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How do I enter data to my goal?
There are a bunch of ways to submit data! It can be a bit overwhelming, so here's a bit of an overview of the options:
- dashboard
- goal page
- apps
- SMS (premium option, US-only)
- have it automatically fed from another service
- write your own automatic service using the Beeminder API
The date-value-comment format is used across all of them, though it may be presented slightly differently (see also: What is my data?). Keep scrolling down for examples!
Dashboard
To add data using the dashboard, you'll need to have the row for the goal expanded using the toggle icon on the left of each goal image (highlighted in a purple box in the screenshot above). Then, select the correct day for the datapoint using the dropdown, and enter the datapoint value in the middle box. If you want, you can add a comment in the text box, but it's not required. Click Add Progress to submit!
Goal page
Use the box on the right-hand side of the goal page, to the right of the graph image, to enter data. You can use the Form Entry shown on the left below, or click the Advanced Entry link (highlighted in purple in the screenshot) to swap to a shorthand text field instead. Advanced entry will let you enter multiple datapoints for any day in the past (though you need to format them appropriately, in a list separated by new lines, as shown in the screenshot below), so it's a handy option to have!
![Comparison of the two data entry forms: on the left, the "Form entry" option, highlighting the date dropdown, the data entry box with stepper buttons, and the box for the optional comment. On the right, the "Advanced entry" form, showing recent data above a box where you write your data in the format '[date] [amount] ["optional comment"]', e.g. '6 1 "How do I enter data to my goal?"'](https://s3.amazonaws.com/helpscout.net/docs/assets/593eda072c7d3a0747cdd5b2/images/62c5609b360964399e46de77/file-zYdBYrNJJU.png "Comparison of the two data entry forms: on the left, the \"Form entry\" option, highlighting the date dropdown, the data entry box with stepper buttons, and the box for the optional comment. On the right, the \"Advanced entry\" form, showing recent data above a box where you write your data in the format '[date] [amount] [\"optional comment\"]', e.g. '6 1 \"How do I enter data to my goal?\"'")
Apps
Check the iOS and Android pages for more detail and screenshots!
To add an email via the bot, you just need to send an email to bot@beeminder.com. The easiest way is to reply to the reminder emails Beeminder sends. You can also send non-reply emails; make sure the subject line contains your username/goalname (e.g. for shanaqui's freshdocs goal, the subject line should be shanaqui/freshdocs) so it knows where to enter the data. You should use the format shown in "what is my data?" in the emails. The bot will reply with a format reminder and copy Beeminder support if it can't parse what you send.
The bot will always reply to you when it receives your data, letting you know whether your graph was updated or if it had a parsing problem. If it doesn't reply, something might have gone wrong on our end.
If you want to submit a lot of past data at once, the email bot is a good option. You can add multiple datapoints for the same or different days, all in the same email to the bot.
SMS
SMS entry works very similarly to email. Just include your goalname in front of the standard email data entry format (we already know your username because your phone number is linked to it). We also have a separate article all about our SMS bot, for more detail. To use this option, you do need to live in the US and have a Bee Plus or Beemium subscription.
Autodata integration
If your goal has an automatic data source, most of this doesn't apply! For most data sources, you can press the refresh button that appears in place of data entry boxes to fetch the latest data from your data source, or it will happen automatically a few times a day, and right at your deadline. (The actual sync may happen slightly after the deadline due to processing time, but don't worry: it will count for the correct date.)
Some sources (most popularly IFTTT and Zapier) push data to Beeminder, and the fetch button does not actually "fetch" anything! If data isn't showing up already, you'll need to visit the service to ensure that the applet/zap/task completes successfully and sends information to Beeminder.
Check the help page for each integration to learn more! There are tailored troubleshooting suggestions for known issues if your data doesn't seem to be coming through.
Write your own code with the Beeminder API
You do need to have coding skills to make use of the Beeminder API, but it can be a great way of building personalised integrations. Have fun!
If you do this, we'd love to hear about what you've created! It's often a great nudge for us to make an integration ourselves, if other people might be interested.
Keywords: newbee confusion, data entry, SMS bot, email bot, ways to enter data