If you want to get more information about the data tables and columns in your analysis you can expand the Data panel to get an overview of the data or see details about a certain column. Here, you can also perform some data preparation and cleansing operations which can help getting visualizations the way you want them.
There are three different views available, depending on what you click on in the data panel:
Column view – where you work with the content of a single column.
Data table view – where you see an overview of all columns in the selected data table and can perform operations on the entire data table. For example, you can replace or rename the data table, or add calculated columns, or more rows from a different source.
Source view – where you can view the history of a data table, as well as change the data loading settings for different parts of the data table.
To expand the data panel:
In the Data
panel, click the Expand data panel for tools
and details button, .
Response: If one column is selected in the Data panel, the expanded panel will show details about that column. If more than one column is selected, you will see an overview of the selected columns, and, if no column is selected, you get an overview of the entire data table.
The column view will look different for different types of column.
This example shows a string column.
The column name (1) can be changed by clicking on the icon with a pencil. You can click at the link at the top of the column view to go to the overview for the entire data table (2). Depending on the data type and categorization of the column you can see different statistics (3).
Tip: If the statistics section shows a histogram, you can click on the histogram in the column view to add a similar visualization to the analysis.
You always have the possibility to change the categorization (4) and data type (5) of the column (however, for calculated columns you edit the expression to change the data type).
You may also have the opportunity to change things like the sort order (6) or formatting of the column, or, you may have the option to handle empty values. You can also have access to actions that are specific for the data type of the column, such as the Split column action that can be used to split string columns (7).
To the right in the column view you will see the contents of the column (8); either all values or unique (distinct) values only.
In this example, a data table with multiple columns is shown.
There are a number of different things you can do with your data table in this view:
Icon |
Tooltip/field |
Description |
Rename data table |
Enables editing of the data table name. |
|
Sort order in data panel |
Changes the display of columns in the data panel. Choose from: Categorized, No sorting, Ascending or Descending views. |
|
Replace data table |
Replaces the entire data table with new data of your choice. |
|
Delete data table |
Deletes the data table. |
|
[Column name] |
Click on a column name (shown in blue at the top of the data table) to go to the column view for that particular column. |
|
Source view |
Switches the view of the data from a table view to a source view. In the source view, you can click on different nodes to see which operations have been performed on the original data to obtain the current data table. In some cases, you can also edit settings for a particular node. |
|
Add calculated column |
You can add more columns to the data table by using current columns in an expression. |
|
Add rows |
You can add more rows to the data table if more information is available from a different source. See also How to Insert Rows. |
In the source view mode of the expanded data panel, you can click on different nodes to see which operations have been performed on the original data to obtain the current data table. This can help you getting an insight in how the final data table, used in the analysis, has been created. You can also change the Data loading settings for different nodes or reload data. See Embedded or Linked Data? for more information.
Note: The toolbar at the top of the expanded data panel always applies to the final data table, and not to the selected node in the graphical view. This means that a replace operation will replace everything done with the data table up until the final node. Similarly, "delete" will remove the entire data table.
In this example, a data table has been loaded from Salesforce.com and more rows have been added to the original data table from a local data file.
The source view shows a visual representation of added data or operations. Click on a node (1) to view more information in the fields below. If the settings for the node can be changed, click on the settings icon on the node to edit the node (2). See Editing a Data Connection from the Source View and How to Edit Column Matching or Other Settings for Added Rows for more information.
For some types of sources, you can change the Data loading settings by clicking on the button at the bottom of a node (3), and switching to a different setting:
Note: Some nodes do not have access to the original source. In that case, the only option available will be Stored data. For example, this is the case when you have added data from the clipboard. See Embedded or Linked Data? for more information about data loading settings.
When more rows have been added to the original data table, the added data is shown as a separate node (4), and the original data plus the added rows is shown in the Added rows node (5).
The field at the bottom left shows the operations in the currently selected node (6), and, when applicable, provides an entry point for editing transformations or for removing operations. The field to the right (7) shows details about the selected operation, or, if you click on the Data header, a preview of the data table at this current state (when applicable).
The node to the far right represents the final data table (8), the way it is used in visualizations in Spotfire, after any additional rows, calculated columns or other operations have been performed on the data.
If you want to return to the Data table view for the final data table, click on the Data table view button (9).