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Answer

Triggering a zap when new Excel file is added in folder on desktop

  • December 16, 2024
  • 7 replies
  • 81 views
Z

Hi everyone, new user here! Searched a lot for an answer but couldn’t find anything that answered my question, so hoping someone can explain to me the correct way to set it up. I also posted this a few days ago but now it doesn’t show that it’s been posted, so my apologies if this is a duplicate.

I am trying to trigger a zap to go off when a new Excel file is added into a folder on my desktop. The folder is called “Zaps”, and I have a file in there already called “Zap test”. The Excel file contains rows of data that should then be dropped into a CRM and new leads be created from each row.

I tried setting up the zap where Excel and OneDrive were the triggers, and neither seem to work. Below are screen shots for the OneDrive setup.

 

 

 

It will then pull data fields like this, but I want it to pull the Excel file header fields like Name, Email, etc. Setting it up as Excel as the trigger did not pull the relevant Excel file headers either. 
 

 

How do I set up the trigger correctly where it would recognize whenever there’s a new Excel file in the folder on the desktop, it will then parse the relevant info and create a new lead? Thanks for your help!

Best answer by Troy Tessalone

Hi ​@ZippityZap 

Try adding one of these Zap step:

  • Files by Zapier - Text from File
  • Files by Zapier - Line Items from CSV

https://zapier.com/apps/files-by-zapier/integrations#triggers-and-actions

 

Then if you need to iterate thru each line item, you can use this Zap action: Looping - Create Loop from Line Items

Help: https://zapier.com/apps/looping/help

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

7 replies

Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
Forum|alt.badge.img+14
  • Troy TessaloneZapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • Answer
  • December 16, 2024

Hi ​@ZippityZap 

Try adding one of these Zap step:

  • Files by Zapier - Text from File
  • Files by Zapier - Line Items from CSV

https://zapier.com/apps/files-by-zapier/integrations#triggers-and-actions

 

Then if you need to iterate thru each line item, you can use this Zap action: Looping - Create Loop from Line Items

Help: https://zapier.com/apps/looping/help

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Platinum Zapier Solution Partner | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
Z
  • ZippityZapBeginner
  • Author
  • Beginner
  • December 17, 2024

Hi ​@Troy Tessalone, thanks for your response! Just to make sure I am on the right path, can you confirm that I am following your steps correctly?

  1. Saved Excel file “Zap test” as CSV and dropped it in “Zaps” folder on desktop
  2. Started OneDrive → as the trigger
  3. Added Files by Zapier → Line Items From CSV and these are the configuration and test result
  5. Does that look right so far? I started to add the Loop action after, but it didn’t seem like I was getting the info I needed, so wanted to confirm the above steps. The CSV has a header row (Name, Email, Address, etc) and then two rows of data. Each row, I would want to create a separate lead card to drop into a CRM. Did I lay it out correctly?

Thanks again for your help!

Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
Forum|alt.badge.img+14
  • Troy TessaloneZapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • December 17, 2024

​@ZippityZap 

How to use files in Zaps: https://zapier.com/help/create/basics/send-files-in-zaps
For the Files by Zapier Step 2, the CSV File field expects a file url or a file object from Zap step 1, rather than simply the File Name, which is just a text string value.

 

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Platinum Zapier Solution Partner | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
Z
  • ZippityZapBeginner
  • Author
  • Beginner
  • December 17, 2024

​@Troy Tessalone Thanks, that got me closer! Hope you don’t mind walking me through more questions :)

It’s finding the file, and after adding the Loop, it’s reading the rows of information separately now. However, it only created one lead card in my CRM, as opposed to two. Did I set something wrong? I read through some other help articles and watched videos and it seems like it was set up correctly.

You can see the filter test conditions bring back the two rows I have in the spreadsheet:
 

 

Then the configurations for the Loop seems like it’s bringing back correct data as well:
 

 

The test results show Loop Iteration 1 (screen shot below), Preview Loop Values Loop Iteration 1, Preview Loop Values Loop Iteration 2. It only created one lead card, from the first row, and not the second row (the Jacob Beam one).
 


 

 

Finally, it doesn’t seem like this set up recognizes to trigger when I drop a new file into the folder, even though I set it up to be. Is there a step missing?

Thanks again for your time and help thus far!

Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
Forum|alt.badge.img+14
  • Troy TessaloneZapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • December 17, 2024

​@ZippityZap 

You need to post screenshots showing how the Zap steps after the LOOPING step are configured in EDIT mode.

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Platinum Zapier Solution Partner | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
Z
  • ZippityZapBeginner
  • Author
  • Beginner
  • December 20, 2024

​@Troy Tessalone I kept on testing around files with a colleague and we got it to work! Thanks so much for your help in setting this up!

SamB
SamB
Community Manager
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  • SamBCommunity Manager
  • Community Manager
  • December 23, 2024

Yay! 🎉 That’s awesome news, ​@ZippityZap. Great job persevering with the testing and getting it to work. 🙌 And a big thanks to ​@Troy Tessalone for helping to help point you in the right direction! 🤗

It sounds like you’re all set for now, but do reach back out to the Community if you need any further help.

In the meantime, happy Zapping! ⚡

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