Excel Import to Update Tasks

We are using Wrike to create a marketing calendar, and it would be ENORMOUSLY helpful to use the Excel import function to update Budget, End Dates, Descriptions, and other custom columns at the Task level without overwriting existing attachments or conversation.

This way we could take reporting from agencies who handle our ad updates, hide columns and copy to a clean sheet, then import to keep our Wrike calendars up to date in minutes, instead of manually changing fields one by one.

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Permanently deleted user

Hi Sarah! This is a very valuable point, thank you for the suggestion, our Product Team monitors the feedback submitted here so it's great that you posted this. I understand that in your case the ability to update tasks via Excel import would really make a difference and speed up the process. Meanwhile you can still use Excel import to import updated tasks and then delete the original ones. It is not a perfect solution for multi-level Projects interlinked with each other, but may help you update stand-alone Projects quicker. If you have any questions or more feedback to share, we're always here.

Anthony Lunde

I have to agree with Sarah, it would be really a mind breaker if you could Export a Project update the fields an Import to the existing with you're updates on default fields and Custom ones.

I use Wrike for planning Implementation projects and we often rearrange the plan and content in both the Main and Sub projects and tasks.

So this would be really helpful for planning our projects.

Stephanie Westbrook

Hi Anthony, thanks for adding a comment here. I would love to hear a little more about how you use Excel in conjunction with Wrike over the course of your Project? Is it used exclusively to update fields and then reimport to Wrike or is there work done with data outside of Wrike before reuploading?

ReachLocal Admin

Stephanie,

I cannot speak for Anthony, but we have a number of systems where we pull information such as order numbers. We then have to manually update our order number custom field. As a one off this can be easily managed by when we are updated 500+ orders things get a little hectic.

If we had the ability to export our projects from Wrike, run a VLOOKUP to add the Order Number updates in Excel, then import the updates back into Wrike - it would be a complete game changer.

Isaac Sofer

Yes, just noticed this now when I attempted to just update tasks with Excel import but found that it just duplicated them.

+1 on having the option to just update instead of overwriting/creating.

Anthony Lunde

Hi Stephanie

I see imports as a function to do more things in Wrike.
Excel is, as you know, the tool used most for export / import to various applications.

1. In our organization, Project Reporting often happens from the table view and exported to Excel.
It would be nice if we could import and update the description of the activities in the Project.

2. As Reachel also describes, there is no link between Wrike and our proprietary systems.
We therefore need to retrieve information from both Wrike and Internal systems and in many cases we want to add parts of the information back to the Wrike Project.

3. Custom Fileds are a nice feature, but when these may be project specific.
Then we need to be able to mass-update the field of all ongoing / planned activities in one project without having to manually enter the information into Wrike.
Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming process.
And, if any, financial values such as budgets, calculations between custom fields and import results, or is it possible to put salvages into these?

4. And as Isaac points out, we must be able to choose whether it is an update or a create import.

Stephanie Westbrook

Hi Anthony and Rachel, those details help a lot. Mass updating tasks based on data from other tools (such as an order number), makes sense. As well as wanting to export information to perform calculations and then add that data back into Wrike. Both great use cases for us to pass on to Product Managers.

In case you or someone on your team is familiar with APIs, I do want to mention that as a potential option for linking Wrike with other tools.

API Resources

Developer's Portal - A few walk-throughs of examples of how you could work with the API. This is also a great place to post questions about specific things you would like to do with APIs.
API Community Forums - Documentation about our API.

Enrico Riva

I Stephanie,

any news about the implemantation of this feature?

(export tasks using excel, upadet info in excel, import in wrike to update info without tasks duplication).

thanks

enrico

Stephanie Westbrook

Hi Enrico, it's not currently on the short term roadmap, but we'll keep this thread updated if anything changes!

Kelli Wheelwright

This would be a VERY helpful feature for me. Currently in order for the custom field values to work from an excel import, I have to:

Create a folder to import the excel file into

Go to the Table View and Add the columns for my custom fields

Import the folder

Then spot check and repair each line that the custom field didn't come over on.

The custom field seems to populate on most tasks and does not populate on ANY project levels.

Ideally, I would like to be able to just create the folder I want the data to populate to and import my excel folder. Wrike would then auto detect that there is a custom field value and add the column along with all data.

At the very least, being about to drag down cells in Wrike so that I don't have to one at a time add the value for my custom field into each line item would be awesome. OR an option to populate all cells with my selection. In order to run task level reports in Wrike I have to add the custom field to every task in a project (most of the time they are the same label from a dropdown menu - for example all of them will be "Leasing".) It is tedious and prone to issues. These issues throw off all of our reporting, even pulled through API.

Please push this up the line up for your roadmap. Data integrity is of utmost importance.

George Fiveash

Hi all,

My company also has a user case with would benefit from this feature, particularly during our transitional period over to Wrike. As well as after the fact due to Wrike's incapability to do calculations in custom fields. Therefore data must be exported to Excel and calculations completed there before importing again (which seems to be the user case of most posts in this thread).

I'm sure the Wrike team already has some development in this area however, with the risk of sound presumptuous;

I believe the following would only be possible once and if edits to custom fields are recorded in the stream (as with standard fields, which is currently not the case) this is necessary to provide a history of changes in case the need to revert data arises. Additionally the following suggested solution should stop the unnecessary filling of the recycling bin when tasks are deleted in order to import new data.

I should think a potential solution would be the addition of a column to (most likely on the far left) the import/export excel document.

