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Data Sets

Data Sets

Updated September 27, 2024

Data Sets by Process Street

Data Sets allow you to create and store tables of data to use in your Workflow runs and Forms.

You can utilize them to speed up Workflow and Form building, filling form fields in Workflow runs, maintain consistent data across all your processes, and to reduce data entry errors.

In addition, you can use Data Sets as variables in your Workflows and set up custom integrations by using our automations, or integrations with Webhooks, our API or Zapier.

Users: Admins and Members can create or view data sets and saved views.

In this article we’ll cover:

  • Permission and visibility of Data Sets in your organization
  • How to create Data Sets and saved views
  • How to connect saved views with your Workflows
  • Using saved views as variables in Workflows
  • Exporting Data Sets and saved views
  • Automating and integrating with Data Sets

Permission and visibility

  • Admins can see Data Sets and saved views created by all users
  • Members can be grated permission to edit all views, or only view them
  • Guests (Internal) and Guests (External) do not have access to Data Sets. The Data Sets tab is hidden for these users

Creating a Data Set

You can either create a Data Set from scratch, by uploading a CSV file or generate a Data Set using Process AI.

Generating a Data Set with Process AI

generate a data set with ai

If you’re looking for a quick way to get started using Data Sets and saved views, you can utilize Process AI to generate a Data Set for you.

Learn how to generate a Data Set with AI. 

Creating a Data Set via CSV

If you already have your data in another tool, you can export it as a CSV, then upload it into Process Street to create a new Data Set for you.

Click +Data Set and select Import Data Set.

import a data set

Your CSV will need column headers and must not exceed the limits of 10,000 records, 50 columns per record, and 5kb per record.

Tip: Delete any empty rows before creating your CSV.

Your Data Set will be created with the name of the file you uploaded and the sheet name. All your data will be created in text format.

If you’d like to rename your Data Set, click the settings cog in the left side of your view. Make your changes and click Save to finish.

Creating a Data Set from scratch

Click +Data Set and select Blank Data Set, after which you’ll be promoted to give your Data Set a name, shown below.

Create a data set from scratch

How to add fields, rename them and add records

Keep adding more records as needed. You can use your tab and cursor keys to navigate the table.

Create a saved view

To be able to connect your Data Set to a Workflow, you’ll first need to create a saved view from it.

By default, all new Data Sets have a view called All Data, which you can connect to a Workflow or a Form.

However if you wish to only share part of your Data Set in a Workflow, you’ll want to filter, sort or hide some of the fields first.

New data set saved view

All saved views you create from this Data Set will show on the tabs at the top of your view.

Connecting a saved view to a Workflow

New Workflows

If you’re building a new Workflow, add a dropdown form field and click the three dots at the right of the form field, shown below.

Select the saved view you’d like to use and the field that will become the pick list in your Workflow runs, as shown above.

Note: If you have sensitive data in your Data Set that you don’t want to share, be sure to hide those columns first, before creating a saved view.

Publish your Workflow and run it. Now you can select from the options in your dropdown that are connected to your saved view.

In the video above, you can also see how to auto-fill form fields using variables from your Data Set.

Existing Workflows and form fields

If you already have a Workflow with a dropdown in use, you can edit your Workflow and connect a saved view to it. This effectively overwrites the selections in your existing dropdown with new ones.

If you publish changes to your Workflow and don’t update active Workflow runs, then nothing will change in these runs.

If you do push changes to all active Workflow runs, any selections that were previously made in the dropdown will be retained. Anywhere there was no selection made, the dropdown will show the new list.

Any new Workflow runs created will show the new options in your dropdown field.

Duplicating form fields

When you duplicate a form field with a saved view connected, the saved view will also be duplicated. You can then move this field to another task.

If you’d prefer to use another saved view for the duplicate, click the three dots and disconnect the original saved view, then connect a different one.

Sharing Data Sets

You can share Data Sets and Saved views with other Admins or Members who are already part of your organization.

Members can be granted one of two permission levels shown below.

Share a Data Set

Exporting Data Sets & saved views

To the right of the share button (shown above) is the export button. You can export Data Sets and saved views to help integrate your data with other tools.

Click the export button to export your Data Set or saved view as a CSV file.

Automating Workflow runs & Data Sets

You can create automations to add, update or delete records in your Data Set with data collected in your Workflow runs.

Choose when a task is complete in a Workflow run or when a Workflow run is complete.

Integrating Data Sets

You can also integrate Data Sets with other tools or apps by using Webhooks, our API or Zapier.

See where your saved views are connected

If you have saved views connected to a Workflow, you’ll be able to see this from the purple icon in the top right of your view.

Click this icon to see a list of Workflows that this view is connected to.

Deleting a saved view

Click the saved view you’d like to delete and the click the three dots to see the option to delete it. You’ll be reminded here that your saved view is connected to a Workflow.

You can disconnect any form fields that you may have connected before you delete your saved view. If you choose not to, the data can still be seen in active Workflow runs, in dropdown selectors, and as variables.

Deleting a Data Set

If you choose to delete a Data Set, all the saved views created from it will also be deleted.

Click the settings cog on the the side of your view and click delete. You’ll be asked to confirm before deleting.

Delete a Data Set

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I disconnect a saved view from a form field in Workflow runs?

A selection already made in a dropdown field will be retained in active Workflow runs. Variables that used the previously connected saved view will need to be removed or re-added.

Data selected or used as variables in any completed or archived Workflow runs will be retained.

Can I use dropdowns that are connected to Data Sets in run links, with the API or with Zapier?

Not at the moment but we’ll be looking at updating this as soon as we can.

The dropdown selector doesn’t load in Slack

The Slack App is not supported in the Beta version. Open the Workflow run in a browser to use the dropdown selector.

I don’t see all the selections in my dropdown when editing a Workflow

When editing a Workflow, the dropdown list is in preview mode so you’ll only see the first three line items. To see them all, publish and run your Workflow and make a selection on the dropdown.

Can I embed a saved view? 

Not in the Beta version.

Can I use Data Sets on a mobile app?

Yes, but Data Sets and saved views are best managed on the desktop version of Process Street.

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