When creating new order items in Monday.com, it is essential to route incoming data to the correct column types to keep your boards organized. This guide covers how to configure detailed field mappings for your orders and how to use a custom script to clear photo columns, ensuring new items start with a clean slate.

flowchart TD
    A[Incoming Order Data] --> B[Map Fields to Monday Columns]
    B --> C[Create Monday Item]
    C --> D[Run Custom Python Script]
    D --> E[Clear Photo Column]

Mapping Order Fields

Monday.com uses specific column types (like text, color, location, and numeric) that require data to be formatted in a certain way. When passing order information from your intake forms or previous automation steps, ensure your variables match the expected format for each column.

Common Column Mappings

Here are the standard column types you will use when mapping new order data, along with what they expect to receive:

Clearing Photo Columns During Creation

When automating order creation (especially if duplicating existing templates or items), file and photo columns might carry over unwanted data. You can use a custom Python script via a "Code" step in your automation tool (like Zapier) to clear specific file columns automatically.

This script uses the Monday.com GraphQL API to pass an empty value ("{}") to the target column, effectively clearing it.

How to set up the script

1. 1

   Add a Code Step

   Add a "Run Python" code step immediately after your "Create Item" step in your automation workflow.

2. 2

   Configure Input Variables

   Map the following input variables in your code step so the script knows which item to update:

   • item_id: The ID of the newly created Monday item.

   • board_id: The ID of your Monday board.

   • column_id: The specific ID of the file/photo column you want to clear (e.g., file_mm1aaxzg).

   • api_token: Your Monday.com API token.

3. 3

   Paste the Python Code

   Copy and paste the following script into the code block:

   import requests
   import json
   
   # Input variables from your automation tool
   item_id = input_data['item_id']
   board_id = input_data['board_id']
   column_id = input_data['column_id']
   api_token = input_data['api_token']
   
   # Monday.com API endpoint
   url = "https://api.monday.com/v2"
   
   # Headers
   headers = {
       "Authorization": api_token,
       "Content-Type": "application/json"
   }
   
   # GraphQL mutation to clear the photo column
   query = '''
   mutation {
     change_column_value (
       board_id: %s,
       item_id: %s,
       column_id: "%s",
       value: "{}"
     ) {
       id
     }
   }
   ''' % (board_id, item_id, column_id)
   
   # Make the request
   payload = {"query": query}
   response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
   
   # Return the response for logging
   output = {
       'status': response.status_code,
       'response': response.json()
   }