Tabular Data
Sphinx has powerful tools to parse and contextulize your data using our data import tool. This article presents an overview of how the tool works and an example to get you started.
Define details for your Datasets
In the create dataset window, select the “Tabular” option and click “Next”.
You will be shown a screen where you define the Dataset Name and upload a data file.
You may also define the Dataset Description, Link to ELN entry, and Tags.
Confirm Data
You will be presented a preview of your data where you can confirm that the data looks as expected.
After you select “Confirm” you will be taken to the detail page for the Dataset. On this page you can preview the Dataset and make any other changes before you create an analysis. Learn more about a Dataset and its attributes here.
Common Issues and How to Resolve
Check out what we are working on next to help you resolve these issues automatically in Data Import Templates.
Extra Rows or Columns
- Data do not start in the first row or column of the uploaded file.
Effect
- Datasets will have empty rows and columns.
- Datasets will have incorrect data types. This is due to the column names of the table and the values of the table being used to determine the data type.
- Datasets will have incorrect column names. This can be seen in above image where X and Y columns are in the data columns
column2andcolumn3.
How to Resolve
When uploading a tabular file, Sphinx expects data to start in the first row and column of your file. You can correct the issues by editing your file to have data start in the first row and column.
Rows contain the column names
- Data are transposed and not in a tidy format.
Effect
- Datasets will have the first row of data as column names
- Datasets will have incorrect data types. This is due to the column names of the table and the values of the table being used to determine the data type.
- Datasets will have incorrect column names. This can be seen in above image where first row of the transposed table was used as column headers.
How to Resolve
When uploading a tabular file, Sphinx expects data to be in a tidy format where field labels (sample, x, and y in the above example) are in the first column.
You can correct the issues by editing your file to have have a tidy format.
An easy way to fix this is to copy your data, then use your editor’s “transpose” option to paste the data in the correct layout (often this is an additonal option in the copy/paste menu).