Skip to main content

Google Sheet Asset

Pro Feature

Pro features are only available with a Professional licence. To upgrade, visit cavalry.scenegroup.co.

Intro​

A Google Sheet Asset can be used as an input to the Spreadsheet Utility. Importing data from a Google Sheet means data can be edited in a browser by anyone, anywhere and updated instantly in Cavalry.

Google Sheet URL​

To copy the URL for a Google Sheet either:

  • Copy it to the clipboard directly from the address bar/omnibox of a browser tab.
  • Copy it to the clipboard using the Copy Link button in the Share options. Note that, if there are multiple sheets/tabs within the Spreadsheet, this method will only copy the URL of the primary sheet. By default, this sheet's URL will end in gid=0 but if that Sheet has been deleted, the most recently created sheet will be used. If in doubt, copy the URL from the address bar/omnibox of the browser tab instead.

Reference a Sheet​

To reference a specific sheet/tab, copy the url from the address bar/omnibox of your browser with that sheet/tab open/active.

Permissions

The Link Sharing options available via the Share button must be set to Anyone with the link. The Role can be set to any of the available options.

It's not yet possible to access Sheets with restricted permissions.

Importing​

To import a Sheet:

  1. Either:
    • Right click in the Assets Window and choose Import Google Sheet...
    • Use the File > Import Google Sheet... menu item.
  2. Enter the url of the sheet into the dialogue window.
  3. Hit OK.

A Google Sheet Asset will appear in the Assets Window.

Connect the Data​

Dragging this Asset from the Assets Window into the Viewport or Scene Window will create a Spreadsheet Utility and connect the Asset to its File attribute.

Alternatively, manually create a Spreadsheet Utility and then drag the Google Sheet Asset from the Assets Window into its File attribute.

Options​

Right clicking on a Google Sheet Asset provides the following options:

  • Spreadsheet Settings - Define how Cavalry will interpret the data (the same settings are available for a CSV Asset):
    • Delimiter - Set the symbol used to separate each cell within the data. Note - this must be set to , (comma) for Google Sheets Assets. It's possible for .csv data to contain a different delimiter.
    • Quote - Set the symbol used to determine strings within the data.
    • Decimal Separator - Set the symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number. (e.g. . in 12.75)
    • Factorize - This must be checked when using the Factorize attribute on the Spreadsheet. Note - factorizing data may result in a performance hit.
  • Rename - Rename the Google Sheet Asset.
  • Reload - Reload the Google Sheet data. This is required whenever the Google Sheet is changed.
  • Replace Google Sheet - Replace the link from the current Google Sheet to a different one.
  • Open Google Sheet in Browser - Open the linked Google Sheet in a web browser.
  • Delete - Remove the Google Sheet Asset from the Scene.
Mixed data types

Where columns contain cells with a mix of data types (strings/values/colours etc), the format may need to be specified within the Sheet in order for the contents of the cells to be 'correctly' interpreted. For example, the first cell below is a number so the column will be read as such but the second cell is not a valid number and so will not be read by Cavalry.

Column
28
11/345

In this example, these cells need to be set to 'Plain Text' by using the Format > Number > Plain Text menu item in Google Sheets. This means they will be interpreted as strings when read by the Spreadsheet Utility. Note that this will mean that the number 28 in the first cell is no longer a read as a number/value.