Sheet Options

Sheet options control how the importer behaves for every upload against a sheet: what users see on each screen, where their data is stored, and how Excel files are interpreted.

These settings are also documented by the screen they belong to, under Sheet Settings: File Upload, Map Columns, Verify Data, Results, Display, and Security.

Setting	What it does
Data, privacy, and security
Server & data location	Store user data in the US or Europe (Germany)
File delete policy	Store uploaded files for a month, or not at all
Domain authorization	Run the importer only on domains you approve
File upload
Show file upload box	Allow file uploads, or only copy-paste
Worksheet selection	Let users pick a worksheet from a multi-sheet Excel file
Import description	Let users describe the file they upload
Formatting in Excel files	Control how Excel dates, times, and numbers are read
Column mapping
Mapping choice	Map file columns to template fields, or the reverse
Zero template columns	Accept files without any predefined template columns
Verify Data screen
Export button	Let users export data with errors highlighted to Excel
Import completion
Show error text	Show import failure messages to users
Import complete messages	Show custom success or failure messages
Resubmit button	Push the same file again with one click
Custom redirect URL	Send users to a page of your choice after a successful import
Importer window
Importer dialog size	Choose a medium or large dialog on desktop screens
Hide cancel button	Remove the Cancel button from the importer
Sheet transfer
Sheet import & export	Copy a sheet to another account or within the same account

Data, privacy, and security

Server & data location

Choose the geographic location of the servers and database that hold your users’ data. Data residency is the geographical location where data is stored, and it usually matters for regulatory or policy reasons. The US is the default location; the other option is Europe (Germany). Data uploaded by your users then passes through servers, and is stored in a database, in the selected location only. Go to Edit Sheets → Options → Privacy & Security section and select the location from the dropdown.

Data location dropdown in Privacy & Security settings

The selected location doesn’t cover long-lived data about the import and the user files. This is mainly supplementary log data that helps with troubleshooting and analyzing import processes, and it doesn’t include any original data from inside the user files.

You can also choose not to store the data at all. See File delete policy.

The diagram below shows how the data flows when Europe is the data residency location.

Data flow with Europe selected as the data residency location

File delete policy

Decide whether CSVbox stores the files your users upload.

Do not store the file: User-uploaded data isn’t stored in the CSVbox datastore.
Store data: Data is stored on CSVbox storage and auto-deleted after one month.

Choose based on your privacy preferences or the requirements of the sheet.

Domain authorization

Run the importer on approved domains only. Go to Edit Sheets → Options → Authorized Domains and add the domains or subdomains where the importer may be embedded.

If you don’t add any domain, the importer works on all domains. This is the default. Use the * wildcard prefix to include every subdomain:

Entry	Allowed	Not allowed
`exampleco.com`	`exampleco.com`	`www.exampleco.com`, `app.exampleco.com`
`www.exampleco.com`	`www.exampleco.com`	`exampleco.com`, `app.exampleco.com`
`app.exampleco.com`	`app.exampleco.com`	`exampleco.com`, `www.exampleco.com`
`*.exampleco.com`	All `exampleco.com` subdomains

If a domain fails validation, the user sees an Unauthorized domain error instead of the importer.

File upload

Show file upload box

Allow users to upload spreadsheet files, or only to copy-paste data. To accept copy-pasted data only, hide the File Upload Box: go to sheet settings → Display → File Upload and select No for the Show File Upload Box? option.

Worksheet selection

Let users choose which worksheet to upload from an Excel file that has several. Go to sheet settings → Display → File Upload and select Yes for the Allow Worksheet Selection option. When this is set to No, the first worksheet is used.

Import description

Let users name or describe the file they’re uploading. File names like contacts.csv or Import 123.xlsx lack context. Descriptions such as “Texas Customers” or “Parts from 2022 Catalog” make each import easier to identify. When enabled, a description box appears after the user selects the file. Go to Sheet Settings → Display tab → File Upload page → Show import description option and select Yes.

The description is pushed to the destination along with the row data, in the import_description property:

{
  "import_id": 79418895,
  "sheet_id": 575,
  "sheet_name": "Products234248",
  "import_description": "Product Catalogue Jan 2024",
  "env_name": "default",
  "destination_type": "webhook"
}

Supported destinations:

This feature is off by default. A description must be 3 to 100 characters long.

