Data does not always begin inside Google Sheets.
A course may provide a file containing information that already exists in a structured form.
Instead of typing every value manually, you can import the data.
Conceptually:
Importing is a transfer of representation from one file or system into the spreadsheet environment.
Before importing a file, identify what you have been given.
Ask:
Do not import a similarly named file just because it appears in the same folder.
Use the supplied source for the activity.
Google Sheets provides an import workflow for bringing supported files into a spreadsheet.
The exact interface can change.
Use the current import option presented by Sheets or the course directions.
When the interface asks how the imported data should be placed, read the choices carefully.
The goal is to preserve the structure required by the activity rather than automatically accepting an option you do not understand.
Depending on the import choice, data may be:
Those outcomes are different.
Before confirming an import, make sure the selected behavior matches the course task.
If the workbook already contains important data, replacing it would be a very different action from adding another worksheet.
After import, do not stop at:
Inspect the table.
Identify:
A successful file operation is not the same as a correct data result.
An import may look wrong if:
If the result does not match the source structure, do not immediately start manually moving hundreds of cells.
First confirm that the correct source and import behavior were used.
Importing data into Sheets does not mean the original course file should be deleted or overwritten.
The source file provides evidence of what was supplied.
The spreadsheet is now another representation you can work with.
Keeping the source intact makes it easier to determine whether a later problem came from:
Copying visible cells can sometimes move data.
Importing uses the file's structured contents as the source.
For a provided dataset, an import process is often more reliable because it can preserve the row-and-column organization directly.
Use the method required by the current activity.
Once data is in Google Sheets, later activities can work with the dataset.
That may include:
Those concepts come later.
At this stage, the important skill is getting the supplied data into the spreadsheet while preserving its intended structure.
The source and destination have different roles.
Source file
contains the supplied data.
Import process
transfers the data representation.
Google Sheets
provides the environment where you can inspect and work with the imported rows and columns.
Understanding that handoff helps you troubleshoot when the visible spreadsheet does not match the expected dataset.