---
title: "Adding a New Data Source"
url: "https://help.formsfly.com/en/article/adding-a-new-data-source"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-08-12T14:17:12.248Z"
---

# Adding a New Data Source

Data Sources let you create and maintain data sets for use on Screens, saving you time by centralizing your data sets in one place.

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## Add a Data Source

When logged into the web portal:

-   Navigate the left-side menu to *Connected Data > Data Sources*.
-   Once on the Data Sources page, click the “**Add New +**” button in the top right corner.

The page will reload on the Create Data Source page, where Basic Settings and Advanced Options can be configured.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/c3edfd8d-f3e2-43da-a685-9ac7595f4f5a)

1.  Enter a **Name** for your data source (required)  
    i.e., *Field Sales – Clients* referencing the solution and containing data for easy identification when designing solutions and binding to fields.
2.  Click the “**Create**” button in the top-right corner.

| Default Sort Order and Advanced Settings are optional and can be configured once the data source is populated if needed |
| --- |

Finally, you’ll need to populate your data source for use in screens. This can be achieved in one of three ways:

1.  Manual cell data entry by adding rows/columns.
2.  Import an Excel/CSV file to create and populate row/column data.
3.  Pull data into the platform from an external system using a Data Source Connector (configurable on the data source’s Settings page).

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/33af7404-8933-4b09-b47a-bdabb816afd3)

**Importing** requires an Excel (.XLSX) or Comma Separated Values (.CSV) file, which MUST be in the required format.

-   The first row of your file is assumed to be the data source headers, and the rest are just rows.
-   The file must contain at least one row (excluding the header row) and two columns.
-   The first column in all rows must be populated with unique values.

| When importing, a cloned copy of the overwritten data source is moved to Trash that can be used to restore the data source, in case of any import mishaps. |
| --- |

A template of the required format can be obtained by clicking the “Import” button and the download link provided before importing a file.

* * *

-   [Editing Data Sources](https://help.formsfly.com/en/article/editing-data-sources)
-   [Configuring Data Source Settings](https://help.formsfly.com/en/article/configuring-data-source-settings)
-   [Using Image Columns](https://help.formsfly.com/en/article/using-image-columns)