While the visualizations and different settings in TIBCO Spotfire are very important parts when setting up an analysis, the most fundamental part of an analysis file is the data itself.
Overview
To be able to draw conclusions and come to insights from the data, it is vital that
the analyzed data is correct and used in the best way. This is especially important
when setting up files that are to be shared with others, since they might not have
the same knowledge about the underlying data.
Data can be imported from files, from databases and from Information Links. Information
links are predefined database queries created in TIBCO Spotfire. The files data
can be imported from are text files, Microsoft® Excel files and SAS data files. TIBCO
Spotfire allows users to configure data in many ways. Aside from the different possible
sources of data, the data itself can be configured and combined in several ways.
The following sections describe how data can be transformed before being loaded
into TIBCO Spotfire, and how data tables, and columns and rows from data tables,
can be replaced and combined in the analysis files.
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Aggregations
While data imported into TIBCO Spotfire is in a certain format, the data can be dynamically aggregated in the visualizations after the data has been imported. Aggregating data is a way to group the data using statistical measures.
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Transformations
If data imported into TIBCO Spotfire is not in the correct format, the data can be transformed before it is loaded into the analysis.
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Replace Data
It is possible to replace data in an analysis in TIBCO Spotfire. Replacing data allows you to reuse the visualizations and all other settings from an analysis file but with new data.
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Multiple Data Tables
An analysis in TIBCO Spotfire may be based on data from one or multiple data tables. There are different ways to add data to an analysis – rows and columns can be added to an existing data table and new data tables can be added to the analysis.
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Data on Demand
When a new data table is added to an analysis it can be added all at once, or “on demand”. This means that only parts of the data in the new data table is loaded – when it is relevant.