Database Reference
In-Depth Information
CReATIng DATA SeTS FoR
VISuAlIzATIon
When you create data sets specifically for visualization there are tasks and
priorities you need to pay close attention to that make the process much
smoother. Now is the time to learn them! Let's get started.
CoPy AND PASTE
Many data sets are composed of data from other locations around the orga-
nization. Although this is part of the power of the spreadsheet, it is also dan-
gerous. This data has now become portable and static in its current form, but
being able to combine a text file containing customer and marketing mailing
list data with geographic information can significantly enhance our ability to
create great visual effects with our data while keeping its preparation time
and effort manageable.
ExPorTING DATA FroM SySTEMS
Users, developers, and administrators can export data from systems. The user
can also get data from an automated feed or e-mail delivery. Although export-
ing data is a good way to get data in some cases because the format will be
predictable, it may not be the most intuitive or flexible method. Review your
options to see whether this is the best fit for a first data set. An example of
this is a SAP user with the appropriate rights exporting data to a format such
as CSV, which can be opened in Excel or imported into a database for analysis.
IMPorT TECHNIQuES AND TooLS
Through Excel's built-in functionality, much of this data is imported from
enterprise or departmental systems and then combined to create a unique,
business-oriented view of a product, service, or internal data focus point. This
importing is done easily by most end users and provides a quick and easy
way to get data in while maintaining connections to those sources so data
can be reimported at some point, if necessary. Tools such as Microsoft Access
or SQL tables may be used as sources, so Excel can do some additional data
preparation not easily performed in the source.
