Modifying Excel File used in Excel Data Sources in Bold BI: Guidelines & Best Practices
When working with Excel data sources in Bold BI, it is crucial to understand how changes to your Excel files when reconnecting can affect your dashboard widgets. This article provides guidance on how to update your Excel files while maintaining the integrity of your data connections and widget configurations.
Updating Excel Files Without Affecting Widget Configuration
Appending Data and Columns
- Allowed: Adding new rows of data to existing columns.
- Allowed: Appending new columns to the end of the existing schema.
Example of a Safe Update:
| Old Schema | New Schema | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Id | Name | Age | Id | Name | Age | Country | ||
| 1 | Name A | 23 | 1 | Name A | 23 | USA | ||
| 2 | Name B | 24 | 2 | Name B | 24 | India | ||
| 3 | Name C | 25 | AUS |
This update will not affect the existing widget configuration. However, you will need to enable the new column in the data source designer page.
Modifying or Removing Columns
- Not Allowed: Changing the existing column headers.
- Not Allowed: Removing columns that are currently used in widgets.
Example of an Update that Affects Configuration:
| Old Schema | New Schema | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Id | Name | Age | Id | Name | ||
| 1 | Name A | 23 | 1 | Name A | ||
| 2 | Name B | 24 | 2 | Name B |
Removing the ‘Age’ column will cause a loss of configuration for widgets that rely on this column.
Case Sensitivity in Column Headers
- Important: Column headers are case-sensitive.
Example of Case Sensitivity Impact:
| Old Schema | New Schema | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Id | Name | Age | Id | name | age | |
| 1 | Name A | 23 | 1 | Name A | 23 | |
| 2 | Name B | 24 | 2 | Name B | 24 |
Changing the case of column headers will result in a loss of configuration for the affected widgets.
Reordering Columns
- Caution: Changing the order of columns can affect widget configurations.
Example of Reordering Impact:
| Old Schema | New Schema | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Id | Name | Age | Name | Id | Age | |
| 1 | Name A | 23 | Name A | 1 | 23 | |
| 2 | Name B | 24 | Name B | 2 | 24 |
Reordering columns will cause the widgets configured under the ‘Age’ column to be lost, while other widgets may remain unaffected.
Additional References
