Excel to Directory · Your App Cloud
Turn your Excel list into a directory
Upload the vendor, resource or partner list you keep by hand. Turn its category tabs into filters and its fill colors into a published status, check every link and picture, and keep your notes off the listings.
From a list one person keeps to listings anyone can look up.
Three passes over the workbook: fold the tabs into one list, put the meaning of colors and notes into words, then hold each listing up against its row.
01
Fold the category tabs into one list
Attach the workbook with the upload button above. In the prompt, say that each tab name is a category and which columns the tabs share. Name the columns only one tab has, such as Capacity on Venues, so they appear on that category's listings alone.
02
Put colors and notes into words
A hand-kept list records decisions as formatting, and a fill color is not text in the cell. Before you upload, add a Status column and type Listed, Pending or Closed to match each row's fill. Then say in the prompt which notes and columns stay with the people who maintain the directory.
03
Hold listings up against their rows
Pick five rows from different tabs: one business kept on two tabs, one with a picture, one with a link and one under a merged area heading. Compare each listing with its row, then view the directory as a visitor and look for any private column.
What each habit of a hand-kept list becomes.
The tabs, businesses and colors below come from an illustrative event planner's vendor list, not a real one. Find the same habit in your own workbook, then read across to the check.
| In your Excel list | In the directory | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A tab for each category: Caterers, Florists, Venues, Photographers | A category on every listing, and a category filter on the browse page | Compare each tab's row count with the listings under that category. A business kept on two tabs, such as Northwind Catering on Caterers and Venues, should be one listing with two categories. |
| Columns only one tab has, such as Capacity on Venues or Cuisine on Caterers | Fields that show only on listings in that category, with a filter where visitors choose by them | Open a florist's listing and confirm it has no empty Capacity line. Then filter venues by guest count and look for any hall whose capacity was typed as text, like '150ish', or left blank. |
| An area name such as 'North County' merged down the first column beside a block of vendors | An area on every vendor in that block, and an area filter | Excel keeps a merged cell's text in its upper-left cell only, so the workbook stores the area on the block's first vendor. Check that the last vendor in each block got the area too. |
| Cell text that is a hyperlink, reading 'Website' or the business name | A link on the listing, with the address stored apart from the words shown | The words in a cell and the address behind them can differ. Right-click a few and choose Edit Link to see the address, or read the formula when the HYPERLINK function built it. Type each address into a Website column of its own, then check that each listing's link opens that page. |
| Logos and photos placed in cells, or floating over the grid | A picture on each listing, added from the original image files | Don't count on pictures stored inside the workbook arriving with their rows. Keep the original files named after each listing, check every listing shows its own picture, and use only images you have permission to publish. |
| Fill colors: green for listed, yellow for waiting on a reply, gray for closed | A status on each listing, where only Listed shows to visitors | A fill is formatting, not text, so filter each tab by cell color in Excel and type the matching word into a Status column. Count the green rows: the directory should show that many listings, and no gray row anywhere. |
| Cell notes, such as 'Prefers texts' or 'Raised prices in May' | A private notes field for the people who maintain the directory, or nothing | On the Review tab, choose Notes, Show All Notes to see every one. Copy those worth keeping into a Notes column, then confirm that column appears on no public listing. |
| A Services cell with several lines typed using Alt+Enter | Separate services, each one an option in a filter | Say in the prompt that each line inside the cell is a separate service. Then open a listing whose cell held three lines and check it shows three services, not one run-together phrase. |
| A Direct line column holding an owner's personal cell phone number beside the business phone | The business phone on the listing; the personal number private or left out | Decide for the whole column, not vendor by vendor, so no personal number slips through on one row. Then open the listing of a vendor whose personal number you know and confirm only the business phone appears. |
What a hand-kept list never wrote down.
When one person keeps a list, its rules live in habits: a color for confirmed, a note about who to ask, a column hidden because a vendor asked you not to share it. Write each habit into the prompt with the upload.
