
That's why your flow will check the values entered in each cell of your sheet's first row.
Each cell will then become its own field. So if cell A1 has the word "Title" in it, Unito will translate that into a field called "Title." When building your flow, you can map this to the "Title" field in your other tool. You can do this with each cell in that first row, each one becoming a field Unito can map and sync.
Unito syncs rows as individual work items. So if you sync a Google sheet to a Trello Board, row two of your sheet will become a Trello card, populated with the information in each column.
What counts as an item in sync?
For Google Sheets, Unito counts every synced row as an item in sync.
Rules
With Unito, you can build rules that filter information out of your flow. For this integration, you can build two types of rules:
-
Sync column if it has a value: Say you have a column labelled as Priority in your Google Sheet, and you only want to sync rows that have been prioritized. With this rule, any row that doesn't have anything in the Priority column will not be synced.
-
Sync column if it's empty: The exact opposite of the previous rule. Taking that Priority example again, a row will not sync if it has anything in the Priority column.
Creating spreadsheets with Unito
When building a flow with Google Sheets, you can create a new spreadsheet directly from Unito. Just click Create a new Google Sheets Sheet after connecting your Google account.
Your new spreadsheet will be created at the root of your Google Drive — not in any specific folder. Once it's created, it will automatically be selected as the block of work used in your flow.
Note that you'll still need to install the Unito add-on for Google Sheets in this new spreadsheet, otherwise you won't be able to sync any data over.
Finding spreadsheets with a URL
When it's time to connect your spreadsheet, all you have to do is paste its URL into Unito to add it to a flow.
Limitations and other things you should keep in mind
Because it's still in beta, our Google Sheets integration doesn't do everything a full integration can. Here are some of these limitations.
-
Cleared Rows vs. Deleted Rows: To remove a row from your spreadsheet, you must delete the row entirely. If you only clear the row, it will continue to count as an item in sync, and subsequent rows will simply appear beneath it.
-
Attachments: Not currently supported for this integration.
-
Rich text: That means bold and italic text won't sync over.
-
Hyperlinks: These are considered rich text, so they're not supported by this integration. Note: If you try to sync a hyperlink from one Google Sheet to another, the link might get deleted in the destination sheet.
-
Webhooks: These aren't supported yet. This means that a Google Sheets flow will check for changes every few minutes rather than syncing changes in real-time.
-
Dates: Unito only supports some date and time formats in Google Sheets. You can see them here.
Necessary permissions
During the authorization process, you'll need to give Unito access to your Google account so your flow can see and edit your sheets.
Installation instructions
To use this integration, you'll need to install the Unito add-on for Google Sheets. Add-ons let you do more with your sheets, and you need to install this for Unito to work.
Start by going to the top of your Google Sheet. Click on Extensions, then Add-ons, and finally Get add-ons.
Type "Unito for Google Sheets" in the search bar to find the add-on.
Install the Unito for Google Sheets add-on and follow the instructions on the popup.
Once you've installed the add-on, here are a few things to keep in mind:
-
Use the first row as a header. Make sure the first row contains distinct and descriptive names for your columns (like priority or due date).
-
When you click on Insert the two columns in this sheet, Unito will automatically create a column named UnitoID at the beginning of your sheet and one named Last Modified at the end. They'll automatically be populated when your flow is launched. These columns are essential, so be sure not to change or remove them. You can hide them, but they still need to exist.
-
Don't add, remove, or modify anything in the UnitoID and Last Modified columns. Doing so can break your flow.
-
Once you've been through the two steps above, log in to the Unito app and you can start building your first flow.
-
The UnitoID and Last Modified headers can be in any columns since Unito will only look up fields/columns between those two. When you set up your flow, you'll be able to choose which of these columns you want to sync — you don't have to sync all of them.
Ready to get going? Here's a step-by-step guide to connect Google Sheets and another app or tool to Unito so you can start populating spreadsheets with real-time data.