Google Drive spreadsheets loading issues
Summary: In this article, we will discuss a common issue that happens when loading Google Sheets with a long string of data.
Google Drive is one of a universal source used online, and many users have begun to use Google Sheets as their go to when producing spreadsheet reports for companies. However, there is a limitation that should be known when using such sources as the raw format and development of Google Sheets can be a limitation when you are using other systems to inject and visualize data, and that is loading time. The particular error to get technical for a moment is known as an “SSLError The read operation timed out.”
Google Sheets loading time is one of the biggest hindrances that have been reported by many users and developers. Once you get above the limit of 100 lines, there is an increase of time that happens as Google needs to communicate with its systems and API to pull the data efficiently. Added most users have systems such as Zapier and Airtable or other analytics systems that inject vast rows and columns of data that they then use to present into a visualized format. The simple reason is that users have begun to use Google sheets as a database instead of a spreadsheet and if you want database efficiency and load times you are better off using something that is native to that said function.
Now there are plenty of courses out there that will show you how to build spreadsheets and reports inside of google sheets, and while they are well and good, they will suffer from the same issue and often will break due to the complex loading structures and scripts needed to make them useful. That is why Datadeck is one of the best alternatives out there to visualize your data with ease. ?
To quote Zapier “In general, Google Spreadsheets API isn’t built for the amount of data you’re likely trying to push through. If you’re considering an alternate solution an app like Airtable, or a database, like MySQL, is a popular next step for many people with this amount of data.”
However, beyond the plug for our product, the way to solve the issue is to use an actual database management system to help with the loading times. Systems like Yandex and SQL will give you the ability to load lines of data and have them queried with efficiency instead of relying on multiple systems to call your data before having it translated into an efficient visualized means for your reports and presentation.
Once you have a reliable system in place to have your data pulled efficiently, you should not experience many/any disconnect issues while visualizing your data. Should you have any further questions about this or any other challenge within Datadeck, please feel free to reach out to us at support@datadeck.com or click on the blue button on the bottom right-hand side. We look forward to helping you succeed.
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