Embedding Flatfile

This guide aims to provide basic instructions to get you up and running with Flatfile's newest product: Flatfile Embed.

Sign in to the Dashboard

  • If you already have a Flatfile account, sign in here.

  • If you don’t have an account yet, you can sign up for one using your Github account here. 

  • If you don’t have a Github account, please reach out to our team and we’ll help get you set up.

Create a Data Template

A data template is how you tell Flatfile what you want your data to look like. Data templates are the cornerstone of Flatfile’s powerful features; Embeds, Data Hooks®, and smart matching are all built on—and connected to—data templates. To create a data template, click on Templates in the left hand side of your dashboard.

Screenshot of clicking on template in the dashboard

From here, there are two ways to create a template: by manually defining each data column or by uploading a CSV representative of what you want your data to look like.

Screenshot of template creation options in the dashboard

Create an Embed

Now that you have a data template, it’s time to make an Embed. First, click on Flows in the sidebar on the left, then click the Embeds tab.

Screenshot of clicking on Embeds in the dashboard

Next, click the Create Embed button and then name the embed and select the data template you just created.

Screenshot of naming and embed and choosing a data template

Clicking Create will create the embed and take you to the Edit embed page. Here, you can rename the Embed and see the Embed ID and Private Key (which only appears once! You should save it now.).

Screenshot of the edit embed screen

Test Your Embed

Before you build the Embed into your app, we think you should test it out. You can verify that the feature is working while getting a better idea of how the feature works for both you and your customers. To help you test Embeds, we’ve created a CodeSandbox demonstration so you can see what’s happening behind the scenes.

  1. Open the CodeSandbox demo here. 

  2. Enter your Embed ID, Private Key, and an email address. This mimics the actual user authentication your app provides.

  3. Launch the importer and upload some data! If you used a CSV to create a data template automatically, using a different batch of data will show you what Flatfile can do. If you really want to stress test it, use a real customer file with errors, missing fields, and messy data.

  4. Now that you’ve verified that your Embed is working, reset your private key to protect its security. You can do this by clicking Reset Private Key on the Edit embed page.

For testing purposes, the demo is built as a completely front-end implementation. In a real implementation, your Private Key will not be exposed. Make sure and reset your Private Key after using the demo.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve got an Embed working, what do you do next to get this working in your app?

  1. Increase the security of your Embed by generating a secure token on your back end.

  2. Drop the Embed into your front end using our SDK.

  3. Get data into your systems automatically using our API.