Transform’s Analyze feature reads your data and produces Suggestions for data cleanup that you can preview and review before applying. Suggestions are based on the schema you’ve defined, validation rules you’ve set, and historic transformation patterns in your account.
You’ll see the option to Analyze your data after you’ve completed the mapping stage.
Note: Transform—including Analyze and Suggestions—is an add-on to the Flatfile Projects product. There may be an additional cost to enable it on your account. Reach out to success@flatfile.com if you’re interested in learning more.
This feature is not currently available on the CA regional server.
From within a sheet, click Analyze in the toolbar menu.
The Transform agent will read your data and suggest ways to resolve validation errors and formatting issues.
As the analysis runs, you’ll see sparkle icons appear next to fields where the agent has Suggestions. Click on the icon to review the suggestion.
If you’d like to modify the Suggestion, click Edit and type in any changes you’d like to make. Once you’re happy with the prompt, click Preview to see how it would affect your data.
If the preview shows the desired changes to your data, click Transform. You’ll see the changes applied throughout the column.
You can refresh Suggestions by clicking Analyze again in the toolbar menu.
Analyze and Suggestions are some of the most powerful agentic features within Flatfile. However, they do have a few limitations you should be aware of:
Analyze is as good as the context it has—it’s capable of understanding your data and validation rules, detecting common patterns, and referencing prior transformation decisions. But if there isn’t enough context available for a particular issue, it won’t be able to produce a Suggestion.
Analyze will only generate Suggestions when there are validation errors in a particular column. It will suggest actions to resolve the errors and fix formatting issues in that column. If there are no validation errors in a particular column, it will not create Suggestions to resolve formatting issues in that column.
Suggestions only refresh when Analyze is manually re-run.
For issues that require nuanced knowledge of your business, you’ll likely need to either: 1) edit Suggestions made by AI or 2) use Inline Transform to prompt a transform.
Why don’t I see this in my workbook?
Analyze and Suggestions must be enabled in your account in order to see these options. Depending on your Flatfile contract, there may be an additional charge to access Transform features. Reach out to success@flatfile.com if you’re interested in using Inline Transform but do not see this in your account.
I’ve clicked Analyze. Why don't I see any Suggestions?
Analyze can take up to a few minutes to fully read your data and produce Suggestions. If Suggestions don’t appear after the analysis has run, there are either no recognized validation errors or insufficient context for the agent to suggest cleanup actions.
How often should I re-run Analyze?
Rerun after making significant changes to your data, or when you want to see new Suggestions to resolve outstanding errors.
What types of issues can Analyze suggest resolutions for?
Analyze suggests actions to resolve validation errors or fix formatting issues in columns that contain validation errors. These could include removing spaces, correcting capitalization, standardizing date formats, and so on.
Can I customize what Analyze looks for or recommends?
No—the analysis considers the schema you’ve defined, validation rules you’ve set, and historic transformation patterns in your account to produce its Suggestions.
What if I need help?
We have a full guide to using all Transform features available for download here. If you’re still stuck or have questions, reach out to our team at support@flatfile.com.