Create a Dataset Using Flat Files

This guide walks you through creating a dataset in AIV using flat files. Flat files let you paste or manually enter tabular data directly—no file upload required.

What You’ll Learn

What a flat file is and when to use it
How to create a dataset from pasted or manually entered data
How to review, preview, and save your dataset

What is a Flat File?

A flat file is a collection of records in which the data follows a uniform format. Each line typically holds one data record, and columns are categorized consistently. Flat files can contain CSV, JSON, Excel, TSV (tab-separated), or PSV (pipe-separated) data that you paste or type directly into AIV.

Characteristic	Description
Format	CSV, JSON, Excel, TSV, or PSV
Entry	Paste from spreadsheet or type manually
Use case	Quick prototypes, small datasets, manual data entry

Prerequisites

Before you begin, complete these steps:

Have tabular data ready to paste (from a spreadsheet such as Excel or CSV)

Using the sample workflow?

Download the sample file: excel.zip
Extract the zip archive
Open the file in your spreadsheet application
Copy the data to paste into AIV

Steps to Create a Dataset Using Flat Files

Complete Step 1 (Navigate to the Dataset Section) and Step 2 (Create a New Dataset) from the Create Dataset guide.

Step 1: Select Flat Files as the Data Source

Choose Flatfiles as the data source type.

Step 2: Connection Selection

For details on flat file selection and options, see Connection Selection for Flat files.

Copy data from your spreadsheet (for example, employees.xlsx).
Paste the data into the CSV/JSON/Excel/TSV/PSV Data editor area on the Flat files screen.
Open the Output Columns tab to review column names and data types.
Open the Preview Results tab to verify the data.

Step 3: Save Dataset

Click Save.
In the Save Dataset dialog, optionally rename the dataset and select the destination folder.
Click Save Dataset to confirm.

Step 4: View Your Dataset

Go to the Dataset Grid view.
Search for your dataset by name.
Your dataset is now available for use in dashboards, reports, and visualizations.

Explore other ways to create datasets in AIV:

Data Source	Guide
Drag & drop	Create Dataset
Excel	Dataset using Excel
CSV	Dataset using CSV
JSON	Dataset using JSON
Parquet	Dataset using Parquet
NoSQL	Dataset using NoSQL
Google BigQuery	Dataset using Google BigQuery
Google Sheet	Dataset using Google Sheet
External sources	Dataset using External sources
Stored Procedure	Dataset using Stored Procedure
View	Dataset using View