Do hidden Excel columns get imported?

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1

Any way to avoid hidden Excel columns from being imported into a glide table?

(I should have checked, but I assume they are always automatically imported).

2

The Protected Column feature is designed specifically for this reason: to avoid displaying data from an external data source such as Google Sheets or Excel in Glide. Admittedly, I never use the feature. I know it’s available in Classic Apps, but I don’t know if it’s available in Apps. Please let us know!

(I’m not in front of a computer.)

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3

Thanks I will check later.

4

The Protected Column is still there.

  • In the Data Editor, go to a table of an external data source (Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable)
  • Go to column whose data you would like to hide
  • In the drop down menu of the column, you can “Make protected”
  • If I recall correctly, you can write to Protected Columns, but the app cannot read the data from that column ever (and therefore neither edit nor delete data).
  • EDIT (see Darren’s comment below): “Actually, you can edit data in Protected Columns, both with Edit Forms and using Set Column Values actions.”

CleanShot 2023-05-17 at 22.01.05@2x
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5

So the answer appears to be no. Glide overrides any visible/hidden settings in an Excel sheet and imports everything into a Glide table. After import, all columns are visible even if they were hidden in the Excel sheet. Pity.

6

Actually, you can edit data in Protected Columns, both with Edit Forms and using Set Column Values actions.

It’s kind of weird, because if you open an Edit Form and add an input that points to a Protected Column, it will appear empty - even though it may have data in the source.

I’m not exactly sure if that is intended or not. My gut feeling is that it might be a bug/oversight :man_shrugging:

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7

I was not really talking about protected columns. Just hidden columns in Excel. I will try to see if Glide ignores protected columns on import. Thanks.

8

Good to know. Write+edit it is then. Thanks for the correction.

9

Do a test of course, but I don’t think Glide will ignore hidden columns.

Basically, Glide displays the data that is there in the Excel / Google Sheets and doesn’t “see” any type of formatting: lines, colors, font types, filters, hidden columns, slicers … all these really are formatting. I know the term “formatting” is not the best when it comes to filters or hidden columns. What I mean is, in a filter or a hidden column, the data is definitely there, it just happens to be hidden from view in Excel / Google Sheets. But it’s there. So Glide will display it in the Data Editor.

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10

Yeah, maybe the API that Glide calls don’t have the ability to see whether the column is hidden or not, or in an extension of it, as you said, formatting.

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