CreateTableFromFile
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CreateTableFromFile

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Creates a table object and loads in data from a delimited file or files.

The table definition can be contained with the method JSON, or loaded from an excel spreadsheet.

Delimited File Importer
CreateTableFromFile is the method added to script by the Delimited File Importer which is accessed via the following menu options:
  • Script Editor | Import Data | Delimited File
  • Project | Quick Load | Add Table From File
  • Project | Quick Load | Create Project From File

It is strongly recommended to use the Delimited File Importer to create the JSON for CreateTableFromFile.

Tip
When working in Script Editor, right-click in the JSON window to access available options for CreateTableFromFile

Method Details

KeyValue(s)Description
projectactive project name
methodCreateTableFromFileCreates a table object and loads data from file
actionLOAD/APPENDLOAD - Creates new table object
APPEND - Appends data to an existing table object.
tableName of table to createTable must not already exist.
filenameFile(s) containing source data

See fileFormat for supported data formats

Common file types:

  • *.csv - comma separated
  • *.tsv - tab separated
  • *.txt - delimited

NOTE: To load data from excel, use CreateTableFromWorkbook

Loading from multiple files
To load all files in a folder into the same table, use the following syntax:
"filename": "%DATAPATH%projectdatafolder/data/*"
where
%DATAPATH%projectdatafolder/data is the path to the folder containing the data files
NOTE: All files must contain data in the same format or the load will fail.
NOTE: When loading multiple files, ensure that Data Types are correctly defined, especially if the Delimited File Importer was used to create the original CreateTableFromFile JSON as Data Types can switch from DISCRETE to CONTINUOUS as the volume of data loaded increases.
definitionFieldName | DataType | FieldType | DataSize Each field is listed as a separate value
Only include the fields which are to be imported

IMPORTANT: The definition list must correspond to the loading list. An error will occur if a FieldName is included in the definition section but is not included in the loading section. It is recommended to match the order of fields in the definition and loading sections - the Delimited File Importer will automatically produce JSON that is correctly ordered and can be used to create a basic method that can then be edited in other tools.

CreateTableFromFile must contain either definition + loading, or definitionFile.
loadingFieldNameEach field is listed as a separate value
Fields which are not to be imported (i.e., skipped) are listed as "" but must still be included in the loading section
The order of fields in the loading section must match the order of fields in the data file

IMPORTANT:  The number of entries in the loading section may not match the number of entries in the definition section as the definition section will not contain entries for skipped fields.

The loading section is not required when using definitionFile.
definitionFilePath/Filename.xlsxPath and filename to excel file which contains the table definition.

The file must have the following layout:
  • Name - Required.  FieldName 
  • Type - Required.  DataFieldType   (e.g., INTEGER DISCRETE - see Data Types for more information)
  • Length - Required.  Can be blank for one, some or all fields 
  • Format - Required.  Can be blank for one, some or all fields
The definition file may also have additional columns which can be loaded as metadata.   See Getting Started - Categories and Metadata for more information.  Alternatively different files can be used to create the table and then apply metadata.
sampletrue/falseIf "Sample" has been checked in script editor then this will be set to true.   If "Sample" is not checked in script editor, a value of true for this key will be ignored.  
preHeaderSkip0/1TODO
dateFormatYYYY-MM-DD
MM-DD-YYYY
DD-MM-YYYY
YYYYMMDD
MMDDYYYY
DDMMYYYY
M/D/Y
D/M/Y

Default format = YYYY-MM-DD

DataJet will recognise any separator in Date or DateTime fields, so long as the separator used is consistent.

For example, DD-MM-YYYY is a valid format for DD/MM/YYYY,  DD MM YYYY, DD|MM|YYYY etc

fileFormatASC118
UTF16ASUTF8

skipFirstLinetrue/falsetrue - file does not contain headers, skip first line
false - file does contains a header, don't skip first line
delimiter, ; | :Any consistent file delimiter is supported, including tab, spaces etc
stripCharacterCharacter to removeAny and all instances of the character will be removed from the data as it is loaded
dateTimeFormatYYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM
DDMMMYYYY HH:MM:SS

Default format = YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

DataJet will recognise any separator in Date or DateTime fields, so long as the separator used is consistent.

