Adding data to a project

After you create a project, the next step is to add data assets to it so that you can work with data. All the collaborators in the project are automatically authorized to access the data in the project.

Different asset types can have duplicate names. However, you can't add an asset type with the same name multiple times.

You can use the following methods to add data assets to projects:

Method When to use
Add local files You have data in CSV or similar files on your local system.
Add database connections You need to connect to a remote data source.
Add data from a connection You need one or more tables or files from a remote data source.
Add a dynamic view You need a view that contains a subset of the data in one or more tables in a remote data source.
Import metadata from a connection You need many tables or files from a remote data source. You want to schedule and rerun the import process.
Add connected folder assets from IBM Cloud Object Storage You need a folder in IBM Cloud Object Storage that contains a dynamic set of files, such as a news feed.
Add data using the Flight service You want to load data from project assets by using generated code and the Flight service.
Add catalog assets You need one or more assets from a catalog.
Convert files in project storage to assets You want to convert files that you created in the project into data assets.

Add local files

You can add a file from your local system as a data asset in a project.

Required permissions
You must have the Editor or Admin role in the project.
Restrictions
  • The file cannot be empty.
  • The file name can't exceed 255 characters.
Important: The files that you add to a project are not checked for malicious code. You must ensure that your files do not contain malware or other types of malicious software that other collaborators might download.

To add data files to a project:

  1. From your project's Assets page, click the Upload asset to project icon Assets. You can also click the same icon Assets from within a notebook or canvas.

  2. In the pane that opens, browse for the files or drag them onto the pane. You must stay on the page until the load is complete.

The files are listed as data assets on the Assets page of your project.

When you click the data asset name, you can see this information about data assets from files:

  • The asset name and description
  • The tags for the asset
  • The name of the person who created the asset
  • The size of the data
  • The date when the asset was added to the project
  • The date when the asset was last modified
  • A preview of the data, for CSV, Avro, Parquet, TSV, Microsoft Excel, PDF, text, JSON, and image files
  • A profile of the data, for CSV, Avro, Parquet, TSV, and Microsoft Excel files

You can update the contents of a data asset from a file by adding a file with the same name and format to the project and then choosing to replace the existing data asset.

You can remove the data asset by choosing the Delete option from the action menu next to the asset name. Choose the Prepare data option to refine the data with Data Refinery.

Convert files in project storage to assets

The storage for the project contains the data assets that you uploaded to the project, but it can also contain other files. For example, you can save a DataFrame in a notebook in the project environment storage. You can convert files in project storage to assets.

To convert files in project storage to assets:

  1. From the Assets tab of your project, click Import asset.
  2. Select Project files.
  3. Select the data_asset folder.
  4. Select the asset and click Import.

Next steps

Learn more

Parent topic: Preparing data