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Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)

Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)

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Multimedia
nameDemo Build Step 2 Define and Load Data.mp4

How to

Expand
titleStep 1 Connect PhixFlow to existing data

Create an analysis model

  1. In the repository, right-click Analysis Model and
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    _add
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     to create a new model.
  2. Set Basic Settings > Name to Businesses and click 
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    nopaneltrue
    .
  3. PhixFlow opens a new empty model on the left.

Load the Excel file

  1. Drag a 
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    _file_collector
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     from the model toolbar into the model.
  2. Set Basic Settings > Name: BusinessData,  and click 
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    .
  3. In the model, hover your mouse pointer over the file collector. PhixFlow displays a pop-up toolbar. Click 
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    _upload_file
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    and browse to the Excel file.

  4. In the upload window, click the  

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    _upload_button
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     button. PhixFlow creates a new stream and opens its properties.

    Expand
    titleExplore the possibilities
    When you upload an Excel file, PhixFlow automatically sets many of the file collector and stream properties. There are many options that you can use to load different types of data from file. To connect PhixFlow to databases you can use a
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    _database_collector
    _database_collector
    .


Your model now looks like this.



Expand
titleStep 2 Set the data properties


In the stream properties on the right, set:

  1. Basic Settings → Period to Transactional

    Expand
    titleWhy?

    Usually PhixFlow is optimised for processing large volumes of data.  You are aiming to create a form for users to update individual data records (transactions). This tells PhixFlow how you want to manage the data.


  2. Tick Audit Manual Changes dd

    Expand
    titleWhy?

    This data will be updated manually by individuals. By ticking this box, PhixFlow will add a set of attributes to automatically record audit information about changes.


  3. Click 
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    _save
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     and then click on the
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     to keep the stream properties open.

  4. In the Attributes section, double-click Description and change its Type to Bigstring then click 

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    . 

    Expand
    titleWhy?

    When you create a form for the data, PhixFlow recognises that data with the type Bigstring needs field edit tools.



Expand
titleExplore the possibilities

Look in the Attributes section. When you connect PhixFlow to the Excel spreadsheet, it automatically identifies the properties of the data columns (attributes) such as their type (string, numerical) and length. This also happens when you connect PhixFlow to data stored in databases. 



Expand
titleStep 3 Import the data
  1. In the model on the left, hover over the BusinessData stream and select 
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    _run_analysis
    _run_analysis
    nopaneltrue
    , then click Yes to confirm.
  2. To check that the data has loaded into the stream, hover your mouse pointer over the stream and select 
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    _stream_views
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     then select 
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    _view_default
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    . PhixFlow displays the data it has loaded into the stream.
  3. In the model toolbar, click 
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    _save
    _save
    nopaneltrue
    .
  4. Close any remaining confirmation messages (the green boxes in the bottom left).

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