Using Trello with a database
Asked by Marie-Charlotte Pez?:

Hello,

To give some quick context info: we are a website with thousands of articles. Some are "core" articles, some are sponsored content for our clients (our bread and butter). We just implemented Trello as our new project management system, to keep track of the campaigns we perform for clients (most articles also come with banner take-overs, newsletters, social media posts... etc.) It's working out great for us so far.

In parallel, we're developing a list of all our articles - the core articles, and the sponsored articles. We want to have a full database containing all of them, so we know which ones are sponsored, by whom, until when - meaning which topics are available when we find a new client, for example, so we don't write duplicate content; or which ones are coming close to the end of their sponsorship contract, so we can sell the article to a new client.

Optimally I'd like to do this in Trello as well, so we can use powerups like CardSync to simply "assign" articles from the database boards to client boards, and have a great overview, all in one place, of how our content is distributed.

The problem is that Trello is not a database and if we ever wanted to migrate or use this information in a different programme, we would have to retype everything by hand. And I'm really talking 14,000 articles at the moment, so that's an insane workload.

I've been looking for power-ups that would help us connect to database systems, but been unable to find anything of real value.

I found a zapier that could integrate MySQL and Trello, but MySQL output isn't super sexy: <https://zapier.com/apps/mysql/integrations/trello>

And I found this which seems to integrate trello and Microsoft Access: <https://www.cloudpipes.com/integrations/microsoft-access/trello>

Maybe somebody out there has a better idea, solution, power-up to recommend? Any help would be most welcome! I'm just an editor, not a dev, so this is a bit over my paygrade.

Thank you in advance for your help!!


Answers:
author: Alex Ivanciu
body: Looking for the same thing too!!! We need integration with data bases such as Microsoft Access...


author: FELIPE ORELLANA HENRIQUEZ
body: Hello, I wanted to know if you could solve your problem related to the synchronization of a database with trello, I'm looking to do the same, however I could not find information about it.


author: Luis Salazar
body: Hello,

I totally understand your problem. There come a time when you really need to int?grate with a Database.

I think the simplest solution is to int?grate Trello with Airtable as a database. Use Zapier to "glue" them together and you can easily have up and running a nice little system with your database in it.

Regards!

comments: author: Kate Reuther
body: This is precisely what I'm trying to do with Airtable and Trello but I don't know how to do it! Our nonprofit doesn't have a dedicated tech person. Could I ask a few questions?


author: Ada Casanovas
body: Same here, would very much like an answer to this question.

Thank you in advance.


author: Irma Lopez
body: We need the same! Does anyone solve this?


author: Marta Galofre de Alos
body: Hi Marie-Charlotte,

Marta here, from Trello support.

I believe you're looking for an exporting function, is that right?

In general, we're definitely pro-data-portability and want to make sure our users can access and export their data. Trello does currently have an export feature, available under the Board Menu \> More \> Print and Export. The format is JSON, which lends itself well to technical usages, but doesn't load into common programs like Excel. Thus, the export is primarily for people looking to crunch the data with programs of their own or just to back up their data in case of emergency.  

If you need spreadsheet support, although I'm not really sure that would help since representing dense information in a spreadsheet might not be the most useful solution, you can check out either of these third party Chrome extensions:  
<https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/export-for-trello/nhdelomnagopgaealggpgojkhcafhnin?hl=en-US>  
<https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/trelloexport/kmmnaeamjfdnbhljpedgfchjbkbomahp>  

Alternatively, if you upgrade to Trello Business Class (<https://trello.com/business-class>), you can export your board data as a CSV directly from Trello. That can be opened in any desktop spreadsheet program. To show what a board export in CSV format looks like, we've exported the [Welcome Board](https://trello.com/b/bKbdmCKB/welcome-board) that comes with each new Trello account. You can download the .csv file [here](https://trello-attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/5458101c482c33e9a52a5b27/5568dceea9de1d3baa2eecad/44ba2dbe025f93377aab21e89ce7e9f9/bKbdmCKB.csv).  

Please let me know if this isn't what you're looking for or if you have any questions or concerns.

Cheers,

Marta

comments: author: Marie-Charlotte Pez?
body: Dear Marta,

We are already on the Business Class plan, but exporting isn't really what we're looking for, so much as a "syncing" solution. Whatever new information we input in these boards would need to be added to the spreadsheet or database as we create new lists/cards - it's an ongoing process. With the CSV export solution, we'd have to re-create a new spreadsheet every time we add a card, and that's not very practical, or even safe when it comes to the data. What would be great is a power-up that automatically grabs these new boards/lists/cards and adds them to the database or spreadsheet upon creation.

Let me know if you can think of anything else!

Thank you :)  

Marie


author: FELIPE ORELLANA HENRIQUEZ
body: Hello, I wanted to know if you could solve your problem related to the synchronization of a database with trello, I'm looking to do the same, however I could not find information about it


author: Kate Reuther
body: Dear Marta,

I'm looking to export all the archived cards as a CSV, not the whole board. Is that possible?

K


Tags: database

mysql