Limitations of Unito's Google Sheets Integration

Here's a breakdown of what Unito's Google Sheets integration can't do yet — and a few other considerations.

Unito's Google Sheets integration is designed to get crucial data out of your spreadsheets and into other tools. You've seen what Unito can do for Google Sheets users, so this article will cover what it can't do — yet.

What does this article cover?

• Unsupported fields for Google Sheets users
• Adjusting date-time formats
• Limitations for Unito's Google Sheets integration
• Other Google Sheets considerations
• What happens if I manually delete a synced Google Sheets row?

Unsupported fields for Google Sheets users

• 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.

• Comments: Since Google Sheets doesn't have comments, you won't be able to map comments from another tool to a column in Google Sheets.
• Subtasks: Unito's Google Sheets integration does not sync subtasks.

Adjusting date-time formats in a Google Sheets integration

If you're syncing dates to Google Sheets, you can adjust the way they appear in your spreadsheet by adjusting the format used in your spreadsheet. Here's how:

1. Open your sheet and select the column with your dates.
2. Then click Format > Number > Custom date and time.
3. From there you can choose the format you wish and apply it to all the cells in your date columns.

Limitations for Unito's Google Sheets integration

• 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.

• Cell character limit: You won't be able to sync information into a cell if the source (i.e., the work item you're syncing to Google Sheets) contains more than 50,000 characters due to a limitation in Google Sheets.

• 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.

• Spreadsheet names: We do not support special characters like “:” in the name of the spreadsheet since this will prevent rows from syncing properly.
• Custom fields: In order to properly sync custom fields from another tool, they have to be identical to the data in Google Sheets. So if a dropdown in Asana has an option called Editorial, that same option in Sheets has to be called Editorial as well.
• Subtasks: Since Google Sheets spreadsheets don't have a work item hierarchy the way some tools do, you won't be able to sync subtasks and other sub-items (e.g. Trello checklists and Asana subtasks) to Google Sheets.
• LastModified and rules: If your flow has a rule that keeps it from filtering rows created before a specified date, any rows created before that date will be synced if they're updated. Say you created your flow on March 1st 2023 and only want rows created after that date to be synced with Unito. If a row created on February 28th 2023 is updated on March 2nd 2023, the LastModified row will be updated to that new date, and the row will be synced.
• Default time when syncing to Google Sheets: When syncing a date without a set time or time zone to Google Sheets, Unito will automatically set the time to noon UTC. So, for instance, if you sync an Asana task with a due date of March 15th (but no time) in the Eastern Standard Time zone, you'll see "March 15th, 08:00AM" in Google Sheets. That's because Google Sheets automatically adjusts the time to your specific time zone.
• Protected columns: If you protect any columns in your Google Sheet, Unito won't be able to make any changes to them. So make sure your columns aren't protected if you want to sync data to (or from) them with Unito.
• Syncing data from forms or automations: Unito can only sync rows or updates that are added to spreadsheet rows manually. The platform won't sync data to a spreadsheet via forms or automation rules outside of Unito's.
• Updating cells in header rows: If you need to update the cells in your header row, you'll have to update the field mappings in Unito to match. Otherwise, your flow will stop syncing any cells in a column with an updated header.
• Sheets tab titles: If the titles of your Sheet tabs have colons in them (this symbol :) Unito won't be able to sync anything out of that spreadsheet. Make sure to remove colons from those titles so they'll sync properly.

Other Google Sheets considerations

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 Add 2 columns, 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.

  • If you don't add these columns at this stage, you'll be prompted to do so when mapping your fields in your Unito flow. They'll be automatically added around the columns you've included in your flow. You won't be able to sync any data out of your spreadsheet until the UnitoID and Last Modified columns are added.

• 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.

What happens if I manually delete a synced Google Sheets row?

If someone with access to your synced Google Sheets chooses to delete a destination row, you'll likely encounter problems with your flow. This often goes unnoticed at first if that person later manually re-adds the deleted rows. If that's the case, unfortunately those manually added rows won't be synced to the originals via Unito.