CSV, Excel & Google Sheets Column Reference

Last updated: September 2026

Quick answer

Name each column with a prefix — TIT_, IMG_, SLIDE_, MAP_, and a few others — and Swiffle Grid automatically knows what to do with it: show it as the title, use it as the front image, add it to the slide gallery, geocode it as a map pin, and so on. A column with no prefix is still shown, as plain text or HTML. This convention is identical for CSV, Excel (XLSX), and Google Sheets — learn it once, use it everywhere.

How it works

Swiffle Grid reads the first row of your file as the header. For each column, it checks whether the header starts with one of the recognized prefixes below. If it does, the column is routed to the matching card element. If it doesn’t, the column is still available — it’s rendered as plain text or HTML content, wherever your card template places it.

No prefix is mandatory, and you don’t need to use all of them. A minimal file can be just a title column and a description column.

Column prefixes

Prefix	What it does	Example
`TIT_`	Title	`TIT_CityName`
`IMG_`	Image — the first `IMG_` column becomes the card’s front image	`IMG_Photo1`
`IMGZ_`	Zoomable image	`IMGZ_Detail1`
`IMGZFS_`	Zoomable image, opened full‑screen in a modal	`IMGZFS_Detail1`
`SLIDE_`	Image or video embed added to the slide gallery	`SLIDE_Photo2`
`SLIDEZOOM_`	Zoomable image or video embed in the zoom gallery	`SLIDEZOOM_Photo2`
`SLIDEFULL_`	Zoomable + full‑screen image (no video)	`SLIDEFULL_Photo2`
`MAP_`	Coordinates or address — rendered as an OpenStreetMap card	`MAP_Headquarters`
`NAV_`	URL opened when the card front is clicked	`NAV_OfficialWebsite`
`HIDDEN_`	Used for sorting, filtering, notes, tags, or internal logic — never shown on the card	`HIDDEN_Category`
(no prefix)	First one becomes the front‑card summary; the rest are added to the back, in column order	`Description`

⚠️ Prefixes are case‑sensitive. Always type them in uppercase exactly as shown above — img_photo1 or Img_Photo1 will not be recognized. Each column name must also be unique: two columns with the same name can cause unexpected behavior.

⚠️ A NAV_ column disables the card back entirely. As soon as one column uses the NAV_ prefix, the card ignores all back‑of‑card content — slides, the map, and any other column — and clicking the card navigates straight to that URL instead of flipping. Leave out the NAV_ column if you want a flip‑to‑back card.

Columns without a prefix

Columns with no recognized prefix are handled by position, not by name:

The first unprefixed column becomes the front‑card summary, shown under the photo.
Any further unprefixed columns are added to the back of the card, in the order they appear.

No column name is reserved. Calling a column Description has no special meaning — only its position among the unprefixed columns does. You could name it Summary, Notes, or anything else and get the exact same result. You may see an OTHER_ label used in some examples (including the live demo) as a naming convention for “extra content” — it has no effect in the code: a column named OTHER_Description is treated exactly like one with no prefix at all.

Don’t want a summary on the card front at all? Leave the first unprefixed column empty for that row — the back‑of-card columns are unaffected.

Worked example

This is the actual header row used in the live demo:

TIT_TITLE, IMG_MAIN, Description, MAP_LOCATION, SLIDE_photo1, SLIDE_photo2, SLIDEFULL_photo1, HIDDEN_URL

TIT_TITLE	IMG_MAIN	Description	MAP_LOCATION
Grand Canyon	grand-canyon-1.jpg	Carved by the Colorado River over millions of years…	36.0544, ‑112.1401

Notice that Description has no prefix — since it’s the first unprefixed column, it becomes the summary shown on the card front, under the photo. A second unprefixed column would go to the back of the card instead. Only add a prefix when you want the column to trigger a specific behavior (image, slide, map, etc.).

📄 Want the real file? Install the free demo plugin from the Try It Yourself page — it adds this exact CSV file to your own Media Library, ready to open, edit, and reuse as a starting point for your own data.

CSV delimiter: comma or semicolon?

Swiffle Grid offers two CSV data sources: CSV (comma‑separated) and CSV (semicolon). Most files exported from English‑locale spreadsheet software use commas; Excel in some European locales exports semicolon‑separated files by default. If your grid shows no data, check that you picked the matching data source for your file’s delimiter — the block editor will warn you if it detects a mismatch.

Updating files without editing your grid

CSV and XLSX files must be picked from the Media Library — a remote file URL is not accepted for this source. That requirement is what makes an easy update trick possible:

The data file itself. Upload a new CSV or XLSX under the same original name (Media Library → Add New). WordPress may store it internally as yourfile-1.csv to avoid overwriting the original — that’s normal. Swiffle Grid always uses the most recently uploaded file matching that name, so every block — on every website — that uses it is updated automatically.
An individual image. A cell with an IMG_, SLIDE_, or similar prefix can contain either a full URL, or just a file name resolved against your Media Library, with the same “most recent wins” rule. For easier maintenance, prefer referencing images by file name: re‑uploading the image under the same name updates it everywhere that file is used, without touching the spreadsheet at all.

Why this matters. A CSV or XLSX file feeding several blocks — or several websites — can be updated everywhere at once, just by re‑uploading. Nothing to re‑paste, no block settings to touch.

Does this apply to Google Sheets too?

Yes — completely. Google Sheets is parsed by the exact same engine as CSV internally: every prefix in the table above, the front‑summary/back‑of‑card position rule, the NAV_ behavior, and the Media Library trick for images all work identically.

The only real difference is where the data comes from:

CSV / XLSX: a file you upload to the Media Library. To update it, re‑upload a new version under the same name (see above).
Google Sheets: your published sheet, fetched live. To update it, just edit a cell — the grid picks up the change automatically, no re‑upload involved.

Images referenced by file name behave the same way in both cases: they always resolve against your Media Library, whether the row they’re in came from a CSV file or a Google Sheet.

Which plan do I need?

CSV and Excel (XLSX) sources are included in every plan, including Free — with no limit on the number of cards or rows. Google Sheets requires a paid plan (Store, Connect, or Bundle). See Plans for the full comparison.

See it live

The live demo is built entirely from a CSV file using these prefixes — including images, a slide gallery, and map cards. Open it alongside this page to see each prefix in action.