Writing back to an external system
Push what TableDI computed back into a database or an endpoint — the Outgoing Data direction of a connection channel, and automation's Post to API action. A paid capability.
Two routes
| Route | Fires | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Connection channel · Outgoing Data | On the channel's schedule, or when the table changes | Continuously syncing a table (usually a summary) to a database or an endpoint |
| Automation · Post to API | When a row is added or updated, or at a scheduled time | Pushing that one row to an outside system as an event — and writing the response back into the row |
A free license can read in from outside; writing back is the paid writing back to a data source and workflow automation capability — Free reads from external sources (API or database → Tabledi). Writing back the other way needs a paid license.
The outgoing direction of a channel
When you build a connection, a channel has a direction: Incoming Data or Outgoing Data. Choose outgoing:
- Database — write the table's rows into a named database table. Column names map to field names, and a table with a unique index updates by key instead of inserting duplicates.
- HTTP — POST the rows as JSON to an address you give, with credentials in the headers.
The steps are the same four as reading in: connection → channel → define the data structure (this time the structure you are sending) → bind the columns.
Automation's Post action
In automation, pick the Post to API action:
- Fill in the target URL and the headers.
- Set Content — which of the row's columns go out as fields.
- Write the response back: take a field out of what the endpoint returned and put it in a column of this row. Send an order number, get a tracking number.
It runs once per row that fires, which makes it event-shaped by nature.
A typical chain
- Order detail is read in from MySQL through a data connection (free).
- A summary table works out daily revenue per store with
SUMIF. - The summary table carries an Outgoing Data channel writing back to a daily-report table in MySQL (paid).
- BI, or anything else, reads that report table.
TableDI sits in the middle as the calculation layer, and both ends are the systems you already had.
Where the desktop app stops
A write-back is a request leaving your computer, so the target database or endpoint has to be reachable from that machine. It runs while the computer is on and the app is open. For unattended, around-the-clock operation, use the team edition and its cloud engine.