Microsoft Excel
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Each lead Signals receives is appended as a row in a workbook Signals creates in your Microsoft 365 storage. Leads arrive in a file the team already shares, without anyone needing a Studio login to see them.
It does the same job as the Google Sheets destination, for organizations standardized on Microsoft rather than Google.
As with any spreadsheet, treat it as a working surface rather than a system of record, and send the durable copy to a database or file destination.
Supported sources
Section titled “Supported sources”Sources supported by Microsoft Excel
| Category | Supported |
|---|---|
| Lead generation |
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- A Microsoft account with permission to create files in the location you intend to use.
Authentication
Section titled “Authentication”In Studio, open Destinations, find the Files category, and click the Microsoft Excel tile. This connector uses single sign-on.
- Click Sign in and choose the Microsoft account you want to deliver into.
- Grant the requested permissions.
Configuration
Section titled “Configuration”Integration type and connection
Section titled “Integration type and connection”Select the Integration Type, which is the lead generation source the leads come from. The options are Meta Lead Ads, Snapchat Lead Generation Ads, TikTok Lead Ads, LinkedIn Lead Ads and Google Forms. Then select the lead ads connection name you want to deliver from, and give the instance a name. The instance name is yours to choose and does not have to match anything.
Spreadsheet configuration
Section titled “Spreadsheet configuration”Enter a name for the spreadsheet and select the folder it should be stored in. Click Validate Credentials. The file path is then displayed, showing where the spreadsheet will be created. Click Finish.
Studio creates a folder named Datahash in the location you chose, or in the root drive if you did not choose one. Inside it, a subfolder is created using the connection name, and all incoming leads are appended to the spreadsheet there.
Manage instance
Section titled “Manage instance”One connection writes one workbook. To deliver a second source, or into a second workbook, add another instance with a different name and folder. To change an existing one, click the connection name in Manage Connections, click the edit icon in the top right, update the fields, click Validate Credentials and click Finish. Clicking Cancel leaves the previous configuration running.
Data & identifiers
Section titled “Data & identifiers”Leads are delivered as submitted. Personal data is not hashed on this destination, because the system receiving it is your own and the point is that people and applications can read it.
Excel coerces values as it writes them, and more aggressively than Sheets. Long numbers become scientific notation, leading zeros are dropped, and anything resembling a date is reformatted to the workbook locale. Format those columns as Text once the workbook exists.
Once a row is written, retention and access are governed by your Microsoft 365 permissions and retention policy, not by Signals.
Which fields arrive is decided by the lead form on the connected source, so a field you need that is not appearing has to be added there.
Verify delivery
Section titled “Verify delivery”Open the workbook after the first leads arrive. Confirm rows are appending, that values sit in the right columns, and that the row count matches what the source produced.
Check the identifier columns closely, since phone numbers and postcodes are where coercion shows up. There is no match quality on this destination; the equivalent check is completeness.
Best practices
Section titled “Best practices”- Format phone number and postcode columns as Text as soon as the workbook is created.
- Store the workbook on a SharePoint site rather than in a personal OneDrive, so the file does not disappear with the person.
- Work in Excel Online rather than the desktop app while the connection is live, so the file is not locked for editing when Signals writes to it.
- Review who the file is shared with. A downloaded copy of the workbook is a full copy of the personal data in it.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Section titled “Troubleshooting & FAQ”No rows are appearing. Usually the authenticated account has lost access, or the file has been moved or renamed. Reconnect and reselect.
Writes are being rejected. The workbook is locked for editing, typically by someone with it open in the desktop app with unsaved changes.
Phone numbers show as scientific notation. The column is formatted as a number. Set it to Text.
Duplicate rows. Expected behavior. A worksheet cannot reject a duplicate.
Can I deliver into a workbook I already have? No. Studio creates the workbook and the folder structure itself.