Getting Started: How to send Data Notifications from Excel

This article explains how you can send Data Notifications from Excel using ipushpull. You can use ipushpull to send data-driven notifications from Excel to email, SMS and chat apps like Slack, MS Teams and Symphony.


The Excel add-in is only supported on Microsoft Windows Desktop Excel

1. Sign up for ipushpull and install our Excel add-in

First, make sure you have signed up to ipushpull and installed our Excel add-in. Note that the add-in currently only supports Microsoft Windows Excel. For help installing it see https://ipushpull.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IPPCUSTDOC/pages/105709854.


2. Log in to ipushpull and open the ipushpull Demo Sheet

  • Start Excel, select the ipushpull tab on the Excel ribbon then Login (A)

  • Press the Start button (B) to enable pushing and pulling from your sheet

  • To open our demo sheet, select Excel as Data Source from the Start Here menu:

     

  • Click the 5. Notifications tab to see the notifications example:

You trigger notifications by sending updates from Excel to your ipushpull Notifications Page. We’ve already added the iPush() function that does this into cell J17 in the Notifications Demo sheet. Next you’ll configure it by entering your Folder and Page name.

  • Enter your Notifications Page Name into the cell coloured orange (J13).

  • Enter your Folder Name into the cell coloured yellow (J14).

If you don’t know your Folder and Page Name, you can find them in the ipushpull app here.


4. Set up your Notification

Now choose what message to send and who to send it to.

  • Enter a Notification Name into the cell coloured purple (I7). This can be anything you like - it’s for your own reference and is useful when managing multiple notifications.

  • Enter one or more Notification Destinations (separated by commas) into the cell coloured blue (L7). You can view or create your Destinations in the ipushpull app here.

  • Enter the message you want to send into the cell coloured green (M7). This can also be anything you like.


5. Trigger your Notification

You are now ready to send a notification from your spreadsheet!

The value in the cell coloured red (K7) is used to trigger your notification. When it changes from FALSE to TRUE the message you entered in M7 will be sent to the Destinations you entered in L7.

Try it:

  • Change the value in K7 to TRUE

  • Check your email inbox, mobile or cellphone or chat application to see the message

If you received your notification, well done! To send custom Notifications from your own spreadsheets you can create triggers that change from False to True when your data changes. See https://ipushpull.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IPPCUSTDOC/pages/571768835 for a real-world example.

If you didn’t receive your notification, check our troubleshooting tips below.


6. Troubleshooting

If your notifications haven’t arrived, check:

  • Have you logged into ipushpull and pressed the Start button on the Excel ribbon?

  • Are you pushing to the Notifications Page in your Folder?

  • Are your Destinations correct? 

  • If you’ve sent an email notification, is it in your spam folder?

For full troubleshooting help see https://ipushpull.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IPPCUSTDOC/pages/565608455.


Next steps

You've successfully sent Notifications from your Excel sheet to your Destinations.

Next steps:

  • I want to add another trigger:

  • I want to edit an email Destination to add another user to the list:

  • I have added a new Teams Channel to my Destinations, now I want to add this to an existing Notification Page in Excel:

  • I want to add Notifications to another Excel sheet:

Create a new Notifications page and link it to your Excel sheet

For further help visit the ipushpull Support site.