Upload your first spreadsheet and confirm columns
how to upload a file to Fold, why it asks you to confirm what each column is, and what happens if something doesn't read well.
Fold only answers with data you've given it. The first step is uploading an Excel file (.xlsx) from Account › My data, using the "Upload and analyze" button.
What Fold does with the file
As soon as you upload it, Fold checks how many sheets it has, which row looks like the header, and what kind of data each column holds (text, number, date, amount...). Using that reading, plus the typical synonyms for your sector and, if needed, a quick pass from a lightweight AI looking only at column titles — never the content — Fold proposes a mapping: "this column looks like the customer," "this one looks like the sale price"...
Why you confirm it
That proposal isn't used for anything until someone with permission (owner or admin) confirms or corrects it. That's the guarantee that Fold never starts answering from a misidentified column. Once confirmed, that mapping is saved for the next time you upload an updated version of the same file.
When you upload a new version
When you re-upload the same file with updates, Fold uses the new data, not this morning's: you don't need to reconfirm columns if the structure hasn't changed.
If something doesn't read well
- A sheet marked as protected, or one the file itself won't open, gets skipped, and Fold tells you rather than failing silently.
- A very large file, or one that takes too long to process, may be rejected; the error message tells you so, instead of returning a half-built result.
- Hidden rows do count: if a row is hidden but has data, Fold includes it and tells you how many of the rows it looked at were hidden.
- Columns without a recognizable title are shown as-is, with a note that Fold doesn't know what they represent: it never guesses.
The Messenger, if you have one installed
If there's a file in your office that changes often (a price list, a delivery log), instead of re-uploading it by hand every time you can ask Fold to watch it: install the Messenger (see "The office Messenger") and it uploads a copy whenever it detects a real change, without ever touching the original.