SharePoint Lists are important in data management and team collaboration, letting teams organize, store, and track all information in an organized format. However, when dealing with bulk changes, manually editing lists can be time-consuming. Excel is an influential tool for streamlining and managing data for SharePoint Lists, which can save effort and time.
In this blog post, we’ll understand the process of updating a SharePoint List from Excel, and know why it is beneficial, and walk through a step-by-step guide to get you started.
Why Update the SharePoint List From Excel?
There are several scenarios where updating a SharePoint List from Excel is highly beneficial:
- If you are migrating data from an older SharePoint list or from another system, streamlining your SharePoint List from Excel let you to conveniently import a big dataset of data without having to enter again it manually.
- Excel opens for massive data edits, making updates more effective and faster. While SharePoint Lists are best for organizing data, manually big datasets can be slow.
- Excel provides formatting, powerful data validation and error-rectifying features, which can assist in reducing mistakes while updating SharePoint Lists.
- Teams mostly use Excel for short-term data updates and collective edits. When it is finalized, the data can be imported back into the SharePoint List secure accuracy and consistency.
Step-by-Step Process to Update SharePoint List from Excel
- Export Your SharePoint List Data to Excel
Until you can update a SharePoint List from Excel, you’ll first and foremost need to export your old SharePoint List data into an Excel file.
Before you can update a SharePoint List from Excel, you’ll first need to export your existing SharePoint List data into an Excel file. Here’s what to do next?
- Navigate to your SharePoint site and open the list you want to export.
- On the ribbon, click the Export to Excel button (usually found under the “List” or “Library” tab, depending on your SharePoint version).
- SharePoint will generate an Excel file with the data from the list. You will be prompted to open or save the file. Save it to a location on your computer for easy access.
- Make Changes to the Excel Spreadsheet
Now that you have the SharePoint List data in Excel, you can easily update or make changes to the data in bulk:
- Open the Excel file that you just exported.
- Review the list of data and make any necessary changes, such as adding new entries, editing existing data, or deleting obsolete items.
- Ensure that the Excel sheet maintains the same structure as the SharePoint List (column names and data types) to avoid errors when importing it back into SharePoint.
- Save your changes once you’ve finished updating the data.
- Import the Updated Spreadsheet Back to SharePoint
Once you’ve made the necessary changes in Excel, it’s time to import the updated spreadsheet back into your SharePoint List:
- Go back to your SharePoint site and open the list that you want to update.
- On the ribbon, click on Quick Edit (also known as the datasheet view in some versions). This will allow you to edit the list in a spreadsheet-like interface directly in SharePoint.
- Now, you need to copy and paste the updated data from the Excel file back into SharePoint:
- Open the Excel file that contains your updated data.
- Select the rows and columns you want to import.
- Right-click and select Copy.
- Return to SharePoint and paste the data into the Quick Edit view of your list.
- After pasting, SharePoint will update the list with the new information from your Excel spreadsheet.
- Be sure to Save your changes after importing the data.
Common Issues When Updating Data from Excel to SharePoint
While the process of updating a SharePoint List from Excel is fairly straightforward, there are some common issues you might encounter along the way. Below are a few potential problems and tips for resolving them.
- Data Not Updating Properly
- Cause: One of the most common issues is when the data doesn’t update as expected after pasting it into SharePoint. This can occur due to a mismatch in the structure or data type between the Excel sheet and the SharePoint List.
- Solution: Ensure that the column names in your Excel file match exactly with the field names in your SharePoint List. Additionally, check that the data types (e.g., dates, numbers, text) in Excel correspond to the types defined in SharePoint. If there’s any mismatch, SharePoint might not update the list correctly or may fail to import certain rows.
- Error Messages during Spreadsheet Import
- Cause: When importing data from Excel to SharePoint, you may receive error messages like “Data type mismatch” or “Field cannot be blank.”
- Solution:
- Data Type Issues: Review your SharePoint List to ensure that all fields are receiving the correct data type. For example, if a SharePoint field is expecting a date, but the Excel file has a string (text) value, it will trigger an error.
- Blank Fields: Make sure there are no blank fields where SharePoint expects data. If required fields are left empty in Excel, SharePoint will throw an error when trying to import that data.
- Lookup Fields: If your SharePoint List contains lookup fields (e.g., referencing another list), ensure that the values in the Excel file match valid entries from the referenced list. If not, you might see errors about invalid references.
- Formatting Issues
- Cause: Excel often adds special formatting (e.g., hidden characters or extra spaces) that can interfere with data import into SharePoint.
- Solution: Before importing data, remove any special formatting or extra spaces in Excel. You can use the “Trim” function in Excel to remove extra spaces and ensure the data is clean. Additionally, ensure that the dates, numbers, and other values are formatted correctly to match SharePoint’s expectations.
- Large Data Sets
- Cause: If you’re working with a large amount of data, SharePoint may struggle to handle the bulk update, especially if you’re using the Quick Edit mode to paste the data in.
- Solution: If you’re dealing with large datasets, consider importing the data in smaller batches. Alternatively, you can use Power Automate to automate the data import process for large volumes of data.
Additional Tips for Updating a SharePoint List from Excel
- Ensure Data Compatibility: Before importing data, check for any column-specific requirements (e.g., date formats or lookup columns) in your SharePoint List to avoid any issues during the import.
- Use Power Automate: For more advanced automation, you can use Power Automate to sync Excel data with SharePoint. This allows for more dynamic and automated updating of lists based on certain triggers.
- Backup Your Data: It’s always a good idea to back up your SharePoint List data before making any major changes. You can create a copy of your list or export it as a backup just in case something goes wrong during the update process.
Conclusion
To Update the SharePoint List from Excel effectively manages huge data changes, enhances collaboration, and simplifies migration. Issues like update failures, syncing problems, and formatting errors can arise if not managed properly. By following the correct measures and best practices assures an accurate and secure update process.
By integrating Excel with SharePoint, you can minimize manual energies, keep your data consistent and save time. As if you are handling huge datasets or making fast edits, this technique improves efficacy and keeps your SharePoint List updated.
