Stat-Xplore Documentation

Saving and Reloading Groups

This section will cover:

  • Introduction
  • Save/Download a Custom Group
  • Edit a Saved Custom Group
  • Load/Upload a Custom Group
  • Knowledge Check


Introduction

The learning objectives for this page are:

  • How to manage the custom groups you have previously created on your table


Save/Download a Custom Group

When you have created a custom group, you can save any private custom groups you have created to a file and reload groups from a file. You can use this feature to share your custom group definitions with other Stat-Xplore users rather than using the shared folders feature.

Other users will only be able to upload your saved custom group file if they have access to the same dataset as the one you used to create the custom group.

However, please note that users who log in as guests do not have access to the Custom Data tab and therefore will not be able to use custom groups or load a saved custom group from a file.

To save a custom group:

  1. In your currently open table, click the ‘Custom Data’ button located at the bottom right of the list of fields at the left-hand side of the page.

  2. Click the check box next to the group you want to save. Please not that you can only save one group at a time.

    Data selected

  3. Click the ‘Download’ button.

    Download button selected

  4. Depending on your browser, the file will either be saved to your default downloads folder, or you may be prompted to choose whether you want to Save or Open the file. For example:

    5. Open or Save pop up box



Edit a Saved Custom Group

Within Stat-Xplore, when you save a custom group Stat-Xplore downloads a file in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. Within this format, you can open your file in a text editor or external applications such as Excel to make changes if necessary.

The file format is similar to the following:

FactTableCode,FactTableName,FieldCode,FieldName,ValueSetCode,ValueSetName,ValueCode,ValueName,GroupName
					V_F_UC_CASELOAD_FULL,People on Universal Credit,AGE_CODE,Age (bands and single year),C_UC_AGE_BAND,Age Band,1,16-19,16-24
					V_F_UC_CASELOAD_FULL,People on Universal Credit,AGE_CODE,Age (bands and single year),C_UC_AGE_BAND,Age Band,2,20-24,16-24

The first row contains the headings; each subsequent row represents a single item in the custom group.

Even though you can add and remove rows (except the header row) to change the composition of the group, you cannot add or remove columns. If you modify your custom group in a way that is invalid, Stat-Xplore will display an error message when you try to reload the saved file.

Additionally, if you decided to edit a saved custom groups file in Excel, some changes may make changes to the data that will prevent you from opening the file in Stat-Xplore. For example, if you have codes with leading zeros, Excel may strip these from the file, which will prevent you from loading it back into Stat-Xplore. As such, we recommend using a text editor instead if possible.



Load/Upload a Custom Group

Once you have a saved custom group file, then you can load this into Stat-Xplore. However, please note that:

  • You must have access to the same dataset that was used to create the group defined in the file.
  • The name of the group in the saved file must not be the same as one of your existing custom groups. If you attempt to load a custom group with the same name as an existing group, then Stat-Xplore displays an error.
  • You will either need to delete the existing custom group, rename it, or rename the group saved in the file (by changing the value of the Group Name in the final column).
  • You can only load one saved group at a time.

To load a custom group from a file:

  1. In your currently open table, click the ‘Custom Data’ button located at the bottom of the list of fields at the left-hand side of the page.

  2. Click the check box next to the group you want to save. Please not that you can only load/upload one group at a time.

  3. Click the ‘Upload’ button.

    Upload button highlighted

  4. Browse to the location where you saved the file on your computer and select the file.
  5. If the upload is successful, Stat-Xplore displays a message indicating that the custom group has been successfully processed, and adds the new group to the list:

    6. Processing successful

  6. If there is a problem with the upload, Stat-Xplore displays an error message:

    7. Error message

  7. Based on the error message, please follow the directions of the message to resolve the error.


Further Questions

If you still have any questions that are not answered in the guide, please feel free to email Stat.Xplore@dwp.gov.uk



Check your Knowledge!

Why is it preferable to edit a custom group in a text editor rather than in external applications such as Excel?

A. External applications may make changes to the date that prevents you from opening the file in Stat-Xplore

B. External applications may not be able to convert the data into an Excel compatible format

C. External applications allow you to view the data, but not edit them

D. External applications allow you to be less precise with analysing and handling the data


Show/hide Solution Test2 Show Answer

Attachments:

SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-With-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-1.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-2.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Remove.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Remove.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-1.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-2.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-With-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Default-Summation-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-With-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Default-Summation-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-1.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-2.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Remove.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-1.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-With-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Default-Summation-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-2.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Remove.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-No-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-EG-With-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Default-Summation-Filter.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Add-2.png (image/png)
SW2-Filters-Remove.png (image/png)