Import Data from the Internet

How To... > Work with Collections > Get Data into Fathom > Import Data from the Internet

Fathom can import data from the Internet if the data are configured correctly. The cases need to be in rows, and the attributes (or variables) need to be in columns. It’s best if the first row consists of attribute names. The page can contain other text, such as information about its source or descriptions of its attributes. Fathom imports this information automatically and stores it in the collection’s Comments panel.

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Fathom cannot import data in PDF format or in the form of images. The page you import needs to be the one that has the data on it.

•Drag the URL icon from your browser into an open Fathom document. Fathom imports the data and makes a new collection. (There is a movie illustrating this: Internet Import by Dragging the URL.)

Or…

1.	Copy the URL from the address field in your browser.

2.	Choose File \| Import \| Import From URL. A dialog box appears.

3.	Type or paste the URL of the data you want into the box and click OK. Fathom imports the data and makes a new collection.

After importing, look at the data in a case table to see whether it came in properly. Often you have to do a little fixing before the collection is right.

•Select the collection and drag a case table from the shelf into your document.

You might also want to check the collection’s comments. If Fathom did not put important information into the comments, you may want to copy and paste comments separately. (Comments can go in the Comments panel of the collection’s inspector, see Comments Panel.)

Not all Web pages are in a format Fathom can decipher. You could paste your data in a word processing or spreadsheet program to clean it up, then copy and paste it into Fathom.

You can find links to some “Fathomable” Web pages by following the Links to Data link on the Fathom Resource Center, or go there directly by clicking here: Links to Data.