Cloud Datasets is a feature that allows you to create sets of data in your spreadsheet(s) using Coefficient and then store them in the cloud. Think of a dataset as your master spreadsheet, you can access and pull data from at any time. These data sets can be scheduled to refresh, and you can customize them as needed. Share your Cloud Dataset(s) with your team for collaboration and group projects. How cool is that! ☁️
What are the Benefits of a Cloud Dataset?
Generating Data Subsets from a Single Dataset
Enhanced User Accessibility and Team Collaboration
How to create a Cloud Dataset?
Create imports using a Cloud Dataset
What are the Benefits of a Cloud Dataset?
Store Large Amounts of Data
Spreadsheets expand constantly with new and updated data for any business. The size and Google Sheets limitations/Excel limitations can make this a challenge sometimes. By using Cloud Datasets with Coefficient, your data is stored on cloud servers, which alleviates the size limitations and spreadsheet load lag.
ℹ️ NOTE: Cloud Datasets with Coefficient currently can handle up to 100K rows per import! (Our team is planning to increase soon - so stay tuned!)
Generating Data Subsets from a Single Dataset
Leveraging Cloud Datasets allows you to establish and maintain a primary dataset, which serves as the foundation or single source that once updated funnel the updates to other imports. You can then effortlessly generate various data subsets by applying various parameters such as filters and sorting. This approach eliminates the necessity for extensive formula usage, including functions like VLOOKUPS, which can otherwise add unnecessary complexity to your spreadsheet. 🏋🏽
Scheduled Refresh
Similar to a Coefficient import, your Cloud Dataset can be scheduled to refresh on a cadence you can choose (Hourly, Daily, or Weekly). Any updates or changes made to the source spreadsheet (master) will be reflected in your Cloud Dataset after the refresh is complete.
Enhanced User Accessibility and Team Collaboration
With Cloud Datasets, you can easily share data with team members, enabling them to access and reference it as required. This is particularly valuable for team members who may not possess advanced SQL query skills but require data access for reporting and analysis purposes. They can utilize the query you've created or shared as a foundation and adapt their own copy from the 'master' dataset to tailor the data to their specific requirements. This not only streamlines the process but also enhances overall team efficiency!! Owners/Creators of a Cloud Dataset can also have more control over who has access, which mitigates accidental changes that can happen in a regular spreadsheet. 😵💫
How to create a Cloud Dataset?
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1. Open the sidebar and click “Import from…”.
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2. Scroll down and select “My Datasets”. |
3. Select “Create New Dataset”. |
4. You will be redirected to the Cloud Dataset Web App page then select your Source Sheet from your Google Drive.
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5. Select the Tab and Range from your spreadsheet. The "Tab" refers to the actual sheet that contains the data you want to retrieve. (Example: "film_rentals.film") For the “Range”, you can either select "Entire Sheet" to capture all the data on your spreadsheet or a "Range" to specify a specific range of cells (eg. A3:C15). ℹ️ NOTE: When making a dataset, make sure your headers are unique in your sheet to prevent errors like 'Empty header columns' or 'Duplicate column headers’. The header should be the top/first row of your Sheet range. |
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6. The Icon can be updated, as well as a unique Name and optional Description. ℹ️ PRO TIP: Adding a description will help other users have some context of the data within this dataset. |
7. Schedule your dataset to refresh as needed. (Hourly, Daily, and Weekly). 😎 ℹ️ PRO TIP: We recommend scheduling your dataset(s) to refresh AFTER all the Coefficient imports within the spreadsheet have been updated. Example: You have 2 imports in the same source sheet scheduled to refresh at 10 am PST daily. In this case, we recommend scheduling your dataset to refresh at 12 pm PST (a 2-hour buffer). |
8. Turn on sharing to encourage collaboration among your colleagues, then select “Create Dataset”.
9. Congratulations on creating your first Cloud Dataset with Coefficient. ☁️🎉
Create imports using a Cloud Dataset
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1. From the sidebar, click “Import from…” |
2. Select “My Datasets” |
3. Select your Cloud Dataset (we are using the one we created above) |
4. Customize your import by selecting/deselecting the necessary fields and adding filters, sorts, and row limits. Click "Import" when you are finished.5. Congratulations on creating your first import using a Cloud Dataset! 🎉
FAQs about Cloud Datasets
Who can use Cloud Datasets?
Cloud Datasets are available to users of a domain with team collaboration features. (gmail.com or other free domain users are not supported)
How can I refresh my Cloud Dataset? What is the best option for my use case?
There are two ways you can refresh imports with Coefficient; manually and scheduled. Refreshing your Cloud Datasets can also be refreshed manually and on a schedule however, there are a few things to keep in mind that we want you to know.
- Manual Refresh from the web app: This will refresh the data on the web app only, but the imports built off this Cloud Dataset will refresh on their next scheduled run or manual refresh of that specific import.
- Scheduled Refresh of a Cloud Dataset: This will refresh the Cloud Dataset (on the schedule you designate) and all associated imports.
- Manual Refresh on a single import of a Dataset: If you refresh one of your imports from a Cloud Dataset, the Dataset will refresh FIRST (the source) and then pull the updates down into your import sheet. Other imports created from the Dataset will not update until their scheduled time OR they are also manually refreshed. =
What happens to my imports if the Cloud Dataset breaks or hits an error?
If your Cloud Dataset encounters an error, you will receive a warning in the sidebar of the import stating that your “data may be stale”. Within the warning, it will prompt you to contact the owner/creator of the Cloud Dataset to resolve the issue. If you are the owner/creator, click on the “View Dataset” (link) within the warning. NOTE: Your import may not refresh until this issue is resolved. The owner/creator of the Dataset will also receive an email notification about this error. Example of an Error Message (UI):
Example of an Email Notification to the Dataset Owner:
Can I create a Cloud Dataset from a shared spreadsheet?
YES! As long as you have Editor/Viewer (Google Sheets/Excel) Permissions to the spreadsheet you can create a Cloud Dataset. If your access to the spreadsheet is removed - your Cloud Dataset will be broken.
What happens if my Cloud Dataset is deleted?
If your Cloud Dataset is deleted, it will break all the imports that were created from it, and no new imports can be created from it.
How can I disable Cloud Datasets for my Team?
The Coefficient Admin will need to navigate to My Workspace in the Coefficient Menu (launch the Coefficient sidebar, click on the Menu/Triple Stack Icon, and select My Workspace) and click on Settings (bottom/left of the page). From there, they can uncheck the "Enable cloud datasets" option. If any Datasets were created while this was enabled, and this feature gets disabled for some reason - the existing Datasets will not be deleted. If you want to delete a Dataset that must be done individually via the UI.
How secure is my data with Cloud Datasets?
When a Cloud Data set is created the information (data) is stored in Coefficient’s secure cloud - this makes your datasets accessible when you use Coefficient. With this additional convenience of data stored in the cloud, you may have some data security concerns. Data security is a top priority here at Coefficient - rest assured that your data is safely secured on our servers. If you would like to learn more about the data security measures we have in place click here.