Here are a couple ways to import data into your spreadsheet. Note that after this is done, you must verify that your imported sheets match the correct formatting for data sheets (see Formatting Data below).

• Copy and paste from a website into a new sheet (create a new sheet with the plus button in the bottom left corner of your Google Sheets spreadsheet). Just select your table on a website, copy it, select the top left corner of your new data sheet, and paste.
• Use the "File->Import..." menu option in Google Sheets. Within this menu you can upload from your computer or Google Drive, just be sure you are adding a sheet to your spreadsheet and not creating a new spreadsheet or overwriting any sheets.

Do this for all of the data which contains columns that you may want to include in your customized Master Table. Then you must verify your data sheets are imported correctly, as described below.

Some data tables that you import into sheets in your spreadsheet may not be formatted in the way the add-on expects. This will cause errors if you try to generate a customized Master Table without proper formatting. You should already have data imported into the data sheets you want to use. Here are the requirements for how a data table in a data sheet must be formatted. If any of your data sheets does not meet these requirements, just edit the sheet so that it does. An example data sheet with proper formats is shown in an image in the above section.

Data sheets must:

• Have one and only one header row consisting of the names of each of the columns. Most data you import will already have this, although some may have two header rows. Any row in your sheet that does not have a player name and data about that player for the table's columns is a header row. In the screenshot in the previous section, the row with columns RANK, Player, POS, BYE, etc is a valid header row. All rows below this single header row contain player data as required.
• Have one and only one column with the header "Player". For any of the players or data columns within a sheet to be included in the Master Table, the header row of that sheet must contain one cell with the name "Player", and a column of player names below it. Each row with player stats must have a player name cell in the "Player" column. A column of player name MUST HAVE A HEADER WITH THOSE EXACT CHARACTERS. The only way the add-on knows the column contains player names is if the first cell in the column is exactly "Player" (without the quotations). Note that you can have sheets without a player column in your spreadsheet so that you can analyze them along with the rest of your data, but this data cannot be included in your Master Table, and you will receive a warning about any of these no-player sheets when your generate a Master Table.
• Have correctly formatted player names. Most data you import will have valid player names. The add-on strips positions, teams, etc from player names and can handle simple variations on player names, but data from some sources may have formats too complex for the add-on to process. Player names must either be full first and last names, or be in the format "F.Last", where F is the first letter of the player's first name, there is no space anywhere in the name (Fi.Last is also supported for players with identical F.Last names, where the first two first name letters are included before the space - more on duplicates below). The add-on can handle certain characters and formats which are listed below, and it is OK to have them in your player names. However, if your player names are not in "First Last" format or "F.Last" format, or if the names contain formatting beyond those below, you will receive errors and you will have to examine your player names for abnormal formatting. If you have questions about acceptable formats or what player names need to be changed, contact us. Here are supported characters and formats which you DO NOT need to remove from your player names:
  • Positions like QB, RB, WR, TE, K, D/ST
  • Team abbreviations like BAL, DAL, GB, ATL, etc (also FA)
  • Team mascots like Ravens, Cowboys, Packers, Falcons, etc (but not cities)
  • Suffixes like Jr, Sr, I, II, III, IV, etc
  • Special characters like ' . , ( ) + * (but not -)
  • Abnormal capitalizations (capitalization does not matter in player names, as all names are converted to a common capitalization format in Master Table so that capitalization differences across sheets do not affect the name syncing process)
• Have no player name duplicates. If after names are parsed any data sheet contains the same name twice, errors will occur directing you to remove them. This includes names that are not exactly the same but are considered the same after the add-on strips special formats/characters and accounts for name variations. Also, players with identical names can cause issues (like David Johnson ARI RB and David Johnson PIT TE), so you may need to delete the less important player in a table. The more players you include in your data tables, the more likely it is that you will run into similarly names players from different teams, so it is wise to stick to fantasy-relevant players. Examples of player names that are considered identical even though they are formatted include:
  • "Jeremy Maclin, BAL" is the same as "Jeremy Maclin" and "Jeremy Maclin (*WR*)"
  • "Rob Kelley" is the same as "Robert Kelley"
  • "J.Flacco" is the same as "Joe Flacco" (but NOT "J. Flacco" because there is a space between the period and the F which must be removed)
  • "David Johnson (RB*ARI)" is the same as "David Johnson (TE*PIT)" and "D.Johnson(RB*CLE)" (note that F.Last format names can contain special characters but CANNOT contain spaces, unlike First Last names, which must contain spaces)

If your data sheets contain any invalid formats you will receive errors. If the errors are not helpful in solving the issue, please look over each data sheet to find data that does not abide by the above formats. You can also try deleting data sheets to see which ones cause problems. If you still cannot determine what data sheets/rows have improper formats, or how to fix the improper formats, contact us.

• Cell coloring: To choose a color to be automatically used in the background of an entire Master Table column, just make that color the background of the top cell in the corresponding column in the Settings sheet. Each time a Master Table is created, your coloring will be used, which is useful because updating the Master Table overwrites the old Master Table, deleting most formatting including colors.
• Filters: Adding filters to your Master Table is a must-do, since it allows you to easily sort by any column as well as filter your table by the values of any column, such as by position. To add filters, select the entire second row of your Master Table by clicking the row number (2) at the left of the screen. Then choose the "Data->Filter" Google Sheets menu option. Unfortunately you must do this every time you update your Master Table. When the table is regenerated the filter will be left on only one column because of the deletion of the existing columns (and to prevent the user from accidentally filtering only some data if new columns are added to the Master Table). To add the filter to all columns again (a necessary step for using filters with the Master Table), again select the second row and turn filters off and back on using the same menu option.
• Formulas: To compare the values of cells in two, three or even more columns of your Master Table, you can enter formulas referencing multiple columns in your Settings sheet. This can be useful to compare rankings, ADPs, or stats over time. An example of using such a formula is included in the sample sheet screenshots in the above sections. These formulas should be entered in the top cell of a new Settings column just like a reference to a single data sheet column, but they will refer to columns in your Settings sheet instead of data sheet columns, and information will not be filled in the 3rd and 4th rows of the Settings column as it is with normal data sheet column references. To enter a formula, type an equals sign in the top cell of a new Settings column. Then use mathematical symbols and column references for a formula. The column references should be to entire columns IN THE SETTINGS SHEET (not in data sheets). This means that columns you want to include in formulas must be in your Settings sheet and therefore in your Master Table already. To reference these Settings columns, click the column letter while you are typing a formula (after typing an equals sign), or type B:B, C:C, or whatever column letters you want. When you hit enter, no information will be filled below, and the cell will keep the text value of the formula, not the value of a cell in a referenced column like with referenced single data sheet columns. Also, be careful to enter formulas last and to check that formulas reference correct columns after reordering Settings columns. This is because the column letters in these multi-column reference formulas only refer to the Settings column letter and do not change if you reorder Settings columns. If you tried to reference Settings columns B and C in a formula, then added a Settings column before B, the formula would no longer reference the same Settings columns, now instead referencing the new column and the old column B as they are now in positions B and C. Example formulas include:
  • =B:B-C:C
  • =H:H-D:D
  • =(C:C+D:D)/F:F

Once your setup and customization is complete, you can finally generate your Master Table. All you need to do is select the "Add-ons->Fantasy Football Stat Stud->Update Master Table" menu option to fill the first sheet (named Master Table) in your spreadsheet with your customized player data table containing the data columns you chose. This can take around a minute if you have a lot of data. Each time you select this option, the existing Master Table will be overwritten with a new one, even if your Settings page is the same. With your new Master Table you'll be analyzing and drafting like a pro!

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