For example, DD-MM-YYYY HH-MM is a valid format for DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM  

trimTrailingSpaces

true/false



If true, removes any trailing spaces from any data that is loaded.
For example
"DATA   "   becomes  "DATA"
"0923 SHRT  " becomes "0923 SHRT"
fieldQualifier"NONE"Specifies the text qualifier used in the file.  
TODO: How to specifier double quote as qualifier?
autoScanResetIfNewtrue/false
Reset if new project - TODO:  What does this do?
allowOverflowtrue/false
If true, if a string of specified length overflows then the field will be switched to variable length string.
filenameField
"nameoffield"The field in which to store the name of the file from which the data was loaded.
NOTE:  If loading data from multiple files using
"filename": "%DATAPATH%projectdatafolder/data/*"
format, and there are many files in the folder, loading a sample of the data may take some time as sample data will be taken from each source file. 
ignoreExistingtrue/false
If true, and the specified table name already exists, the method will be skipped.
ignoreEmptyFoldertrue/falsev6.11.7.01
Optional.  Default = false.
If true, and the load folder is empty, will skip without error.

Context Menu

ItemValuesDescription
DescriptionAny stringText to display in Script Editor Detail column
Select FileBrings up a Remote Data Source dialogThe Remote Data Source Dialog gives access to all remote files that have been uploaded to the DataJet File Server.

NOTE:  To add files as a remote data source, see Admin | Remote Files | Remote File Manager

NOTE: Hold SHIFT to bring up file system on client machine.  This is only valid if DataJet client and server are running on the same machine.
Convert To LoadYes/NoTODO: What does this do?
Convert To UpdateYes/NoTODO: What does this do?
DelimiterTAB
COMMA
SEMI-COLON
PIPE
HSTART
TODO - What is HSTART?
Date FormatYYYY-MM-DD
MM-DD-YYYY
DD-MM-YYYY
YYYYMMDD
MMDDYYYY
DDMMYYYY
M/D/Y
D/M/Y

DateTime FormatYYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM
DDMMMYYYY HH:MM:SS

File FormatASC118
UTF16ASUTF8

ActionLoad
Append

Field Qualifier

Reset If New ProjectYes/No
Allow String OverflowYes/No
If yes is selected, if a string of specified length overflows then the field will be switched to variable length string.
"allowExisting": true
Trim Trailing SpacesYes/No
If yes is selected, trailing spaces will be removed from each data point.
"trimTrailingSpaces": true
Ignore ExistingYes/No
If yes is selected, and the specified table name already exists, the method will be skipped.
Create Table Only
If selected, will form an empty Definition and Loading section so that a table with no rows is created.


Examples

A definition that has guessed and accepted all data types in the file:

{
  "project": "#project#",
  "method": "CreateTableFromFile",
  "action": "LOAD",
  "table": "buildertemp",
  "filename": "%DATAPATH%/buildertemp.dat",
  "definition": [
    "firstname|DISCRETE|STRING|BYTE",
    "surname|DISCRETE|STRING|BYTE",
    "email|DISCRETE|STRING|BYTE",
    "address|DISCRETE|STRING|BYTE"
  ],
  "loading": [
    "firstname",
    "surname",
    "email",
    "address"
  ],
  "sample": false,
  "preHeaderSkip": 0,
  "dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "fileFormat": "ASCII8",
  "skipFirstLine": true,
  "delimiter": "TAB",
  "stripCharacter": "",
  "dateTimeFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"
}
  • In the "definition": [] section, only include the columns that are to be imported
  • In the "loading": [] section, include SKIPPED fields as "",


The following shows a definition that is skipping all fields in the file - i.e., has no data types set:

{
  "project": "#project#",
  "method": "CreateTableFromFile",
  "action": "LOAD",
  "table": "buildertemp",
  "filename": "%DATAPATH%/buildertemp.dat",
  "definition": [],
  "loading": [
    "",
    "",
    "",
    ""
  ],
  "sample": false,
  "preHeaderSkip": 0,
  "dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "fileFormat": "ASCII8",
  "skipFirstLine": true,
  "delimiter": "TAB",
  "stripCharacter": "",
  "dateTimeFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"
}


A definition that is reading the definition from an excel spreadsheet:

{
  "method": "CreateTableFromFile",
  "action": "LOAD",
  "table": "widetable1",
  "filename": "%DATAPATH%Wide/wide.dat",
  "definitionFile": "%DATAPATH%Wide/definition.xlsx",
  "dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "fileFormat": "ASCII8",
  "skipFirstLine": false,
  "delimiter": "TAB",
  "stripCharacter": "",
  "dateTimeFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS",
  "project": "wide",
  "sample": false
}


Example spreadsheet layout.  Note field zip4code, although present in the source data file, will not be loaded as it has a FieldDataType of SKIP:





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