Sheetgo always sends data in one direction from a source to a destination. This enables you to create Workflows with traceable data moving sequentially from A to B to C, and so on.
If you modify data in file B, you may not want to reflect changes in file A. However, in some instances, you may add extra data using different files. To do that, it's possible to create automations to transfer parts of the destination back to the source.
Note that even with a two-way sync, changing the same data (e.i. the same column) in different spreadsheets is impossible.
Before starting a two-way workflow, you have decide the order of data precedence.
This means planning which data has priority and can overwrite other information?
Think about where each piece of data is generated. For instance, in a project management workflow, managers generate tasks in one spreadsheet, while task owners add status and comments to their spreadsheets.
Plan Workflows carefully when creating two-way syncs. Every time you update the connection, data will change in both the source and the destination file.
Prepare your database
In a spreadsheet, create a database tab.
In the header, name every column that will be edited and managed in this file. Data from these columns will be transferred in the first connection step.
Create a column containing a unique identifier for each row, such as unique numbers, email addresses, or codes. These IDs will be used in the final step to ensure the correct data is synced on both ends.
Create the first connection
Go to Sheetgo, click New and choose Blank Workflow.
Select Create an automation
As the source, select the database you just created. Choose the file and the correct tab. Click Continue.
Under Send data to, select your destination file. Click Finish and save.
Now the source database is mirrored in the destination file.
Prepare the second data source
Open the destination file and find a green tab with a locked symbol ("Tab A"). Sheetgo is pulling data from your source file into this tab. As this is a connected tab, it should not be edited.
Create a new tab ("Tab B").
Transfer the data from Tab A to Tab B using formulas like ARRAY or QUERY. Read more about using data from a connected tab.
Now that you can see your source data in Tab B, add new columns containing the data you want to send back to the source file.
Create a connection in the opposite direction
From the same Workflow, click the "+" icon and select Automation.
Create a connection between the files you connected in the first step. But in the opposite direction, so the destination file is now the source file.
For the source, select the tab with the new columns as the source tab (in our example, that's Tab B).
Click Finish and Save.
Data is now moving in both directions between the two files.
Use formulas to complete the loop
When you add data to Tab B it appears in your first spreadsheet, in a new connected tab. Use formulas to import that information into the correct row in your database tab:
Open the database tab and add as many columns as you created in the destination file.
In each column, use the VLOOKUP formula to look for the row's unique identifier in the connection tab to pull the corresponding value into that sheet.
Now the loop is complete: data from your database tab is sent to the destination tab, and the destination returns new columns back into the database.
Make sure to create the two connections as one workflow using Sheetgo. This will ensure that the two-way connections run sequentially with data updated in both directions.
Advanced tip: run simple one-way connections before the two-way connections to back up previous data into an auxiliary sheet and consult the last changes.
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