Key Concepts

This article explains the core ideas behind TexAu. Understanding these concepts will help you get the most out of the platform.

Tables

A Table is where your data lives in TexAu. Tables work like spreadsheets with rows and columns, but with added intelligence for data enrichment.

Each table contains:

• Rows - Individual records (a company, a person, a lead)
• Columns - Data fields for each record (company domain, employee count, industry)

Creating tables

You can create a table in three ways:

1. Start from scratch - Create an empty table and define columns manually.
2. Clone a template - Start with a pre-built table structure from a template.
3. Import data - Upload a CSV or Excel file and TexAu creates the table structure automatically.

To create a table, click Tables in the sidebar and then click the create button.

Columns and semantic data types

Each column in TexAu has a semantic data type that tells the platform what kind of data the column contains. This is more specific than "text" or "number."

Why semantic data types matter

When TexAu knows the data type, it can:

• Validate data - Confirm an email address or phone number is formatted correctly
• Match providers - Identify which enrichment providers can fill that column
• Format automatically - Keep phone numbers, addresses, and emails consistent

Common semantic data types

TexAu supports 140+ data types. Some of the most common include:

Contact information: email, phone number, LinkedIn profile URL, Twitter handle

Company information: company domain, company name, industry, employee count, funding stage, annual revenue, address, location

Personal information: job title, first name, last name, full name

General types: text, number, URL, boolean, date, JSON

Assign a data type

When you create or import a table, TexAu auto-detects column types. To change a type:

1. Right-click the column header.
2. Click Edit Column.
3. Select the correct semantic data type.

Templates

A Template is a pre-configured enrichment workflow. Templates define which input data you provide, what output data you get back, and which providers are used.

A template includes:

• Input columns - The data you provide (for example, company domains)
• Output columns - The data you want back (for example, company name, industry, employee count)
• Data providers - The services that will enrich your data
• Processing rules - Any transformations or cleanup steps

Use a template

1. Click Templates in the sidebar.
2. Browse or search for a template that matches your data.
3. Click the template to view details.
4. Click Clone or Use This Template.
5. Follow the prompts to apply it to a new or existing table.

Waterfall enrichment

Waterfall enrichment means that if one data provider cannot find information for a row, the next provider in the list automatically tries.

Example of enriching an email address column with three providers:

Provider 1: Hunter API    - No result
Provider 2: Apollo API    - No result
Provider 3: RocketReach   - Found: [email protected]

Without waterfall, if the first provider failed, the cell would stay empty. With waterfall, TexAu keeps trying providers in priority order until one returns a result or all providers have been tried.

Set provider priority

You control the order in which providers are tried:

1. Primary provider - Tried first (most likely to have the data)
2. Secondary provider - Tried if the primary fails
3. Additional providers - Tried in order if earlier providers fail

Using 2 to 4 providers per enrichment column improves data completeness with minimal extra cost.

Formulas

Formulas let you calculate values based on other columns in the same table.

Common formula examples:

• Concatenation: CONCAT(FirstName, " ", LastName) produces "John Smith"
• Conditional logic: IF(EmployeeCount > 100 AND Industry = "SaaS", TRUE, FALSE)
• Fallback values: COALESCE(WorkEmail, PersonalEmail, AlternateEmail) returns the first non-empty value
• Text manipulation: UPPER(FirstName), EXTRACT_DOMAIN(Email)

To add a formula to a column, create a new column, set the type, and configure it to use a formula.

Processing actions

Processing actions are built-in functions that clean and format data. No formula knowledge is required.

Common processing actions:

• CleanDomain - Normalizes URLs to just the domain (for example, www.google.com becomes google.com)
• NormalizePhoneNumber - Formats phone numbers consistently
• ValidateEmail - Checks email format
• ExtractFirstName / ExtractLastName - Splits a full name into parts
• Trim - Removes extra spaces

Scheduled jobs

If you enrich new data regularly, set up a scheduled job to automate the process:

1. Configure an enrichment on a table.
2. Click Schedule instead of running it once.
3. Set the frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, or custom).
4. Set the time it should run.
5. Save.

Manage your scheduled jobs in Settings > Schedules.

Integrations

Integrations connect TexAu to external data providers and services. Set up integrations to:

• Connect to APIs that provide enrichment data (such as Hunter, Apollo, or LinkedIn)
• Authenticate with API keys or OAuth

To configure integrations:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations.
2. Click the provider you want to connect.
3. Enter your API key or complete the OAuth flow.
4. Save.

Navigation reference

Workspace roles

TexAu has five roles: Owner, Admin, Member, Editor, and Viewer. Each role has different permissions for managing data, templates, team members, and settings. For a full breakdown, see Team Roles and Permissions.

Quick reference

What is next

• Your First Enrichment - Put these concepts into practice
• Navigating the Dashboard - Explore the interface
• Creating Your Account - Go back to account setup if needed