Managing Data Sources
Data sources define which data is available to be visualized in Akuko. These are used to power the map layers, table, charts and other visualizations used in Akuko posts. It is easy to combine different data sources in a post to build an engaging data story.
Akuko currently supports three primary types of data sources
- Static Files - CSV and GeoJSON
- Online Apps - Google Sheets
- Database Connections - PostgreSQL
In the near future, we have plans to support the additional data sources:
Database | Online Apps |
MySQL | Office 365 / Sharepoint |
AWS Redshift | Airtable |
AWS Athena | |
MongoDB | |
Google BigQuery | |
MS SQL | |
Snowflake | |
Apache Druid | |
SQL Lite | |
Oracle | |
Data sources are created at the organization account level, which means they can be used in any chart added to a post within the account. To create a source from the post, click on the ellipses on the top right, and click Sources on the menu that appears.
Alternatively, you can create a source from your personal account by clicking on Sources on the left panel.
You will be directed to the Sources page. Then, click New Source.
From the new page, you can define the source. First, enter the source name. In the pull down, below the source name, Select data source: CSV, GeoJSON, PostgreSQL, or Google Sheet.
To upload a static data source type (CSV or GeoJSON), you need to select a valid CSV or GeoJSON file.
Akuko expects all data source columns with numeric data to have numbers. Blank spaces should be replaced with a zero. Below are some additional tips for data source formatting:
- Avoid special characters within your column names.
- Avoid spaces within column names.
- Do not begin your column name with a digit.
- Avoid empty columns between individual columns.
- Use underscores to separate words within your column name.
Selecting CSV as your data source results in a field to upload a CSV file from your local machine by clicking Choose file.
You will receive a notification that the file has been saved, and a schema, or data source design, was created.
Selecting GeoJSON as your data source results in a field to upload a GeoJSON file from your local machine by clicking Choose file.
You will receive a notification that the file has been saved, and a schema, or data source design, was created.
When you upload a GeoJSON as a data source, Akuko automatically extracts the geospatial properties and creates a geometry with the name GeoJSON, which can be renamed at any point. Akuko also automatically extracts all the non-spatial attributes and makes them available as regular measures and dimension to be visualized in tables, maps, and charts.
Before creating a Google Sheets data source, you will need to share the Google Sheet with the user [email protected] by clicking on share from the Google Sheet.
Once you’ve shared the Google Sheet with the user above, select Google Sheets as your data source, copy the Google Sheets URL and paste in the https:// field, and click Connect.
A new field will appear listing the worksheets in the connected Google sheet. Select the worksheet you would like to add as a source and click Connect.
If successful, you will get the notification Schema created on the top of the screen. You can Clear Cache if data is not being refreshed or formatting changes have been made.
If the number of fields in your data source changed, you can Refresh to recreate the schema to include the new fields.
You can also access to the link to the data source on Google Drive to confirm the location and contents.
PostgreSQL is an open-source database management system used as the primary data store for web, mobile and analytics applications. It has the extension .psql. To add a PostgreSQL data source, select PostgreSQL. In the new window, enter all the database connection properties requested and click Connect.
To update and delete a data source, click on the name of the source from the Sources page.
From the data source's information page, you can either updated or click on the ellipses in the top right and click Delete Source.
A confirmation dialog for the deletion will appear on the top right corner of the page. Select Delete to confirm deletion.
You will be redirected to the Sources page, and a Source deleted notification will be displayed.
Once a data source is deleted in Akuko, it is permanent and cannot be undone! However, only static data sources (CSV, GeoJSON) will be permanently deleted. Google Sheets and data sources on databases will be untouched in their original storage location.
When deleting data sources, posts and components tied to that data source may break. Before deleting the source, we recommend renaming the data source, such as My Data Source - Old, while you repoint existing posts and components to an updated source, and then deleting the source.
If you are using an external data source, like a database or Google Sheet, deleting a source on Akuko will not delete your data on the external data source. Unless you have uploaded a static file, data sources represent a mapping to an external data source.
Last modified 1yr ago