Refreshing Data that You Added

After you add data, the data might change and you will need to refresh the data from its source.

Note:

Rather than refresh a data source, you can replace it by loading a new data source with the same name as the existing one. However, replacing a data source can be destructive and is discouraged. Only replace a data source if you understand the consequences:

  • Replacing a data source will break projects that use the existing data source if the old column names and data types are not all present in the new data source.

  • Any data wrangling, that is, modified and new columns added in the data stage, will be lost and projects using the data source will probably break.

You can refresh data from all source types: databases, files, and Oracle Applications.

Databases

For databases, the SQL statement is re-run and the data is refreshed.

Excel

To refresh a Microsoft Excel file, you must ensure that the newer spreadsheet file contains a sheet with the same name as the original one. In addition, the sheet must contain the same columns that are already matched with the subject area.

Oracle Applications

You can reload data and metadata for Oracle Applications data sources, but if the Oracle Applications data source uses logical SQL, reloading data only reruns the statement, and any new columns or refreshed data won’t be pulled into the project. Any new columns come into projects as hidden so that existing projects that use the data source are not impacted. To be able to use the new columns in projects, you must unhide them in data sources after you do a refresh. This behavior is the same for file based data sources.

To refresh data that you added:

  1. In the Data Sources pane, or the Subject Areas pane,
  2. Click the Options menu and select Reload Data. The Reload Data dialog displays.
  3. If you are reloading a spreadsheet and the file is no longer in the same location or has been deleted, then the Reload Data dialog prompts you to locate and select a new file to reload into the data source.
  4. The Reload Data dialog indicates that your data was reloaded successfully. Click OK.
The original data is overwritten with new data, which is displayed in visualizations in the project or analysis, after the visualization is refreshed.