Spotfire® User Guide

Adding more data

Data can be added to the analysis in several different ways: as new columns, as new rows or as new data tables. All of these methods are available when you add data from the Files and data flyout. If Spotfire identifies that new data seems to fit in an already available data table, you might get a recommendation to add the data as new rows. However, you can always ignore the recommendation.

About this task

See also Choosing how to load the data.

Adding data as separate data tables is useful if the new data is unrelated to the previously opened data table or if the new data is in a different format (pivoted vs. unpivoted). Data can be added from local files on your computer, or from different types of data files that have been previously saved in the library using the Windows client. You might also have access to other data sources from where you can add data.

Data from different data tables can be viewed in the same visualization, provided that there is at least one column in both data tables that can be used to match the data from the two data tables. You can, of course, also create separate visualizations for different data tables.

In some cases, when you need to bring in-memory data from different data sources together in a single visualization, it may be more suitable to add columns or add rows to a data table, rather than keeping two different data tables.

Tip: You can also drag a supported file to the analysis directly and drop it in your browser.

Procedure

  1. On the authoring bar, click Files and data .
  2. In the flyout, locate the data of interest by searching for a suitable filename or keyword, or by browsing the different categories.
    You can search for specific types of data by typing keywords. For example, enter type:dxp (to search for analyses), type:dataconnection (to search for data connections), or, type:query (to search for information links). See Searching the library for more details.
  3. Select the source data and specify any required settings.
    Tip: If the data you are about to add matches other in-memory data in the analysis, then you will be recommended to add the new data as rows in a matching data table, instead of as a new data table. It is often easier to visualize the data if you have a single data table, so use the recommended solution whenever possible. See also Adding rows to a data table.
    Note: When a data connection is added to the analysis, all views in the connection will be available within the analysis until the connection or a view is removed, regardless of whether the view is added as a data table or not. Therefore, you should select a connection under Data connections in current analysis (in the Files and data flyout, under Recommended) to add more views from an already used connection rather than adding another connection to the same source.
  4. When you have selected your data, you will see a summary view of all data tables that will be added or updated when you click OK. You may have the option to change how data is loaded, depending on what source data you select: If the selected source is a data connection you can change the load method of the data table. See Choosing how to load the data for more information.
  5. If you want to add more data tables, repeat for each data table.

What to do next

If the data was added as new data tables, determine whether the new data tables should be related to each other or to previously added data tables. Remember that you must define a relation if the new data table is to be used to create details visualizations for the previously added data tables. Read more in Related data tables, joins and column matches.

Copyright © Cloud Software Group, Inc. All rights reserved.