This column would be the ID column of the specific task or project (usually hidden but visible via the cog that hides and shows columns in the top left of table view). Leaving it blank would therefore create a new task or project and it containing a value would update that task or project within the location the excel document is uploaded.

This would help to streamline this process from;

Exporting -> Manipulating -> Deleting the folder (and all contained tasks) -> Creating a new (empty folder) with the same column names -> Importing new data. -> Emptying recycling bin (once the imported data is confirmed to be acceptable).

To;

Exporting -> Manipulating -> Importing (replacing necessary data and creating new columns if required)

Which I believe would save many users a lot of time.

I apologies if my understanding of the importing process means that this solution is impossible and I'd like to thank all the team and their continued work to the betterment of Wrike!

Michael Runion

Hello All,

My company just began using Wrike to manage projects and tasks. I am aware of at least two departments that would benefit from this feature as well as my own.

Are there any updates on this feature becoming available?

I completely agree with Kelli's last comment. I will add that Time is precious in my business (as I'm sure it is for everyone using Wrike). It seems that this would be a very valuable added feature to save your customers a lot of time.

Melissa Maus

Hi,

My company has recently started using Wrike and we have the same need to mass update tasks. Each project has between 500-100 tasks each and we've currently have around 130 active projects. While we are pursuing the API options to interface with our proprietary systems, we need to be able to mass update these tasks almost daily. Any word on if this is being worked on and will be available in the near future?

Thanks!

Luc Arsenault

Agreed, we could use this as well to mass edit custom fields.

Though, copy/pasting whole columns from Excel to Wrike in Table view would help a lot in our usage scenario.

Melissa Maus

Luc, I agree, while that would not be the ideal solution, it certainly would be a feasible workaround until the better solution is created.

Andrea Williams

Hello!

We are exploring Wrike functionality. Any update on this and/or mass updating custom fields since September of 2017? Either of these options would drastically help us execute on our workflows using the tool.

-Andrea

Elizaveta Bogdanova

@Everyone Hey, thanks for your votes and comments! I've set a status "Investigating" to this feature suggestion, which means that our Product team is researching the possibility to implement it. Currently this isn't on the roadmap, but it might appear there. I'll update this thread if and when I can provide some timeframe.

Gretchen Linder

Hello - we have a use case where there are a dozen or so fields related to consulting and discovery before a project is passed onto creative (think Sigma Black Belt). We have set up the fields as a way to be able to report on particular items as opposed to attaching a fillable PDF to capture this data. The PDF isn't searchable, hence the field setup. Or perhaps there is something allowing for searching contents of a PDF and I'm not aware.

The users have asked about the ability to import information into Wrike to support user adoption related to the ease of use for the system.

Following this item and voted up.

-g.

Mohammed Waasim

Hello @here,

We have a similar use case in our application where we need to update the data in excel[not create, as data already in the system].

We just refer to the ID[in wrike you click on gear button you would find ID as one of the column name ] this uniquely refers to the task we need to update.

so while importing if we have a provision to specify the ID of the task and rest of the columns are those which user needs to update with the details in it.

this way we can update the task flawlessly.

Hope wrike developers would consider this as an approach to fix this issue.

- wasim

mohammed.waasim@gmail.com

Nick Tubbert

This would be very helpful. We use this for product development and we need to update 100s of product lines at one time. Each product in a line is a project. They have tasks in our process to assign SKUs, production totals, or Amazon ID numbers. This would take a very long time to complete for each one.

The current export import is a great start but we lose all comments and information in the old tasks if we delete them. The mass update would really help our team out.

Ryan Brown

My organization needs this as well, otherwise the cutover from smartsheet will be painfully manual!

Ryan Okelberry

Not sure where this one stands, but it would be nice to import from excel to update just folder and project fields too. In keeping with the theme of Wrike as the "single source of truth" need a way to update quickly custom fields that require daily or weekly updates.

Benjamin George

Please make it happen. Deleting and importing is no fun ☹️

Mark Di Biase

Agree with the other comments. Please accelerate development of this feature to allow us to update existing tasks via excel import. This would be most useful. Thank you.

AJ Balsamo

Either that or really improve the Mass Updates!

:-)

Gabriel Wolf

We would love this functionality as well! We use Wrike templates, but the owner varies by project, and timelines vary as well. The ability to lookup owners of a given task based on the customer team would be really helpful - whether in excel or logic within wrike.

Elizaveta Bogdanova

Hey everyone, thanks for your continued support for the suggestion.

Our Product team has conducted research for the possibility of implementing it and for the time being, the suggestion was not added to the roadmap. I changed the status to "Backburner", which means that the team is interested in implementing it in the future, but it's not on the product roadmap. I'll get back to you here when that changes.

Thank you again for commenting and adding use-cases here, it brings so much value even if it can't be implemented right now.

Jonathon Burrows

That is disappointing to hear.

Echoing other people's comments above, this functionality would be very useful and it seems strange that this is not available. The mass update feature in Wrike has some definite gaps in it at present. The ability to import an updated export would be a massive timesaver.

Gabriel Wolf

If this feature is on the backburner, how will Wrike be making it easier to make mass updates? I need to take a template and assign over 150 tasks to the same 4 or 5 people. I can easily do this in excel and upload. I can't do this in wrike that I know of. Wrike also takes a lot of time to update. I can update instantly in excel and let wrike process while I grab a cup of coffee. What's being done to address the speed?

I'm happy to share all the other reasons why I need this so that I can understand what improvements are (or are not) coming.

Ted Tuttle

This would be hugely helpful for our teams.