Excel and Sharepoint Spreadsheets are commonly used spreadsheet programs.
And while they might seem very similar, there are quite few advantages in utilizing Sharepoint Spreadsheets with iPaper’s Enrichment Automation.
Excel is a great tool to get you started, though it has one big disadvantage when using it with iPaper: The data is static and not dynamic. This means you need to re-upload Excel files to make changes via Enrichment Automation, which might limit your options for having a fully automated flipbook.
Here's where Sharepoint Spreadsheets comes into play.
📖 This article explains:
The benefits of using Sharepoint Spreadsheets
No stale file handing
Sharepoint operates on the cloud, which can be accessed via a URL. As there are no files, the data can be now considered as dynamic.
Live-update
You can change fields and update information whenever you need. Having a document on the cloud can also allow you to collaborate and contribute in real time.
Enables option for auto-update
With dynamic data, you can reprocess your flipbook automatically once a day, to make sure your flipbooks are updated with the current information.
Drawbacks and security
Some manual work still required
Using Sharepoint is a great step into getting an automated flipbook with dynamic data. But this workflow still demands some manual work on from your side, which might be cumbersome.
If you have access to exportable data from a system, or a dynamic product feed, we recommend using that instead.
The URL will have to be public
As the Sharepoint Spreadsheet needs to be accessible via a public URL, your data is openly available.
Just to keep in mind that your documents are hidden behind an obscure URL which is still very hard to crack and might be secure enough.
If this is something your IT team is not sure about, we recommend using other sources of data that can be protected via a password
How to use it
1. Enable Sharing
Inside the document, click on ‘Share’ and make sure the link works for ‘Anyone’. A restricted link will not work.
2. Append file extension in the URL
To be able to use it in the Enrichment automation, we must specify the file extension.
To do that simply append &download=1 at the end of the URL.
Example:
https://ipaper-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/sep_ipaper_io/EWvRYmV659ZAsOW5_x0nxboB5a54uVnaDdwFSaG6ULzkXA?e=x4m76kc&download=1
3. Input the link in your Enrichment Automation
1. Click 'Flipbooks'
2. Click 'Modules'
3. Click 'Enrichment Automation'
4. Find the Enrichment Automation and click the pencil icon.
5. Add the link in the correct field and save.
Please note that the available fields in your enrichment automation may be different. If you’re ever in doubt, contact us at support@ipaper.io
Need help? Reach out to us
If this is the first time you'll be using a Sharepoint Spreadsheets/dynamic data Automation, we might need to adjust some settings, make sure to reach out to us at support@ipaper.io, so we can help you set it up.
If you have no data and are looking for where to start, make sure to download one of our Enrichment Automation templates here: