Page Comparison

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• Tables in Python Docs

• Tables in R Docs

What

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Is a

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Schema?

A schema is the structure of your dataset. In a table, a schema defines the structure by specifying the column names. A schema may also define the values or types of data allowed in each column.

You can define table columns to contain common data types like text, numbers, and dates, or you can define columns to include references to other Synapse objects, like files and folders. Synapse currently supports several kinds of text columns (STRING, LARGE TEXT), dates (as TIMESTAMP), a variety of numeric columns (INTEGER, DOUBLE), and various Synapse identifiers (ENTITYID, USER). For a complete list of column types and definitions, see the REST docs on columnTypes.

Creating a

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New Table from a

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File

Tables require structured data contained in a .csv or .tsv file. If your structured data is saved in an Excel format such as .xls or .xlsx, you must “save-as” to convert the file to a .csv before you proceed in Synapse. Navigate to the Tables tab in your project and select Upload a Table. If you provide a .csv or .tsv file, Synapse will infer your table schema based on the column headers. You may further customize the schema by selecting Schema Options.

For very large files, it may take time for the table to be built and indexed completely before it can be viewed. You may navigate away from the table once you have clicked Create, and you will not lose any data.

Create an

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Empty Table

You have the option to create an empty table by clicking on the Tables Tools menu and Add Table. To build a new table, you must specify the table structure, column by column. Select Add Column to set the Column Name, Column Type, Size, Default Value, and Restrict Values.

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Modify

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Table Schema

Select Table Tools, Show Table Schema, and then Edit Schema to modify the existing table structure. From Edit Schema, you can delete columns, add new columns, modify existing columns, define default column values, restrict column values, and add facet values.

Search a

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Table

You can search for data within a table in two ways. The default search is a simple search menu to the left of your table. Use the facets to filter your dataset and narrow down your search. Table data can also be retrieved by using a SQL-like query language either through the web portal or through the analytical clients. See the Search tables and views page for more information.

Delete a

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Table

To delete the entire table, click on the Tools menu and then select Delete Table.

Add

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Files to a

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Table

In addition to structured data, you can also add individual files to a table in Synapse. In the example below, this feature is used to add image files to a table containing histology data.

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Next, click the Edit Query Results button (the pencil icon). In the column you just created, click the upload icon to add a file from your local computer.

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Versioning a

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Table

You can create a version history for any table in Synapse. Versioning helps you keep a record of what changes you made to the table and when you made them. For more information on versioning a table, see the Versioning tables and views page.

See Also:

Annotations and queriesQueries, Downloading dataData, Versioning tables Tables and viewsViews