Formatting in Excel files

Control how dates, times, and numbers in Excel files are read. Unlike CSV files, Excel files keep formatting, formulas, and cell types. The way Excel stores dates, times, and numbers internally can therefore lead to unexpected values during import. CSVbox lets you choose how each of these is interpreted.

To handle dates and numbers written in different regional styles in an uploaded file (for example, a day-first 04/05/2024 or a European 1.234,56), see Smart Date and Number Formats.

Dates
Times
Numbers

Excel stores dates in one of two ways:

As formatted text: e.g., "03/04/2024"
As numeric serial values: e.g., 45025, the number of days since January 1, 1900.

This can cause problems with international date formats. "03/04/2024" might be March 4 in the U.S. (MM/DD/YYYY) or April 3 in Europe (DD/MM/YYYY). If Excel stores the date as a number (45025) and the format is misread, the result can be completely off.Date handling options

Default: Uses Excel’s built-in logic to interpret the cell as a date. Best for files with consistent formatting and locale.
MM/DD/YYYY: Forces the Month-Day-Year format. Example: "03/04/2024" → March 4, 2024
DD/MM/YYYY: Forces the Day-Month-Year format. Example: "03/04/2024" → April 3, 2024
Custom: Define a format like YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MMM-YYYY, or any other pattern that matches how your file stores dates. Example: "12-Mar-2024" → use custom format DD-MMM-YYYY

If your dates are inconsistently formatted or mix text and numeric values, clean them in Excel first, or use the Custom option for better accuracy.

Excel stores time values either as:

Numeric fractions of a day (e.g., 0.5 represents 12:00 PM)
Formatted time strings (e.g., "14:30", "2:30 PM", "14:30:00")

This causes parsing issues when some cells are numbers and others are text. For example, 0.75 might mean 6:00 PM (75% of a day), while "06:00" clearly means 6 AM but may be read as a string.Time handling options

Default: Uses Excel’s formatting as-is. Suitable for simple, clean files.
HH:MM:SS: Example: "14:30:00" → 2:30 PM
HH:MM AM/PM: Example: "2:30 PM" → 14:30
Custom: Define your own time pattern, such as HH:mm or h:mm a, based on your file’s content.

Excel often formats numbers in a way that changes how they appear:

A raw value of 0.15 could be displayed as 15%
A value of 1200 might appear as $1,200.00
A long number like 1234567890123 may be shown in scientific notation (1.23E+12)

These formatted values can mislead the importer if you expect clean numbers.Number interpretation options

Option	`$1,200.00`	`15%`	`1.23E+12`
Formatted Values: imports numbers exactly as shown in Excel	`$1,200.00`	`15%`	`1.23E+12`
Original RAW Values: strips formatting and imports the numeric value	`1200`	`0.15`	`1230000000000`

Use RAW if you plan to run calculations or validations on numeric fields after import.

Date formatting is set per sheet, during file upload setup. Number formatting is set per column, for finer control.

Configure date formatting

Open the File Upload tab

Go to Sheet Settings → Import Steps → File Upload tab in your CSVbox dashboard.

Choose a date format

In the Formatting in Excel section, choose your preferred option for Date Format.

Save the configuration

Save the configuration.

Configure number formatting

Edit a Number column

Go to Sheet Settings → Columns and click Edit on a column with type Number.

Select a Values for Excel setting

Locate the Values for Excel option and select your preferred interpretation.

Save the configuration

Save the configuration.

Column mapping

Mapping choice

Let users map file columns to template fields, or template fields to file columns. By default, on the column mapping screen, Template Fields are fixed on the left and Uploaded File Columns appear on the right in a dropdown, so users map each file column to a template field. The Mapping Choice option reverses this direction. Selecting Template Fields as the Mapping Choice flips the layout: File Columns are fixed on the left, and Template Fields appear in the dropdown on the right. This suits different file structures and user preferences.

The Template Fields Mapping Choice is not compatible with the Ignore Columns functionality.

Zero template columns

Accept file submissions without any predefined template columns. By default, CSVbox requires at least one template column for mapping. Setting Allow Zero Template Columns to Yes lets users submit files without any predefined template columns. Combine it with Unmapped Columns so users can upload files with any set of columns.

Use it when you want to accept user-defined file formats as they are, without enforcing a rigid template.

