Define a New Data-source

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Define a New Data-source


To create a new data-source, you need to select “Data-source configuration” in the “Settings/Configuration” drop-down menu and right-click on the list of existing data-sources to select “Add data-source” context menu. Alternatively, “New data-source” drop-down menu can also be selected from the application menu “New” at the top. Both of these two steps display a pop-up form for data-source definition.



  Definition of a data-source involves its name, description (optional), the associated connector and its specification.



The name of a data-source is required to uniquely identify it among all existing data-sources. Therefore, the system does not accept any name with which another data-source already exists.


The connector should be a pre-existing one and you need to select it from the list.


The last one is the specification of the data-source, which, for an excel file connector is the sheet name, and, for a database connector, is an SQL query.


IDEAL-ANALYTICS [IA] provides a helper utility to enter/select the data-source specification. A small icon can be found just besides the data-source-specification input control (text-area). Clicking on it will open a new pop-up which contains a browser of the remote system.


Based on the associated connector (file or database) this utility allows you to select the sheet (in case of an associated excel connector) or write an SQL query (in case of an associated database connector). And after specifying the sheet-name/SQL query, you can also see the preview of the raw data by clicking on the “Show preview” button based on the specification provided. This way you can test the specification whether it fetches data from the external data correctly.


Once it is done and you are quite confident that you have successfully selected the right excel-sheet or written the correct SQL query, click on the “Apply” button to let the system consider this specification as the final one to define the data-source.


Now you have given all the required information to the system to define a data-source. Click the “Save” button to save all these information. You will be notified once it is saved and can see the new data-source in the list of existing data-sources. Please note that one connector can be used in more than one data-sources.4.1.2.2        Change/Modify a Data-source


Select “Data-source configuration” from the “Settings/Configuration” menu items in the application menu. A list of existing data-sources will appear. Find out the one you wish to change and select it. Right-clicking on it will display the context menu. Select “Edit data-source” option in this context menu. The previous form filled-up with saved configuration information will be popped-up. Change values as you wish and click on the “Save” button to save the updated values. Please note that changing a data-source does not immediately change the data in analytics. All the data-sets associated with this data-source needs to be re-loaded for getting the changes reflected in the system. These are discussed in detail in respective sections.

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