Semi-structured data
Read past the logo, the title and the blank rows
Real workbooks are not tables. They have banners, title blocks, merged cells, notes and the data you actually want somewhere in the middle. Nexadata reads exactly the region you point it at.
At a glance
Read-onlyWhat it reads
- Excel workbooks: .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm
- Multi-sheet files, one tab at a time
- Banners, title blocks and merged cells
The trick
An anchor cell, so banners and title rows are simply ignored.
- SOC 2 Type II
- Zero data retention
- SSO / SAML / RBAC
- Cloud-agnostic
The platform processes your data. An LLM never touches it.
The connector
What Nexadata does with a workbook
The data rarely starts at A1
A logo in row 1, a report title in row 2, the period in row 3, a blank row, then finally your header. Set the anchor cell to where the header actually is and everything above and to the left is ignored. No manual tidy-up pass, and no asking the sender to change how they export.
Subheaders and unit rows do not break it
When a styled header is followed by a subheader, a unit-of-measure row or a line of notes before the first record, the header offset accounts for the gap. The header stays the header and the notes do not become row one.
Row counts that change every month
Dynamic range detects the contiguous block of data from the anchor cell, so a file with 400 rows this month and 900 next month needs no attention. Turn it off and give explicit rows and columns when you want a fixed window and everything beyond it ignored.
Know what you will break before you break it
Reopen a saved dataset and a referenced workflows panel lists every workflow consuming it, so you can see the downstream impact before changing the anchor cell, swapping the file or renaming anything.
How it works
From workbook to dataset
Connect, transform, map, review. Each step is guided by a no-code copilot, and you approve the plan before anything runs.
- 01
Connect
Pick the file-based connection holding the workbook, choose Spreadsheet as the data format, then load the sheet list and point at the data region.
- 02
Transform
Reconcile the sheet against the system it was exported from, fill the gaps it is there to cover, and reshape the result by describing it to the Transform Copilot.
- 03
Map
Turn whatever someone typed into the cells into the members your target model recognizes, including the spellings and abbreviations a strict lookup would reject.
- 04
Review
Confirm the column names and types Nexadata read from the region before the dataset is saved and scheduled.
Use cases
What people run through it
The monthly file from a system you cannot reach
Some systems only ever give you an export. Treat that export as a proper input: same sheet, same region, loaded and harmonized on a schedule rather than by hand.
Read the guideReports exported from BI and ERP tools
Exports arrive with a logo and three title rows above the data because they were built to be read, not loaded. Point past them and use the numbers.
See the use caseThe spreadsheet that became a system of record
Every finance team has one. Keep it where people maintain it, and stop it being the reason the model is out of date.
Try it freeSet it up
Step-by-step documentation
Every screen, in order, with screenshots.
Setting up a spreadsheet dataset
Every field on the Connect Data step, explained one by one.
Read the guideSupported data formats
How tabular, spreadsheet and PDF formats differ and when to use each.
Read the guideHow to create a dataset
The wizard every dataset goes through, whatever its format.
Read the guideNexadata Hub
Managed storage, if your files have nowhere else to live yet.
Read the guideQuestions
Spreadsheet data FAQ
- My data does not start at cell A1. Is that a problem?
- No, it is the normal case. Set the anchor cell to where your header row actually begins, for example A5 when a logo and title occupy the first four rows, and everything above and to the left is ignored.
- What if there are extra rows between the header and the data?
- Use the header offset, which is the number of rows in that gap. A styled header followed by a subheader or a unit-of-measure row is exactly what it is for. In most files the value is zero.
- What if the number of rows changes every month?
- Leave dynamic range on and Nexadata detects the contiguous block of data from the anchor cell, so a file that grows or shrinks between runs needs no attention. Turn it off and specify rows and columns when you want a fixed window instead.
- Which spreadsheet formats are supported?
- Excel workbooks, in .xlsx, .xls and .xlsm. Anything maintained elsewhere is exported to one of those first. Flat CSV and tab or semicolon delimited files take the tabular path instead, which has its own delimiter handling.
- How do I know what a change will affect?
- Reopen the dataset and the referenced workflows panel lists every workflow consuming it, so you can see what depends on it before changing the anchor cell, swapping the file or renaming it.
More integrations
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Detect and curate the tables inside a document, then reuse that configuration on every later file in the same layout.
ExploreSee it on your data
Start free with your first use case, or talk to us about your stack.