Load a File Into OpenRefine

Owned by Kristen Wilson
Last updated: Jan 30, 2015
2 min read

Important note

Please be aware of whether you are using the Live or Test version of the GOKb extension with OpenRefine.

Use Test when:

  • You are a new user learning how to use GOKb
  • You want to see a certain feature behaves and you are not sure of the results

Use Live when:

  • You want to load data into the official public version of GOKb
  • You are certain of the quality of your data and the way it will behave upon ingest

For more information about installing OpenRefine and the extensions, see: Tutorial: Getting Started with GOKb.

Steps

 

Step 1: Select a file

  • Open OpenRefine and log into the GOKb extension.
  • Choose "Create Project" from the left-hand menu.
  • Click "Browse" and locate the file you want to work with. OpenRefine accepts many file formats; the most common ones will be .csv, .tsv, .txt, and .xslx.
  • Click "Next."

Step 2: Preview your data

  • OpenRefine will show you a preview of your data. Scan it to make sure everything looks correct.
  • If there is extra text at the top of your file, you can use the "Ignore first" checkbox at the bottom of the screen to prevent that data from being imported.
  • Uncheck the box labeled "Parse cell test into numbers, dates..." This may reformat your dates and ISSNs and can't be undone after import.
  • Choose UTF-8 as your character encoding standard. This will ensure that diacritics are correctly displayed.

Step 3: Name your project

A "project" in GOKb corresponds to a file in OpenRefine. A project may contain multiple packages.

  • Edit your project's name using the text field at the top of the screen.
  • The general format for project names is: Organization Name: Package Name: YYYYMMDD (where the date indicates the date you load the project into OpenRefine).
  • See the Project Naming Conventions page for additional detail.

Step 4: Import your project

  • Click "Create Project" in the top right corner.
  • Your project will automatically open.
  • To exit your project, click any of the tabs on the left-hand menu.
  • To reenter your project at this point, look for it under "Open Project."

Next step

Check a File Into GOKb

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