Google Sheets & Excel Integration
Overview
Yazi's live data connections allow you to sync your study results directly to Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel via SharePoint. Instead of manually downloading and re-downloading exports as new responses come in, your spreadsheet updates automatically in real time — giving you and your team a live view of results without logging into the platform.
Why Use a Live Connection?
Download CSV at a point in time
Data updates automatically as responses arrive
Must re-download for latest data
Always current — no manual refresh needed
One person downloads, shares with team
Team accesses a shared live document
Snapshot analysis only
Real-time fieldwork monitoring
This is particularly valuable during active fieldwork when you're tracking response rates, monitoring data quality, or sharing live results with a client or stakeholder.
Google Sheets Integration
Setting Up
Navigate to the Table Data tab in your study results
Click the Export button
Select Connect to Google Sheets
Authenticate with your Google account
Choose an existing Google Sheet or create a new one
Click Connect
How It Works
A new sheet tab is created in your Google Sheet
All current study data populates immediately
As new participants complete questions, their responses appear in the sheet automatically
The connection remains active for the duration of the study
Multiple team members can access the same Google Sheet simultaneously
Data Structure in Google Sheets
The sheet is structured identically to the Table Data view:
Row 1: Column headers (question names, participant fields)
Each subsequent row: One participant's responses
Columns: Phone number, timestamps, all question responses, media URLs, translations, enrichment data
Refreshing Data
Google Sheets updates automatically as new responses arrive. If you need to force a refresh, return to the Table Data tab in Yazi and re-sync the connection.
Microsoft Excel Integration (via SharePoint)
Setting Up
Navigate to the Table Data tab
Click Export
Select Connect to Excel / SharePoint
Enter your SharePoint URL or authenticate with your Microsoft account
Select the destination file and sheet
Click Connect
How It Works
Results sync to the connected Excel file via SharePoint
Data updates automatically as new responses arrive
The file is accessible to anyone with SharePoint access permissions
Works with existing Excel workflows and templates you may already use for reporting
Use Cases
Fieldwork Monitoring
Share a live Google Sheet with your research team so everyone can see response rates and data quality in real time — without each person needing a Yazi account.
Client Dashboards
Connect results to a Google Sheet that feeds a client-facing dashboard. Clients see live progress without accessing the Yazi platform directly.
Automated Reporting
Use Google Sheets or Excel's formula and pivot table functionality to build automated reporting on top of live Yazi data. As new responses arrive, your calculations, charts, and summaries update automatically.
Data Science & Analysis
Connect the live sheet to tools like Python, R, or Tableau that can read from Google Sheets or SharePoint, enabling advanced analysis on live data without manual exports.
Multi-Study Aggregation
Connect multiple studies to separate tabs within the same Google Sheet, then create a summary tab that aggregates data across all studies — useful for tracking studies, panel research, or multi-wave projects.
Managing the Connection
Disconnecting
To remove the live connection:
Navigate to the Table Data tab
Click Export → Manage Connections
Select and remove the active connection
Disconnecting stops future data syncing but does not affect data already in the sheet.
Multiple Connections
You can connect the same study to multiple destinations — for example, a Google Sheet for the research team and a SharePoint file for the client. Both receive the same data simultaneously.
Best Practices
Set up the connection at launch — don't wait until fieldwork is complete. A live connection from Day 1 gives you continuous visibility throughout data collection.
Share with view-only access — if sharing the live sheet with clients or stakeholders who shouldn't edit the data, set their access to view-only.
Build your analysis layer separately — keep the raw Yazi data tab untouched and create a separate tab for pivot tables, charts, and formulas. This prevents analysis from breaking when new rows are added.
Use filters carefully — filters applied in the Yazi Table Data view do not affect what syncs to Google Sheets. The live connection always receives the full unfiltered dataset.
Known Limitations
Authentication required — you must authenticate with Google or Microsoft to establish the connection. Ensure you have the appropriate permissions to create or edit files in the destination.
Large datasets — very large studies with thousands of responses and many columns may experience slight delays in sync. For most studies, updates appear within seconds.
Media files — media file URLs (voice notes, images, videos) appear as clickable links in the spreadsheet. The actual files are not embedded — they remain stored in Yazi and accessible via the link.
Enrichment data — if you upload enrichment data after establishing the live connection, re-sync the connection to include the enrichment columns in your sheet.
SharePoint permissions — for Microsoft Excel integration, ensure your SharePoint file permissions allow external write access. IT or admin configuration may be required depending on your organisation's SharePoint settings.
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