Configuring the Sheet View

Learn how to control your layout and the various media types, vehicles, field, and tag settings of your planning sheets

Aydin Ismailov avatar
Written by Aydin Ismailov
Updated over a week ago

The sheet view is where planning data is entered. All visualization features such as the calendar view and reports source their data from the sheet view.

Planning data should always be entered into the sheet view at the Media Plan level, as pictured in the image below.

However, the sheet view can be viewed at any place in the organizational hierarchy. For example, the sheet view in the Media Overview section of an organization will contain all of the data entered into all of the plan sheet views within that organization. This also holds true for organizations with multiple subsidiaries; all subsidiary data will aggregate into the parent organization's sheet view.

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Performance data related to active or completed campaigns are separated and housed in the Results section, either through manual input or automatic capture via integrations.


Media Types

Media Types are typically referred to as marketing channels. They are categories of media that are represented in Mediatool by their own sheet and tab in the Sheet View.

Some examples of common media types include Paid Social, SEM, TV, Radio, Online Display, and OOH. Though, the name and number of media types are completely up to you and can be as general or as specific you’d like them to be.

Each media type has its own set of individualized fields (or columns), which define what data can be entered into the sheet. The configuration of each media type's sheet is completely customizable.

Before you get started, it's important to understand that media types are the broadest/highest level of data segmentation and that they are controlled in the organization settings, not in the sheet view itself.

Since the configuration of each media type is controlled at the organizational level, not on a plan-by-plan level, all settings changes will affect the configuration of all media plans within an organization. This creates a standard way of working for each media type and protects the integrity of your data.

Add a new media type

Add a new media type by entering Organization Settings in the left-hand menu and then selecting Media Types & Fields. Select an existing media type, click on the Add New Media Type button in the upper-right corner, and then select either a Planning or Results Media Type. Assign the Media Type with a name and a color, then save your changes.

Copy or delete a Media Type

You can copy or delete an already existing Media Type by entering Media Types & Fields, selecting your desired Media Type from the drop-down list, and then click on the gear/settings symbol next to the media type name. From here you can choose to copy or delete the media type, as is pictured in the image below.

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Entry Fields

Within each media type, you can customize and configure the column fields that will be presented in Media Overview's Sheet view.

Always start by clicking into the Media types and fields settings and choose the desired media type you'd like to edit in the drop-down menu.

Add an existing field to a Media Type

For pre-existing fields, you can filter the available options by typing the name of the field in the upper right-hand corner or scroll through the list. Mediatool has some default fields, but if none of these match your needs, you'll need to create a new field.

Create a new field

To create a new field, within the media type settings click create new entry row field, located in the upper right corner, above the list of currently available fields.

Choose whether it should be a header or an entry field:

  • An Entry Field is a column visible in the sheet view where you enter data for the plan (generally the most common field you will use).

  • A Header Field is a visible field at the top of each media type; common usage is, for example, notes, comments, and currency exchange information.

Enter a name and choose the format for your field - Text, Date, Number, or Calculation. All fields are labeled with an icon representing the field type:

  • Text – Free text field. You also have the option to configure a text field as a text calculation. Read more about this option in our article on template fields.

  • Date – Date field - note that the date format (MM/DD/YYYY) will be set in your personal settings

  • Number – General number or percentage. Choose whether to have the field summarize itself in columns and reports as a sum total, average, or none. Choose the number of decimal places.

  • Calculation – Create a calculation that references other numbers entered into fields within the same row and sheet. In order to create a calculation make sure you have all fields that you are using for the calculation within the same media type. Enter the calculation by tagging the @name of each field and using general calculation signs (/,-,+,*) and brackets. Choose the number of decimal places. You can also configure a conditional calculation.

You can choose to have a description for each created column, this will be visible if you scroll over the field in the sheet view, but this is not obligatory.

Adjust field order

The field order can be adjusted by clicking, dragging, and dropping the fields to the desired position. Always remember to hit the green Save button whenever you make updates to a Media Type, before navigating to a new page. Otherwise, your changes will be lost.

