Mapsly is a standalone software platform that exchanges data with your Google Sheets account through its API.
To start using Mapsly with your Google Sheets data, you will need to:
Sign up for a new Mapsly account.
Prepare your Google Sheets file for connection to Mapsly.
Add Google Sheets as a new data source to Mapsly.
Go through setup steps to import the data.
This guide will walk you through these steps.
1. Sign up for a new Mapsly account
If you haven't done it already, sign up for a new trial Mapsly account by going to Mapsly sign-up page. Your account will be free for 14 days, and no credit card is required at signup.
If you already have an account, log in here.
2. Prepare your Google Spreadsheet for import
To make your Google Sheets file compatible with Mapsly, make sure all sheets that you are planning to use in Mapsly meet following requirements:
Requirement #1: The first column should contain unique values to be used as IDs
In Mapsly, you can not only view your data on the map but also modify it, create new records from the map, or delete. To sync these changes to your Google sheet, use Create record, Update record, and Delete record actions.
To support this two-way data sync, Mapsly requires that the first column (column A) of each sheet connected to Mapsly contain IDs—unique values that Mapsly will use as identifiers.
If some IDs are empty in the ID column, Mapsly will generate them during the import.
If you don't yet have an ID column, you can insert it as column A and fill it in with unique auto-incremented values.
Requirement #2: The first row should contain column names, and optionally, field types and identifiers
Mapsly expects the first row to contain column names (and optionally, their types and identifiers), so ensure your first row contains column names, not data. If your sheet currently contains data in the first row, insert a new row at the top and manually fill in column names.
Note:
Mapsly will automatically skip columns with empty values in the first row.
Each sheet should contain more than 1 column; otherwise, it will be ignored during the import.
Requirement #3: CSV or Excel files should be uploaded to a Google Sheet first
If you want to upload data from XLS, XLSX, or CSV documents, upload them to a Google Sheet first!
Quick steps on how to upload your data to Google Sheets:
Quick steps on how to upload your data to Google Sheets:
In Google Sheets, create a new spreadsheet or open an existing one.
Click File > Import.
Choose the file and click Select.
Choose an import option:
Create a new spreadsheet
Insert new sheet(s)
Replace spreadsheet
Click Import data.
If prompted, click Open now.
3. Add Google Sheets as a new data source
To add your Google Sheets as a data source to your Mapsly account:
Go to Setup in the main menu
Click + button
Select Google Sheets from the list of connectors
Select your Google Account or Login to your Google account with email and password
You will be asked to provide access to Mapsly. Click the "Select all" checkbox and then the "Continue" button.
Select the prepared Google Spreadsheet
Click on Proceed
After clicking on Proceed you will be asked to confirm Google account. Select the same account and click Continue.
4. Select the Sheets you need in Mapsly and specify additional details: column types, address, name and ID columns
Step 1. Choose sheets to import
Select the required Sheets to be imported and click Proceed:
Step 2. Columns to import
Wait for the data analysis of the selected sheets. Mapsly will determine the number and types of columns to be imported. Once finished, review and update them on the Columns to import step:
Click Edit columns to review labels and types of columns. Mapsly checks the first 10 rows of each sheet and suggests the Data type.
There are 8 data types supported:
text
integer
float with option to select decimal separator
boolean
date and datetime with option to specify format (learn more about date format using this link)
picklist with option to view, add or remove values
lookup with option to select related sheet
Proceed to the next step once all columns are reviewed or updated.
Step 3. Names and locations
Indicate which column(s) Mapsly should use as the object's address and name for each sheet.
If necessary, create virtual address field(s)
If your Sheets rows contain address components in separate columns, create a virtual address field by clicking the New address field link under the Address selector and mapping your columns onto the address components:
Your new virtual address field will be automatically selected as your Address field.
If you have GPS coordinates, map them in addition to Address
If you have columns with the Latitude and Longitude, you may map them by clicking the crosshairs icon:
Note. If you have mapped both your Address and coordinates, Mapsly will use coordinates whenever they are not empty, and the Address otherwise. Mapping the GPS coordinates would also enable the Move command in the record's map popup.
Step 4. Choose sync method and ID columns
On the next step, there are two options to connect Google Sheet to Mapsly:
Enable auto-update
Disable auto-update
With auto-update enabled, Mapsly will automatically import new and updated rows from Google Sheets every 30 minutes. When you remove rows in Google Sheets, they are automatically removed in Mapsly. Also, when you edit your data in Mapsly, your modifications will be automatically saved to your Google Sheets.
Disabled auto-update may be selected when data is required in Mapsly as an initial setup and is not planned to be updated directly from Mapsly. You can use Mapsly API to make data changes, please learn more about Mapsly API here.
Once you select the data sync method, specify the ID columns.
ID column on a sheet contains unique values that identify rows. When auto-update is enabled, Mapsly will use ID columns to detect when new rows are added and when existing rows are updated or removed. Also these IDs can be used to update data via Mapsly API if auto-update is disabled.
Step 5. Importing your data
Once all parameters are set, the final step of the process is Data Import to Mapsly. During the import you can review errors in data types, full log of errors is available at Logs > Data Log for each sheet.
Click Proceed to finish the Google Sheet setup in Mapsly.
Additional notes
Maximum sheets count limit
The maximum number of sheets that can be imported from your Google Sheets document to Mapsly is 100. Based on their position in the document, only the first 100 sheets will be imported.
Defining data types before import (optional)
By default, Mapsly will determine types in all columns using data from the first 10 rows. However, if you'd like to explicitly indicate the data type for a column before the import, please use the format described in Step #2 of this article.
Implementation is included in your Mapsly subscription!
Your Mapsly subscription comes with implementation services, so we're inviting you to book a web call with our engineer today - to learn more about your use scenario and help you integrate Mapsly with your system. You may also ask us for help in chat any time 24/7.
More useful articles
If you'd like to see on the map only standard objects like contacts, the wizard's instructions are self-explanatory. In more complex scenarios, when you'd like to see other objects in Mapsly as well or use coordinates instead of an object's address, please refer to these articles:
how to use an object's coordinates stored in the CRM instead of its address in Mapsly (how to skip geocoding for locations that cannot be described by an address or those for which you already have GPS coordinates in your CRM);