Importing Data in DataMAPPER™

Importing Data in DataMAPPER™

Importing Data in Data Mapper

You must import a data source file into Data Mapper in order to assign data fields to glyph elements (objects).  The easiest way to import a data source file is via a CSV or SQLite database. 

From the main toolbar, click on “Data Source”, then “Add File”



The “Add File Datasource” window will pop up. Navigate to the CSV or table you would like to add as the data source and click “Open”.

Note: If the data source is a workbook, the file must be saved as a CSV (Comma Delimited) - .csv, not an Excel Workbook (.xls or .xlsl) in order to be imported.



The information from the source data file / table will be visible in the Data Stats pane, and the data source file / table name will be displayed on a tab in both the Data Stats pane and the Data Sources pane.



The Field Name column (1) contains the column headers from the source data file / table.

The Type column (2) indicates which type of values are in each column in the source data file / table – text, real, or integer.   If the default data type is “real” or “integer”, you can change the format to match the data in the source file / table.  Right-click anywhere in the row corresponding to the data field you wish to modify, then select “Properties”.



Click on the type (A) that matches the data type in the original source file / table.  Several options (B) are provided for customizing each type, along with brief instructions.



The Min and Max columns (3 and 4) display the minimum and maximum values in each column in the original data source. (For text type columns, the min and max values correspond to the highest- and lowest alphabetically ranked values in that column of data.  For real or integer type columns, the min and max values correspond to the smallest and largest numerical values in that column of data.)

The Average column (5) displays the numerical average of all the entries in that column of data.  This function is only possible with real or integer data types. 

The Count (Non-Null) column (6) displays the number of distinct values not including blanks.

Tip: If the number in any of the Count (Non-Null) columns differs from the total number of rows in your data source, you may have a blank cell in that column of data. Save the project and close Data Mapper, then update the data in that cell in the original data source and save, then reopen the project in Data Mapper.  The update(s) will be reflected in the Data Stats pane.

The Count (Distinct) column (7) displays the number of unique values in each data source field. 


Multiple source data files or database tables can be imported into a project in DataMapper.  To import additional source data files or database tables, follow the same steps outlined here for each source data file / table individually until all desired source data files / tables have been added.  A list of imported data sources appears in the Data Sources pane. 

If you have imported multiple source data files or database tables into the project, you can toggle between the files / tables using the tabs in the Data Stats pane.



To remove a source data file / table from the project, right-click on the source data file / table name in the Data Sources pane and select “Remove”. A warning will pop-up.  Click “Yes” to acknowledge the warning and proceed with removal of the data source, or click “No” to keep the data source in your project.




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