In this article, we explain how to use the “Combine New with Old Results” option in Dataslayer.
The Combine new with old results feature in Dataslayer is extremely useful: it automatically adds new data to your existing results instead of overwriting them every time you modify, refresh, or schedule a query. This means that your previous data remains intact and is enhanced with each update.
You can find this option in the OPTIONS tab of the Dataslayer extension.
How to use this option?
To use this feature correctly, your query must include a time-based dimension (such as Date, Week, or Month).
Here’s how to set it up:
1. Create your query without enabling the “Combine new with old results” option.
Choose your desired date range, dimensions, and metrics.
Remember to add a temporal dimension to the query.
To know how to build a query, please refer to this step-by-step guide.
2. Edit the query you just created:
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Change the date range to cover only the new data you want to add.
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Enable the Combine new with old results option.
For this feature to work continuously, we strongly recommend using dynamic date ranges like "Yesterday", "Last 7 days", "Last 15 days", "Last month", etc.
- Avoid using fixed ranges (e.g., July 1 to July 15), as they won’t allow new data to be appended automatically over time.
- Avoid using “Today” as the data might still be incomplete.
You can type custom date ranges manually. Check it out in this guide!
3. Finally, schedule the query to refresh automatically. Every time it runs, the new data will be appended below the existing rows.
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This step is mandatory for the new data to be automatically added to the query. The frequency of scheduled refreshes depends on your Dataslayer plan.
Learn with this guide on how to set up your schedule refreshes!
How existing data is handled
When the “Combine new with old results” option is active, Dataslayer can perform two different actions during each refresh:
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Appends new data: If the selected date range includes periods not yet present in your table, Dataslayer will add those rows to the bottom.
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Updates existing data: If the selected date range includes dates already present, Dataslayer will replace the old values with the updated ones returned by the API.
Example:
Your sheet already contains data from Last 6 months (for example: January 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2025).
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If you modify your query to pull, for example, Month to date (July 1 to July 15), Dataslayer will only append that new data.
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But if your query is set to pull Last 25 days (June 20 to July 15), Dataslayer will update the values from June 20 to June 30 (already in the table) and append the data from July 1 to 15.
If you don’t need to update existing data, only select the new date range you want to import. This keeps your query smaller and improves load times.
- Avoid using fixed ranges (e.g., July 1 to July 15), as they won’t allow new data to be appended automatically over time.
Limitations
You cannot use the following two options together:
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Combine new with old results
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Exclude header row
When combining results, Dataslayer uses the dimension and metric headers to determine whether a row is new, needs updating, or should be skipped.
If the header row is excluded, Dataslayer can only see raw values without context, which can cause data to be mistakenly replaced instead of appended.
Example
If “Month” is used as a dimension but headers are excluded, Dataslayer won’t know which month each value belongs to, so new data may overwrite existing rows.
To avoid this issue, only enable one of these options at a time.
To explore more about advanced Dataslayer options, visit our advanced options guide.
As always, please contact us via our live chat on our website or via email if you still have doubts or questions. We are happy to help!