Microsoft SharePoint Document Library Data Source

Contents

Available on the Advanced and Enterprise tiers:

Essentials
Advanced
Enterprise

About

The Microsoft SharePoint Document Library Data SourceClosed Data sources, also known as "Lookups", are external sources of data that you upload or connect to TrueContext. You can reference this data in a form to populate answers or answer options. Data sources save typing, reduce errors, and make it easy to provide mobile users with only the relevant, most current data. retrieves data from a file in a Microsoft SharePoint Document Library. This data can then be used to populate a list of options in dropdown or radiobutton questions.

Data SourcesClosed Data sources, also known as "Lookups", are external sources of data that you upload or connect to TrueContext. You can reference this data in a form to populate answers or answer options. Data sources save typing, reduce errors, and make it easy to provide mobile users with only the relevant, most current data. are usually set up to fetch data on a specified schedule. This allows teams to maintain and update their data through the external service of their choice, minimizing the need to access the Web Portal.

Microsoft SharePoint is a part of the Microsoft 365 suite of tools and services. Document Libraries are file repositories on users' collaborative Sites.

Set Up the Data Source

  1. Create the Data Source as described here.
  2. Select Microsoft SharePoint Document Library as the type.
  3. Select a Name and optionally enter a Description.
  4. Set up the Data Source using the information below. 

Data Retrieval and Format

Push updates to device after a fetch

If this option is selected, users will get a notification from the Mobile App after a fetch. It will prompt users to reconcile (send/receive or refresh). This setting is recommended if it is important that users have the most up-to-date data.

  • With "push updates" and an automatic fetch set up, some Data Sources send a notification for each fetch, whether or not the Data Source has new data.
  • If the fetch schedule is hourly, users may get notifications hourly even if the data has not changed.
  • Some users may find these notifications annoying or confusing. Consider the fetch frequency carefully if notifications are enabled.

retrieval_andformat.png

Fetch Schedule

Automatically fetch new data on a schedule:

  • If checked, data will be retrieved from the Document Library at the Fetch Frequency interval.
    • Make sure that the team has at least one Problem Contact Email Address. If a fetch is unsuccessful for any reason, this address will receive an email with an error message and details. Without this email, it may not be immediately clear that a fetch has failed.
  • If unchecked, the data source will not be updated automatically. To retrieve new data from the Document Library, the data source will need to be manually updated through the "Fetch New Data" button in the web portal.

Fetch Frequency: 

Choose Hourly, Daily, Weekly or Monthly. This is how often the data source will fetch new data from the Document Library.

Fetch Timezone:

This applies to all fetch frequency options except “Hourly.” Data will be fetched at midnight in the chosen time zone.

Input Configuration

inputconfig.png

  • Choose a Data Format (CSV, XML, JSON, or Excel). CSV is most commonly used.
  • UTF-8 Encoded: If the file to upload is saved with UTF-8 encoding, check this option.  If you are not sure if it is, leave this unchecked.
  • Trim Whitespace: This option will remove any space, tab, or other "whitespace" characters that may be present at the beginning or end of a data value. This is recommended.
  • CSV Delimiter: This option is relevant only when uploading a CSV file. When saving to delimited format from a spreadsheet application, comma is generally used as the separating character, but semi-colon may be used by some applications in some regions.

Connection

Connection: Set up a Microsoft 365 Connection or choose an existing connection.

In TrueContext, when you set up a Connection, you enter the account credentials for the third-party system. Once you save the Connection, it becomes available to TrueContext and other users for Data Source and Data DestinationClosed A Data Destination specifies where to send data from a submitted form. You can use Data Destinations to automate data sharing and storage, routing data to a specific service (such as email or cloud storage) in several different formats. setup. This means that other TrueContext users on your team can fetch and access data available to the third-party user account.

Note:We recommend that you create a dedicated Integration User account for your third-party system and use that account to set up TrueContext ConnectionsClosed A Connection is an integration point that's used to link a TrueContext Data Source or Data Destination to an external service to import or export data. Data Destinations and Data Sources that share the same external service can also share the same Connection.. Set up the Integration User with specific permissions and limited access to the third-party system data. This ensures that TrueContext Admin users and users with “Can Create” permissions can only access the data that they need.

Vanity URL

Tip:Vanity URLs are a Microsoft SharePoint legacy feature.

If your company hosts SharePoint document libraries in a domain different from sharepoint.com, select Site has a Vanity URL. Enter your custom domain name in the format my.company.com.

Site Prefix and File Path

SharePoint Document Library Data Source Site Prefix and File Path

When you set up your Data Source, you select a Site Prefix and enter a File Path. These depend on the location of your existing file in your SharePoint document library.

  • The Site Prefix tells us where the SharePoint document library is, relative to the main (root) site.

  • The File Path tells us the name of the site, document library, folder, if applicable, and file.

Note:If the file is not in a folder, you don't need to specify a folder name. If the file is in nested folders, include the name of each folder separated by a forward slash (/).

The document library URL helps you determine the Site Prefix.

Use the file Path in SharePoint to determine the File Path you enter in the TrueContext Web PortalClosed The TrueContext Web Portal is a web application used to manage security settings, forms, FormSpaces, other users, Data Sources, and Data Destinations.. The following image shows a Path example in SharePoint.

Fill the Source Data immediately:

"Fill the Source Data immediately" checkbox

  • If left unchecked, the data source will wait until the specified time and interval to retrieve data for the first time.
  • If checked, the first data retrieval will occur immediately after creating the data source.