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How to Add Data to an Existing Project

How to add data to an existing Canvs project and match questions/filters to keep trends accurate across waves.

Updated over a week ago

🛠️ Why Consistency Matters

Canvs groups responses based on exact matches for question names and filters. For example, if the same question appears as “Brand Perception” in one wave and “Brand Perceptions” in the next, you’ll end up with two separate questions, breaking your trends and requiring manual cleanup.

To avoid this, Canvs now provides helpful tools during import to match new data to your existing project’s structure.

✅ Recommended Workflow: Start From the Project

We recommend importing new data from within your project. This ensures the system can retrieve existing Questions and Filters for you to match against.

Option 1: From the Project Dashboard

  1. Navigate to your project on the Canvs dashboard.

  2. Click the three-dot menu on the far right.

  3. Select + Import Data.

Option 2: Inside a Project

  1. Open the project you want to update.

  2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.

  3. Select + Import Data.

🧭 During Import: Match Questions & Filters

When you upload your new data, Canvs helps you align it to the project’s structure.

Match Existing Questions

  • During the Questions step, you’ll see a dropdown of all existing questions in the project.

  • Select the question from the dropdown that your new column corresponds to.

  • If it doesn’t match anything, Canvs will add it as a new question.

🎯 Best practice: Always double-check for minor naming differences (extra space, typo, plural/singular) that could cause duplicates.

Match Existing Filters

  • During the Filters step, a dropdown under Label Filter As will appear for each filter column you include.

  • Canvs shows existing filter labels so you can align them precisely (e.g., match “Age” instead of adding “age group” as a new one).

  • This dropdown appears only for filters you've selected, keeping the UI streamlined.

🧠 Using the Main Import Flow?

You can still connect data to an existing project from the standard Import workflow by toggling “Add to Existing Project” on the Details step.

However, this approach does not show previous question/filter names during selection. Be sure to double-check question and filter consistency on your own before submitting!

Need Help?

If you’re unsure whether your questions or filters match, reach out to your Canvs Customer Success Manager or use the in-app Intercom chat- we’re here to help!

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