Show data from Excel or Google Sheets in a design

You can fill the text in a design straight from a spreadsheet. Link a text box to a cell, a whole column or a row of an Excel Online or Google Sheets file. When someone changes the spreadsheet, the text on your screens changes with it, and nobody has to open the Designer. It works well for a menu with prices, today's room bookings, opening hours or a price list.

Before you start

Your team needs a connected Microsoft or Google account. You can connect it from the Designer, or go to Settings > Connections.
Excel files need to be in OneDrive or SharePoint and saved as .xlsx.
Put a heading in row 1 and a name in column A of each row, for example the dishes in column A and the prices in column B. Screenbird then finds the right value by name, even after you add or sort rows.

Pick a spreadsheet

Open your design in the Designer and click Data in the menu on the left.
Click Excel Online or Google Sheets. Not connected yet? Click the button to connect your account and come back to the Designer.
Choose your spreadsheet. For Excel you pick one of your recent files or browse your folders. For Google you pick the file in Google's own file window.
The sheet opens as a grid with the real values. If the file has more than one sheet, choose the sheet at the top.

Link a text box that is already in your design

This is the quickest way to fill a ready-made template, such as a menu, without changing its look.

Select a text box in your design, for example the price of a flat white.
Click the cell with that price in the grid. The text now shows the value from the spreadsheet, with its font, size, color and position unchanged.
Select the next text box and click the next cell. The grid stays open, and the line above it shows which text box you are linking.

You can also start from the text: select it and click Data in the toolbar, then choose Excel Online or Google Sheets.

Add new text from the spreadsheet

With no text selected, a click in the grid adds a new text box:

One cell: click a cell.
A whole column: click the column letter. You get one text box with each value of that column on its own line, without the heading. Place two of these text boxes side by side, for example one with the dishes and one with the prices, and the lines stay aligned.
A row: click the row number. You get the filled cells of that row next to each other.

Style the text as usual. The value itself comes from the spreadsheet, so you cannot type over it.

Linked by name or by cell

Select a linked text box and click Data in the toolbar to see how it is linked.

By name (the default whenever possible): the text follows the row with the same name in column A and the column with the same heading in row 1, for example "Flat white" and "Price". Adding, removing or sorting rows does not break the link.
By cell: the text always shows the same cell, for example B3.

You can also set the text that appears when the cell is empty, for example "Sold out", or unlink the text box. An unlinked text box keeps its last value and no longer changes.

How quickly screens update

Screens check the spreadsheet every 2 minutes. If a screen loses its internet connection, it keeps showing the last values for up to 24 hours.

Something is not right

The text does not change: check that the spreadsheet is saved and wait a few minutes. In the Designer, use the refresh button above the grid.
The panel asks you to reconnect: the connection has expired. Reconnect the account in Settings > Connections.
A text box shows the empty-cell text, or nothing: the name in column A or the heading in row 1 was changed or removed. Put the name back, or link the text again.