Connecting With Data Sources
Connect to data sources and upload spreadsheets to get the data you need to create datasets. You can create a dataset from the following types of data sources:
- Local subject area
For more details, see Creating Datasets From Subject Areas and a comprehensive list of subject areas in the CIC Analytics Subject Area Reference.
- Spreadsheets (XLS, XLSX, CSV, and TXT file formats)
For more details, see Creating Datasets From Spreadsheets.
A data source is any tabular structure. You get to see data source values after you load a file or send a query to a service that returns results.
A data source can contain any of the following:
- Match columns - These contain values that are found in the match column of another source, which relates this source to the other, for example, Customer ID or Product ID.
- Attribute columns - These contain text, dates, or numbers that are required individually and are not aggregated, for example, Year, Category Country, Type, or Name.
- Measure columns - These contain values that should be aggregated, for example, Revenue or Miles driven.
You can analyze a data source on its own, or you can analyze two or more data sources together, depending on what the data source contains. If you use multiple sources together, then at least one match column must exist in each source. The requirements for matching are:
- The sources contain common values, for example, Customer ID or Product ID.
- The match must be of the same data type, for example, number with number, date with date, or text with text.
When you save a workbook, the permissions are synchronized between the workbook and the external sources that it uses. If you share the workbook with other users, then the external sources are also shared with those same users.
In This Section
About Data Sources and Subject Areas
About Data Sources and Measure Columns
Formatting Spreadsheets and Other Files
Creating Datasets Using Google Drive or OneDrive
Creating Datasets from Microsoft SharePoint
Last Published Friday, December 8, 2023