Remove a field from the Media Type

To remove a field from a particular media type, but not delete the field, select the relevant media type and then select field you'd like to remove. A preview of the field and its settings will appear below. Click on the red button titled remove field from media type. Finally, remember to click save before navigating anywhere else in Mediatool.

Edit or delete a field

To edit or delete an existing field, click on the field from the list of fields on the right-hand sidebar. A preview of the field and its settings will appear below. Click edit field to open up the field settings in more detail.

To delete the field, click on the red button towards the bottom left titled delete field.

To edit the field, adjust your desired setting and then click the green button titled update field.

Do note that it is not possible to change a field from one type to another - a general number field must remain a number field and cannot be changed to a calculation, tag, text, or date field.

Further considerations regarding fields

It is not possible to have two fields with the same exact title. In order to alter or replace a field, you can create a new field with the desired type and replace the existing field by relabeling the existing field ie "Market (old)", which will allow you to select the intended name for the field you created to replace it and subsequently delete the (old) field.

A calculation field can only be based on number fields. You also cannot manually enter anything in this field within the sheet view, as it is locked. All of the component fields required for the calculation must be present in the same media type for the calculation to function.

Additional Field Settings

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  • Header field - A header field will not appear in your spreadsheet, but rather in the header of the sheet view.

  • Required - Checking the required box will prevent anyone from entering new data without inputting a valid entry into this cell; the user will not be able to save their changes until a value is input.

  • Appears in Delivery Plan - Checking the 'Appears in Delivery plan' box will have this field/ column appear in the delivery plan section of your Media Overview.

  • Planning or Results field - At Mediatool, it's a best practice to separate planning data from results data. You are able to configure a manual-entry sheet view for results only by toggling this to the results section.

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Tags

Tags are text fields whose inputs are limited to a restricted list. Tags are configured instead of regular text fields in situations where you'd like to filter and/or build reports based on data related to that field.

For example, most organizations will create the field, Market, as a tag because it provides relevant insights. Whereas, most organizations will create the field, Comments, as an open text field, as the input will vary infinitely and does not provide any insight as a filter.

Tags are added to media types just as other fields are. However, they are created and edited in a separate dedicated section. To learn more about tags and how to configure them, check out our article here.

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Media Vehicles

Media Vehicles are typically referred to as marketing platforms or vendors; for example, BBC, ELLE Magazine, Radio 1, Facebook, etc.

Media Vehicles function as tags, as they can be used to filter and create reports on associated data. Media vehicles display as a dropdown in the sheet view and are configured specifically to each Media Type.

Add a Media Vehicle

To add a Media Vehicle go to Settings and then Media Vehicles. In the drop-down list, select what Media Type you would like to add a Media Vehicle to. Then begin entering the specific media vehicle(s) for the specific Media Type you'd like.

Helpful tip: you can add multiple vehicles, just make sure to start a new row for each new media vehicle.

Alternatively, add a vehicle directly within the sheet view by typing a name in an entry field under the Media Vehicle row. Once a name has been entered it will automatically be added to that media type's media vehicle list.

To edit, merge, or delete a media vehicle go to Settings and then Media Vehicles. Choose the media type and find the desired media vehicle(s). From settings, you can control what vehicles are used. Make sure to check what names have been added and whether your colleagues are using an incorrect media vehicle.

For example, Anna enters “FACEboook” in the Media Vehicle row under Digital Display. She spelled the word incorrectly, didn't capitalize it to match the original, and did not select Facebook from the drop-down list. Anna’s entries will now be tagged as “FACeboook” instead of “Facebook”. Therefore, all of Anna's entries can only be found when you're looking for results for FACeboook, not the correct tag Facebook. It’s important to have all users choose from the drop-down list or add vehicles they are absolutely sure to be spelled and entered correctly. If this does occur you can assign "FACEboook" entries to "Facebook" by merging the incorrect media vehicle into the intended one ie merge "FACEboook" into "Facebook".

To merge media vehicles simply check the small box to the left of each media vehicle, then select what Media vehicle to merge with.

To delete hit the trash icon.

To edit the name simply type the new name in the media vehicle name box.

The Number of Entries indicates how many times a vehicle has been tagged in the sheet view(s).


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