Manage Your Map Data with Helper Sheets

Overview

This guide explains how to manage and update map data using Helper Sheets in Google Sheets. This workflow is ideal when your data requires cleaning, formatting, or combining from multiple sources before being sent to your map.

If your data is already managed in a CRM or collected through forms, explore the other ways to connect data to your map.

Media uploads are not yet supported in the Helper Sheets (Data Management) workflow. Formula-generated media values can be submitted again during later updates, adding duplicate media to the gallery. For now, leave the media column empty and add media through the Mapme Editor or an Excel/CSV import.

How It Works

Use one or more Helper Sheets to store and process your raw data. Then use Google Sheets formulas, such as ARRAYFORMULA, to populate the Map to Sheets sheet.

Manage your source data in the Helper Sheets. When ready, click Send to Map to update your map.

This workflow is one-way: Google Sheets → Map.

Typical Data Flow

Import or copy and paste data into a Helper Sheet.
Clean, format, and structure the data in Google Sheets.
Use formulas to populate the Map to Sheets sheet.
Send the formatted data to Mapme.
Publish your updated map.

Important: Google Sheets should remain the source of truth for the fields managed through this workflow. Changes to those fields in the Mapme Editor will be overwritten the next time you send data from Google Sheets.

Media can be managed separately in the Mapme Editor. Leaving the media column empty preserves the location’s existing gallery.

Visual Data Flow

This diagram illustrates how data moves from your source into your map using Helper Sheets:

Data Source: CRM exports, form data, or external datasets.
Helper Sheets: Store raw data and apply transformations.
Map to Sheets: Holds the structured data formatted for Mapme.
Map: Displays the resulting location data.

This approach gives you control over how your data is cleaned, structured, and displayed before publishing.

Helper Sheets vs. Data Integration Workflow

In the Helper Sheets workflow, you manage and transform your data inside Google Sheets.

In contrast, the Data Integration workflow connects data from external business systems, such as CRMs, through Google Sheets.

Helper Sheets: Google Sheets is the source of truth. You manage and edit the source data there.
Data Integration: The external application is the source of truth. Make changes in that system rather than editing the synchronized fields in Sheets or Mapme.

Implementation Guide

1. Create Your Map

Create a new map in the Mapme Editor or open an existing one.

If your map uses categories, such as Hotels or Restaurants, set them up in the Mapme Editor before connecting your data.

2. Install the Map to Sheets Add-On

Install the add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace and follow the setup guide.

Important for Data Management: If you are signed in to multiple Google accounts in Chrome, Map to Sheets can run the Data Management configuration only with your default Google account. To identify it, open the Google account menu and check which account appears first.

This limitation applies only to the Data Management configuration. Other Map to Sheets configurations can be used with any signed-in Google account.

3. Configure Map to Sheets

Open the Map to Sheets sidebar.
Click Use Case Configuration.
Select Data Management.
Click Save.

4. Add Data to Helper Sheets

Create one or more Helper Sheets and import or paste your source data. You can combine data from multiple sources into a single structured dataset.

5. Process Data with Formulas

Use ARRAYFORMULA and other Google Sheets functions to transform your data into the format required by Map to Sheets.

Enter formulas in row 3. Ensure the cells below are available for the formula results.

The examples below assume the source sheet is named Helper-Sheets. Adjust the sheet name, column letters, and starting row to match your data. Source ranges should begin at the first data row, excluding any column headers.

Copy Values from Multiple Columns

=ARRAYFORMULA('Helper-Sheets'!A1:C)

Combine Address Fields

This example assumes columns D, E, and F contain street, city, and country, with a street value for each record.

=ARRAYFORMULA(IF('Helper-Sheets'!D1:D="", "", 'Helper-Sheets'!D1:D & " " & 'Helper-Sheets'!E1:E & ", " & 'Helper-Sheets'!F1:F))

Set a Fixed Zoom Level

This example assigns zoom level 17 to rows with a value in column A.

=ARRAYFORMULA(IF('Helper-Sheets'!A1:A="", "", 17))

You can also apply conditional logic, generate formatted HTML descriptions, or use functions such as ENCODEURL where needed.

Do not populate the media column with formulas. Media uploads are not yet supported in this workflow because the same media can be submitted again during later updates. Leave the column empty to keep existing gallery media unchanged.

6. Test and Send Data

Review your formulas, click Send to Map, and verify that your locations appear correctly.

Check the location names, addresses, descriptions, categories, and any other fields you manage through the sheet. Publish your map when the updates are ready.

Why Use Helper Sheets?

Transform data using Google Sheets formulas.
Combine multiple data sources into one workflow.
Maintain control over your source dataset.
Manage large datasets containing thousands of locations.

Processing Limits

Map to Sheets processes up to 10,000 new or updated rows per request in this workflow. If your dataset exceeds this limit, click Send to Map again until all rows have been processed.

Tip: Large datasets may require several requests to complete the update.