Quickstart

For synchronous data import/exchange completed in one session, create a new Space each time Flatfile is opened. This suits situations where a clean slate for every interaction is preferred.

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Before you begin

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Get your keys

To complete this tutorial, you'll need to retrieve your Publishable key from your development environment.

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Prepare your project

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Create your file structure

Setup your app to look something like this:

├── public/
   └── index.html
   └── styles.css
├── src/
   └── blueprint.js

In this file structure, your app should have two main directories, public and src.

The public directory contains the index.html file, which is the entry point of the application’s front-end, and the styles.css file for styling the iframe.

The src directory contains the main components and logic of the application, including the blueprint.js file, which defines your schema.

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Build your importer

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1. Initialize Flatfile

Initialize Flatfile to open in a modal. Pass in your publishableKey and a new Space will be created on each page load. Also, add the content here to your styles.css.

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2. Run in browser

Now, open index.html in a browser. You should see that Flatfile opens on page load and an empty Space gets created.

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3. Build a Workbook

Now, let's build a Workbook inside the Space for next time.

1. Update your blueprint.js with this simple Blueprint.
2. Update index.html to import the Workbook.

Next time you open Flatfile, you'll see a Workbook called "Contacts" that has one Sheet with three fields. Your Workbook will also have a Submit action. We will configure this action in the next step.

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4. Set the destination

Finally, let's get the data out of our system and to your destination with onSubmit.

Once you add this code, when the submit button is clicked, this will be the place you can egress your data. Learn more about Egress Out

window.onload = function () {
  FlatFileJavaScript.startFlatfile({
    publishableKey: "pk_1234",
    namespace: "portal",
    sheet: blueprint,
    onSubmit: async ({ sheet }) => {
      const data = await sheet.allData();
      console.log("onSubmit", data);
    },
  });
};

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5. Transform Data

Next, we'll listen for data changes and respond onRecordHook,

Once you add this code, when a change occurs, we'll log the entered first name and update the last name to "Rock." You'll immediately see this begin to work when you add or update any records. Learn more about Handling Data

window.onload = function () {
  FlatFileJavaScript.startFlatfile({
    publishableKey: "pk_1234",
    namespace: "portal",
    sheet: blueprint,
    onSubmit: async ({ sheet }) => {
      const data = await sheet.allData();
      console.log("onSubmit", data);
    },
    onRecordHook: (record) => {
      const firstName = record.get("firstName");
      console.log({ firstName });
      record.set("lastName", "Rock");
      return record;
    },
  });
};

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6. Match your brand

By attaching a themeConfig, we will now override colors in your Space to match your brand. See all of the options here in the Theming Reference.

window.onload = function () {
  FlatFileJavaScript.startFlatfile({
    publishableKey: "pk_1234",
    namespace: "portal",
    sheet: blueprint,
    onSubmit: async ({ sheet }) => {
      const data = await sheet.allData();
      console.log("onSubmit", data);
    },
    onRecordHook: (record) => {
      const firstName = record.get("firstName");
      if (firstName) {
        record.set("firstName", firstName.toUpperCase());
        record.addInfo("firstName", "We updated the values to all uppercase");
      }
      return record;
    },
    themeConfig: {
      root: {
        primaryColor: "red",
        textColor: "white",
        logo: "https://images.ctfassets.net/hjneo4qi4goj/gL6Blz3kTPdZXWknuIDVx/7bb7c73d93b111ed542d2ed426b42fd5/flatfile.svg",
      },
    },
  });
};

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7. Customize

You can stop here or you can view our full reference to see all the ways you can customize your importer.

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Example Projects

Find these Javascript example projects in the Flatfile GitHub repository.