Accessing external data in the questionnaire

External tables are used to reference data that is external to the template. You can reference data from HighQ iSheets, SQL and MySQL tables, SharePoint lists, Salesforce and OData, as well as Contract Express datasheets. External Table connections are configured in the Admin tab of Contract Express under the External Table section.
External Tables referenced in a template will appear in the Tables section of the Dictionary Editor. For examples of how to reference external data in the template, see Select Operator (from External Data Source).
External Lookup Table

Validating an External Table connection

Click "Validate" to test the connection to the External Table. This will populate the following fields:
  • Name
    : The name of the table referenced in the template.
  • Data Provider
    : The data provider of the table as defined in the Admin tab of the Contract Express server.
  • Defined in Admin
    : Checks whether the name of the table is listed in the Admin tab of the Contract Express server.
  • Test connection
    : Checks whether the connection to the table is successful.
The table that appears below these fields displays the column names referenced in the template and whether the connection to these columns was successful.
Validation of external tables.

Previewing data from an External Table

A sample of the first 10 rows of data of the External Table is visible in the Preview tab. Click the "Preview" button to pull the first 10 rows of data for the columns referenced in the template.
External Tables preview.

Simulate External Tables as Lookup Tables

When a shared template includes external table references that cannot be accessed, it can be difficult to utilise the template effectively. It is now possible to recreate these external tables as local lookups with the same structure (columns) as referenced in the template. This option is available at both the single templates and template suites level.
To simulate external tables as lookup tables:
  1. Upload the template to the Template Suite Viewer.
  2. Identify the external tables that you would like to model after.
  3. Use the
    “Create as local lookup tables”
    option.
    Create as local lookup table option in the Template Suite viewer.
  4. The system automatically creates a new template that includes the necessary local lookup tables. These tables replicate the structure of the missing external tables, including all referenced columns. The new template is uploaded to the user’s license space, and the external table references are updated to point to this local version.
  5. Users can then access the newly created local lookup tables through the dictionary editor. They can manually input simulated data that reflects expected values and launch the template for testing.
    Replicated lookup table in the Dictionary editor.
Additionally, the Template Suite viewer has been updated to display information about external tables, making it easier to identify and simulate them from both individual templates and the suite viewer.