Importing & Exporting Location Codes with a Spreadsheet

When to Use It

Dragging codes one by one is fine for a small site. For hundreds of shelves, or when someone on the floor knows the numbering better than whoever built the map, a spreadsheet is faster: export the map's shelves, fill in the codes in Excel, import the sheet and review the changes.

Example: the warehouse supervisor walks the aisles with a tablet, typing each shelf's Helm code into the exported sheet as they go. Back at a desk they import it. The preview shows 412 slots to change and three rows that no longer match a shelf because a rack was shortened since the export. They apply the 412 and fix the three by hand.

Exporting the Map

1. Open the Locations tab in the left sidebar.

2. Click Export. A file named locations.xlsx downloads with one sheet called Locations.

There is one row per slot: each shelf of each rack, each open bay, each section of a split rack and each storage point. The columns are:

Filling In the Sheet

• Type the Helm codes into Location codes. Separate several codes on one slot with a semicolon or a comma.

• Leave a cell blank to clear that slot on import.

• Delete any rows you do not want to touch. Slots that are not in the sheet are left exactly as they are.

• Keep the Ref column intact, and keep the header row. Column order does not matter, and header case does not matter.

Importing the Sheet

1. In the Locations tab click Import. The Import locations dialog opens.

2. Drop your .xlsx or .csv onto Drop an .xlsx / .csv here, or choose a file, or click to choose it. Files up to 10 MB are accepted. If you are starting from scratch, Download a blank template gives you the right headers.

3. Check the Review import preview:

   1. The summary counts slots to change, slots unchanged and rows that did not match.

   2. Each change lists the rack and slot, with removed codes struck through and added codes in green.

   3. A warning lists any code that appears on more than one slot. A code can only live in one place, so the first wins.

   4. Rows that did not match a slot (usually because a rack was deleted or reshaped since the export) are skipped and counted.

4. Click Apply N changes. A toast confirms, and the import is a single undoable step.

Best Practices

Export Fresh Before Each Import

The Ref column ties rows to shelves as they were at export time. If the map changes in between, re-export so the refs still match; a stale sheet produces skipped rows.

Work One Aisle at a Time on Big Sites

Delete the rows you are not changing before you import. The preview is shorter, mistakes are easier to spot, and nothing outside your aisle can be touched.

Keep a Copy

Save the filled-in sheet. It is a plain record of your slotting that you can hand to a colleague or re-import after a restore.

FAQ

Does importing remove codes I did not mention?

Only on rows that are in the sheet: a blank Location codes cell clears that slot. Slots whose rows you deleted from the sheet are untouched.

Can I import a CSV?

Yes. Both .xlsx and .csv import. The export is always .xlsx.

Why were some rows skipped?

Their Ref no longer matches a slot on the map, usually because the rack was deleted, split or had shelves removed after the export. Export again and re-enter those codes.

If an import reports that the file could not be read, open it in Excel and re-save it as .xlsx, then try again; contact Helm support if it still fails.