# Import a spreadsheet

> Load a CSV or Excel file into a table: map its columns to fields, convert units, check a dry run, then apply.

Source: https://www.speclatch.com/guide/import-export/import-a-spreadsheet
Who: Admin or Engineering. Plan: Every plan.
Last verified: 2026-11-11

## Before you start

- You need the Admin or Engineering role.
- The table and its fields exist. An import fills a table but does not create one, so start with [Create a table](/guide/tables/create-a-table).
- Your file is .xlsx or .csv, up to 20 MB. SpecLatch reads the first sheet and takes its first non-empty row as the headers.

## Steps

1. On **Tables**, click **Import data**. In a table's grid, **New record** › **Import a spreadsheet…** opens the same page with that table chosen.
2. Pick the table in **Import into**. **Download blank spreadsheet** gives a file with this table's columns and their units in the headers.
3. Click **Choose spreadsheet…** and pick your file. Columns whose header matches a field's name or key map themselves.
4. Keep **Create new records**. Check **Import as** for each column: map one to **Name (required)** and set unneeded ones to **— ignore —**. Map a column marked **looks like the model number** to **Model Number**, so repeats are caught.

   ![The Map columns step: each spreadsheet column with sample values, an Import as choice and a Source unit choice.](https://www.speclatch.com/guide/import-export/import-a-spreadsheet-1.png)

   *Each column gets a target field; a column bound to a unit-aware field also gets a source unit.*

5. If a number column uses another unit than its field, pick that unit under **Source unit**. Values convert into the field's unit as they import. A cell that carries its own unit, such as `60 °C`, converts too.
6. Click **Dry run (validate only)**; nothing is written yet. Each row gets a state. **New** rows will be created and **Duplicate** rows repeat an existing model number. **Error** rows hold a value that doesn't fit, and **Details** says why.

   ![A dry-run report with counts at the top and one row per spreadsheet line, marked New, Duplicate or Error with details.](https://www.speclatch.com/guide/import-export/import-a-spreadsheet-2.png)

   *The dry run shows what each row will do before anything is written.*

7. Fix the file or the mapping and repeat the dry run until the report looks right. Click **Apply**, which counts the rows to import, and confirm.

> **Tip:** Click **Save profile** to keep this mapping. Next time, **Apply profile…** maps the same column names, in any column order.

> **Apply needs a fresh dry run.** Changing the table, the mode, a column's target or a source unit clears the report. Run the dry run again to unlock **Apply**.

## What happens after

New records start as Draft, unless you mapped a Status column. Calculated fields fill in from the imported values. When the import finishes, the page shows the import report, with a link to the table's grid, and the bell notifies you with the counts. Record history names the file the values came from.