Add data
You can add data to your chart by clicking on the Data title in the chart editor sidebar. If this is your first time adding data, the add data dialog will open, otherwise you see an intermediate dialog where you can choose to add data, add geographical data, sort data, or filter data.
In the add-data dialog you can add data by uploading a CSV or TSV file, pasting comma- or tab‑separated text, or copying rows from a spreadsheet. Uploaded or pasted data is shown in the data textarea; click "Add data" to load it into your chart.
Please make sure your data has headers in the first row!
Example CSV
name,amount
Apples,120
Bananas,95
Cherries,30
After adding data, the data table view opens, showing your data.
Edit data
In the data table view you can edit your data directly in the table cells. Click a cell to edit it, and press Enter or click outside the cell to save your changes. The same is true for the data headers, just click to edit the field names.
Change the id
If you pasted data the id of the data is 'Pasted data'; if you uploaded a file the id is the file name. You can change the id by typing in the id input field. An id is to help you identify your data, it has no effect on the chart itself. Other components may have an id and a name field, name fields are used in the chart itself.
Copy or download data
In the sidebar the data panel is automatically opened when you add new data. Here you can copy the data to clipboard or download it as a CSV file. Use the icon buttons in the top-right corner for this.
Order fields
When you click on 'Order fields' in the data panel a new dialog opens where you can reorder the fields in your data. Just use the up and down arrows to move fields around. When you add Pictas to your chart, the pictas will use the first fields in the data, so ordering fields can help you quickly set up your chart.
Parse fields
Sometimes DataPicta may not correctly infer the type of a data field. In this case you can manually set the type of a field by clicking on the 'Parse fields' button. A dialog will open where you can convert between Text and Number types, be careful when changing types, as not all text can be parsed as numbers. In doubt first save your chart, then change the type, and see if the data looks correct, if not you can always undo the change by reloading the chart.
There are no date types in DataPicta, dates are represented as text fields. With the applicable pictas you can parse date text fields into dates.
Remove fields
You can remove fields from your data by clicking on the 'Remove fields' button. A dialog will open where you can select which fields to remove. Be careful when removing fields, as pictas using those fields may break. In doubt first save your chart, then remove the fields, and see if the chart looks correct, if not you can always undo the change by reloading the chart.
If your data is big, you are encouraged to remove unneeded fields. By removing unneeded fields you reduce the size of your data, which increases the download and rendering speed of your chart.
Sort data
When you have at least one dataset you can sort that data by a field of your choice. Click on 'Add Data' in the data panel, a dialog will open, here you can click on 'Sort data' to add a new panel for sorting data. In the sort data panel you can choose the dataset to sort, the field to sort by, and the sort order (ascending or descending). This sorted dataset will now be available to use in your pictas as if it is a new dataset. You may also change the id of the sorted dataset to help you identify it.
Filter data
When you have at least one dataset you can filter that data by a field of your choice. Click on 'Add Data' in the data panel, a dialog will open, here you can click on 'Filter data' to add a new panel for filtering data. In the filter data panel you can choose the dataset to filter, the field to filter, and the filter operation. The operators are:
- Equals
- Not equals
- Greater than
- Greater than or equals
- Less than
- Less than or equals
You can filter by text or number fields. Depending on the type of field you are filtering by, the value changes from number input to text input. This filtered dataset will now be available to use in your pictas as if it is a new dataset. You may also change the id of the filtered dataset to help you identify it.
Multiple datasets
Most charts use a single dataset, but DataPicta supports multiple datasets in a single chart. You can add as many datasets as you like, and use them in your pictas. When adding pictas you can choose which dataset to use for that picta. This way you can combine multiple datasets in a single chart.
Delete data
You can delete datasets from your chart by clicking on the 'trash' icon next to each dataset in the data panel. Note that every chart needs at least one dataset, so you cannot delete the last remaining dataset. If you want to delete all data, you probably want to create a new chart. You can click 'New blank chart' from the meny in the top-right corner, a dialog will open to where you can choose to delete the 'chart' (which will delete everything but the data), or delete the 'chart and data' to start fresh.
Add geographical data
DataPicta supports geographical data in GeoJSON format. You can add geographical data by clicking on 'Add Data' in the data panel. If this is your first time adding data the add data dialog will open, in this dialog you see a button to switch to the 'Add geographical data' dialog. Otherwise you need to click on 'Add geographical data' in the intermediate dialog.
Although you can upload any GeoJSON file, DataPicta already has thousands of geographical datasets built in. This includes the world, continents, countries and many regions. If you need a smaller set of geographical data, like a city, you probably need to upload your own GeoJSON file. The geographical data in DataPicta is sourced from Natural Earth (https://www.naturalearthdata.com/), therefore the filtering options in the add geographical data dialog are based on the Natural Earth dataset. Some presets are available for quick access, these are the world, continents, countries, subregions, United Nations and the World Bank. The presets set the filters for accuracy, group, topic and minimal-objects.
We recommend setting the prefered preset and then use the search field to find the geographical dataset you need. All sets should be searched by their english name. Search results are shown by showing the map, the name, the size in number of objects, and the size in bytes. When in doubt we recommend choosing the smaller size in bytes, as this will load faster in your chart. The number of objects is more relevant when you need to style individual objects in your chart, for example when you want to color states/provinces based on data values (a.k.a. a choropleth).
Copy or download data
In the sidebar the data panel is automatically opened when you add new geographical data. Here you can copy the data to clipboard or download it as a CSV file. Use the icon buttons in the top-right corner for this.
Edit the geographical data
If you need to edit the geographical data you can do this by clicking on the 'world' icon. This will open geojson.io with the geographical data preloaded. Here you can edit the geographical data, like adding or removing objects, changing shapes, or simplifying the data. After editing you can save the GeoJSON file and upload it in DataPicta.
Delete geographical objects
If you need to delete geographical objects from the geographical data you can do this by clicking on the 'trash' icon next to each object. This may be useful when you when you need a country without certain overseas islands, like France without French Guiana. Actually, we this is how we created the 'world map' without Antarctica.
Merge geographical data
If you need to merge multiple geographical objects into a single geographical dataset you can do this by simplely adding multiple geographical datasets. DataPicta will automatically merge them into a single geographical dataset that you can use in your chart. For instance, you can load 'The Netherlands', 'Belgium' and 'Luxembourg' to create a single 'Benelux' geographical dataset.
Search geographical objects
When you have added geographical data with lots of objects, like the world-map with over 175 objects (countries), you may want to quickly find a specific object. You can do this by using the search field at the top of the geographical data panel. Just type in part of the name of the object you are looking for, and the list will be filtered to show only matching objects.
Canvas
Besides the 'Geographic date' panel there is also a new Canvas panel named 'Map', here you can set the 'boundaries', 'map distortion' and 'interactivity' of the map. Please refer to the Canvas documentation for more information on how to use these settings.