Data in Analytics is contained in tables. When you view and analyze data in Analytics, you are doing the work in an Analytics table. Analytics tables have a three-part structure:
- the source data file
- the table layout
- one or more views
Understanding how Analytics tables are structured is fundamental to working effectively in Analytics. The diagram below illustrates the structure of an Analytics table.
The source data file
The source data file contains raw data, without Analytics formatting information such as field names. It exists outside the Analytics project. It can reside in the same Windows folder as the Analytics project, or it can be located elsewhere on the same computer, or in a network location, or in a database.
Analytics source data file
In most cases, when you create a new Analytics table, Analytics copies and imports source data into a new Analytics source data file saved in a flat file format with a .fil extension. The .fil file serves as the basis for the Analytics table.
The flat file format has fixed-length fields, and records identified by a fixed length, or by carriage return and line feed codes, making it an easy format to interpret.
In some cases, such as .dbf and .txt files, Analytics can connect directly to the existing source data file, and a .fil file is not required or created.
The table layout
The table layout is a structured interpretation of the raw data in the source data file. The table layout contains metadata such as field definitions, which specify field names, the start position of fields, the length of fields, the data type of fields, and so on.
Analytics requires the table layout in order to make sense of the raw data. The table layout also specifies the location of the source data file. The table layout is part of the Analytics project file (.acl).
For more information, see Structuring data with table layouts.
One or more views
The view is an arrangement of named columns, with numbered records, that displays the data structured by the table layout. When you look at data in the main Analytics window, you are looking at a view.
You can create multiple views for the same table, each of them with a different selection and arrangement of columns. The view is part of the Analytics project file (.acl).
Views also format the data for Analytics reports.
For more information, see Displaying data with table views.