For this feature to work effectively, set Allow Unmapped Columns to Yes along with the Show Unmapped Columns on Validation Screen selection. This lets users review and verify file columns before submission.

Verify Data screen

Export button

Let users export their data, with errors highlighted, to Excel. Enable or disable the Export button on the Verify Data screen. The exported Excel file keeps the error highlighting and error messages, so users can fix the errors in Excel and quickly re-upload the file to CSVbox.

Exported Excel file with error highlighting — An exported file with error highlighting

Import completion

Show error text

Show import failure messages to your users. When enabled, users can click the See Errors button on the import complete screen to see why the import failed.

Import complete messages

Show your own success or failure message when an import finishes. The message can be:

Static: Any fixed text.
Dynamic: Fetched in real time from an API you provide. The importer appends metadata (import_id, sheet_id) to the API URL as query parameters, so you can return a message that fits the import.

Resubmit button

Push the same file again with one click. Show or hide the Resubmit button on the Import Success screen. It starts a new import that pushes the same file with the same import configuration, so you don’t have to upload the file, match columns, and confirm the data again. This is useful during testing and debugging.

Custom redirect URL

Send users to a page of your choice after a successful import. Specify the URL to redirect users to when an import completes successfully.

Importer window

Importer dialog size

Choose the size of the import dialog on large screens: Medium or Large. Pick the one that suits your import data structure (number of columns). Go to sheet settings → Display → Importer Dialog Size.

The dialog size applies to large (desktop) screens only. On smaller screens, the dialog always fills the entire screen.

Hide cancel button

Hide the Cancel button at the bottom-right corner of the importer. The X (close) button at the top-right corner stays. Hiding Cancel helps prevent users from abandoning the import by accident and keeps them focused on the Submit button, which suits workflows where you want to guide users toward submission. Default: No

Sheet transfer

Sheet import & export

Export a sheet from one CSVbox account and import it into another, or duplicate it within the same account, in a few clicks. Use it to:

Move sheets between staging and production accounts
Share templates across teams
Back up sheet configurations
Reuse validated sheet structures

Export a sheet

Open your sheets

Go to Sheets in your dashboard and locate the sheet you want to export.

Click Export

Click the Export button in the Actions column. A dialog opens showing:

Sheet License Key
Export Key
Options to Copy, Show, or Regenerate the export key.

Copy both keys

Copy both the Sheet License Key and the Export Key.

Import a sheet

Choose Import Sheet

Click Add Sheet, then select Import Sheet.

Paste the keys

Paste the Sheet License Key and the Export Key.

Click Import

Click Import. The entire sheet, including columns, validations, configuration, and settings, is copied into the new account.

The imported sheet gets a new License Key. The original sheet, and its existing imports and data, are not affected.

Getting Started

Dashboard Settings

Sheet Settings

Advanced Installation

Data Destinations

Account

Resources

Legal

Data, privacy, and security

Server & data location

File delete policy

Domain authorization

File upload

Show file upload box

Worksheet selection

Import description

Formatting in Excel files

Configure date formatting

Configure number formatting

Column mapping

Mapping choice

Zero template columns

Verify Data screen

Export button

Import completion

Show error text

Import complete messages

Resubmit button

Custom redirect URL

Importer window

Importer dialog size

Hide cancel button

Sheet transfer

Sheet import & export

Export a sheet

Import a sheet

​Data, privacy, and security

​Server & data location

​File delete policy

​Domain authorization

​File upload

​Show file upload box

​Worksheet selection

​Import description

​Formatting in Excel files

​Configure date formatting

​Configure number formatting

​Column mapping

​Mapping choice

​Zero template columns

​Verify Data screen

​Export button

​Import completion

​Show error text

​Import complete messages

​Resubmit button

​Custom redirect URL

​Importer window

​Importer dialog size

​Hide cancel button

​Sheet transfer

​Sheet import & export

​Export a sheet

​Import a sheet

Data, privacy, and security

Server & data location

File delete policy

Domain authorization

File upload

Show file upload box

Worksheet selection

Import description

Formatting in Excel files

Configure date formatting

Configure number formatting

Column mapping

Mapping choice

Zero template columns

Verify Data screen

Export button

Import completion

Show error text

Import complete messages

Resubmit button

Custom redirect URL

Importer window

Importer dialog size

Hide cancel button

Sheet transfer

Sheet import & export

Export a sheet

Import a sheet