# Entity Data Source

### Overview

The **Data** button opens the Entity Data Source view, which allows you to load any TilliT configuration or instance data into an Excel sheet. Once loaded, you can view, edit, and upload changes back to TilliT.

This replaces the **Data** button from the classic add-in and introduces a search, filter, and pagination step before loading.

### Opening Entity Data Source

In the **TilliT V2** ribbon tab, click the **Data** button.

<figure><img src="/files/dlD25LhXaRxaqJc3zf5h" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The task pane will open showing any previously loaded data sources. If nothing is loaded, then the Add entity wizard will be shown.

<figure><img src="/files/7Vhif7Hkhyul4m1HztQf" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Adding a Data Source

Click the **Add** button to open the wizard (if not already open)

<figure><img src="/files/2Rc11BuLmU7C0tnuUA9i" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Step 1: Select Category

The first step lets you find an entity by searching or browsing by category.

**Searching**: Type in the search box to find entities by name. Results show the entity name and its parent group.

<figure><img src="/files/z1MkNAbK5Sjhvmq3vXJ5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Browsing by category**: If you leave the search box empty, categories are shown with their groups. Each group shows how many entities it contains.

<figure><img src="/files/EXPSMu5FhfThlMHcZo3f" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Step 2: Select Entity

After selecting a group, choose the specific entity you want to load.

<figure><img src="/files/qcI8i530kxV2Y6VGu3Ez" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Step 3: Filter (Optional)

You can optionally filter the data before it is loaded. Available filter fields depend on the selected entity.

<figure><img src="/files/JN9KjY8JKqcqn1QfJs3Y" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Filters are not required — click **Next** to skip and load all records.

#### Step 4: Configure Options

Before loading, configure how the data will be placed into Excel:

* **Sheet name** — the name of the Excel sheet that will be created. Changing this allows you to load the same entity multiple times on different sheets.
* **Records per page** — how many rows to load at once (maximum 5,000). Use this when working with large data sets.

For entities that support extended data, additional checkboxes may appear:

* **Include custom attributes as columns** — adds attribute values as extra columns
* **Include material properties as columns** — adds material property values as extra columns
* **Include tolerance values as columns** — adds tolerance values as extra columns

<figure><img src="/files/yqVhzHyJtYhVRxFLAKrF" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Click **Load Data** to load the records into Excel.

### Viewing Loaded Data

After loading, the data appears in a new sheet named after the entity (or the custom sheet name you provided). The task pane shows a card for each loaded data source.

<figure><img src="/files/SyZrUUIfdXQ4AqP15kZq" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Uploading Changes

After editing data in the Excel sheet, you can upload the changes back to TilliT. In the task pane, click the **Save** button on the corresponding data source card.

{% hint style="info" %}
When uploading, only rows that have been modified since the last load or upload will be sent to TilliT. Unchanged rows are ignored.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/qooKCofSIiQYLSC8mRs6" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/2NMJ7Ok4oiKhqW1pkgyI" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Refreshing Data

To reload the data from TilliT (discarding local changes), click the **Refresh** button on the data source card.

<figure><img src="/files/MzsLQEDT1qQ2atwtVL1y" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/HIjGkaGty2XAxbuQ95ql" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


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