Linking lighting device config to referenced excel sheet

[tspilman]

Hi all, I am trying to understand what the uses are for the linked excel settings in 2024.

This seems like it has potential to be a really powerful tool, but I cannot get it to work. 

 

I have previously used the 'Export Lighting Device Data' command to create a text file, then imported it into excel, before modifying and re-exporting for import back to VW (useful, but problematic as there are lots of opportunities for data to become lost / it's a really clunky process). 

I was really hopeful that the linked worksheet would really streamline this process; however, at the moment I'm really struggling to see what it adds - I cannot understand how to tie the worksheet data back into the drawing. The option to place a worksheet into a drawing appears to be no more useful than dropping a bitmap of the cells on the page.

I would like  to modify the data in excel (where I can use formulas as well as sorting and filtering data) and then push it to VW.

I would also like the changes I make in VW to be pushed back to the spreadsheet so everything is up to date.

 

As I mention, I have successfully linked excel with the worksheet in my document, but I cannot work out any way of linking a row / individual cel in an imported worksheet back to any item in the drawing; never mind see any way of doing this for several hundred lighting fixtures.

I have seen mention of using a fixture schedule, then referencing the imported worksheet. That sounds like a step in the right direction, but

A- I cannot get any formulas in worksheets to behave at all (they just show up as text - they never work),

and

B- I cannot see how to automatically link several hundred fixtures back to these rows of data. (I would have hoped to see an option like __UID where I can hard reference the worksheet data then make any changes I like. 

I have watched some VWUniversity videos which allude to some features that may do what I want, but I cannot find any explanation of how to actually do it.
Can any one help?

(If this does exist within the extensive help resources, please could you direct me to it - I cannot get the hang of how to find stuff in there)
Thanks in advance.