Upload unstructured data as files

Overview

Any type of file can be uploaded to a Redivis dataset, and we support previews for the most common file types. These data can be analyzed in notebooks within projects.

Note that if you have tabular data we strongly recommend uploading it as a table (rather than a file) so you and your researchers can take advantage of our extensive toolkits for previewing and manipulating tabular data.

This guide assumes you have already started by Creating a dataset.

1. Locate the data you want to upload

You can upload data directly from your computer, or import from a linked account.

If importing, you'll want to get the relevant external account configured to your Redivis account before getting started.

The import tools allow for multiple uploads, so it's helpful to have them all in the same place.

2. Upload files

When you're ready click the Upload files button on the Files tab of the dataset page to get started and select the location your files will be coming from.

If you select "Computer" then you will get a browser window where you can choose the file, files, or folder you want to upload from. Choosing a different location will bring up the corresponding mechanism to select your files.

Once selected, you will need to choose a Folder to put them in. All files on a dataset live within one folder which have a corresponding index table to help researchers understand and navigate those files. You can change this later if needed. If this is your first time uploading files to this dataset you will need to create your first folder.

Click the "Upload" button to start the process. If you are uploading from your computer you'll need to wait on this screen until it's complete. Closing your window will end the upload process. If uploading from a linked source, you can close this window to allow this process to continue in the background.

3. Manage files and folders

You can click on the file name in the Files tab to preview the file and see its information.

You can also go to the Tables tab to view the index table for the folder you've uploaded files to. View the cells and hover or click on the file ID variable to see the preview here. This table can be used in Transforms within a Project to work with files on a large scale.

If you want to rename a folder you can do so on the Files tab by right clicking on the folder name in the right bar.

You can also create new folders and move files between two existing folders from this bar. When moving between folders, you can use a conditional statement to only move some files that match your conditions.

Next steps

Continue uploading your dataset

Great metadata makes your dataset useable. Complete your metadata, along with configuring access, creating a sample, and releasing this version.

Learn more in the Create & manage datasets guide.