Hidden columns and tabs still travel
A column you hid years ago, such as rates or a home number, is still in the workbook, and anyone with a copy can unhide it. On a copy, unhide every column and tab, then delete what the directory should never hold before you upload.
A color can change meaning between tabs
Yellow may mean 'call back' on Caterers and 'new this year' on Venues. Filter each tab by cell color, write down every color you find, and settle on one status word for each before you fill in the Status column.
Given to you is not given to the public
A vendor who shared a cell phone number for bookings didn't agree to see it on a public page. Before launch, ask each business to confirm what its listing shows, and start with those who have said yes.
One keeper becomes several
The workbook had one editor, so it never needed a rule for corrections. Decide who approves a change in the directory, and whether the Excel file is retired or re-imported on purpose, since an upload is a snapshot.
An illustrative starting point
A directory where the hand-kept list was.
Every tab in one browse page with a category filter, a page per listing with its link and picture, and a Listed or Pending status on each vendor.
One list from many tabs
Ask for a single browse page across every tab, sorted A to Z, with a search box and the tab names as a category filter. Check that the count beside each category matches the green rows on that tab.
Links and pictures that hold up
Each listing page can carry a website link, a business phone and a logo or photo. Follow every link on ten listings, because an address that went stale in the workbook turns into a dead end for a visitor.
Published only when ready
A status field decides what visitors see, so a vendor you are still waiting on can sit in the directory as Pending. Switch one listing to Listed and back, checking the browse page each time. Saving status changes needs a backend.
Notes behind sign-in
Your notes and private columns can live in a collection that only the people maintaining the directory sign in to see, with the access you describe for each collection. View a listing as a visitor to confirm.
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Good questions.
My list has a separate tab for each category. Should I combine them first?
You don't have to. Upload the workbook as it is and say in the prompt that each tab name is a category. Do tidy the headers first: a column called Phone on one tab, Tel on another and Phone # on a third should get one name everywhere.
Do the links and pictures in my cells come across?
Don't count on either. A cell that reads 'Website' keeps its address behind the words, so type the addresses into a column of their own before you upload, then follow a sample of links. For pictures, keep the original image files, name each after its listing, and check that every listing shows its own.
How do I keep the directory current once it's published?
Later edits to the workbook won't appear by themselves. Pick one place for changes. If Excel stays that place, add an ID column before the first upload, because hand-kept lists rarely have one. Re-import deliberately, match on that ID, and check that a vendor who changed its name still has a single listing.
Can businesses ask to be listed or send a correction?
Yes, through a form that saves each request for you to approve before the directory changes. Saved requests need a backend, and so does an email telling you one arrived. Send a test request from an address you control and check both.
Can some details show only to people who sign in?
Yes. Keep the browse page public and put private details, such as a vendor's direct line or your own notes, behind sign-in with the access you describe for each collection. Check it twice: signed in as a test user, then as a visitor with no account.
Can someone help me maintain the directory?
Yes, in the published directory. A volunteer who approves listings signs in to it, with the access you describe for each collection. Changing how the directory works happens in Studio, where each Exepad account has one builder.
Which plan does a directory built from an Excel list need?
Listings kept in a database, sign-in, request forms that save and email all need a backend, so the directory is an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. List what the directory must do after launch, such as approving requests or keeping notes private, and compare the plans on the pricing page.
Can I get the listings out again later?
Yes, you can export your app's data and code. Run an export once the directory has been in use for a while, and check it holds every listing, category and private note you expect. Keep the original workbook until you've confirmed that.
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Explore knowledge apps ↗
See the outcome and the capabilities behind it.
How to turn an Excel spreadsheet into an app ↗
For a workbook that runs a process rather than a list people look up: auditing the sheets, turning formulas into rules and testing against the file.
Understand data and context ↗
Give information the right place in your app.
Prepare to publish ↗
Check the experience you will share.
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