Data Sources Beginner

Uploading Files: CSV, Excel, PDF and More

2 min read Updated February 11, 2026
Complete guide to uploading and processing files in clariBI including CSV, Excel, PDF, and document files.

clariBI supports a wide variety of file formats for data analysis.

Supported File Types

Spreadsheet Files

  • CSV (.csv): Comma-separated values
  • Excel (.xlsx, .xls): Microsoft Excel workbooks
  • JSON (.json): Structured data files
  • XML (.xml): Extensible markup data

Document Files

  • PDF (.pdf): Portable document format
  • Word (.docx): Microsoft Word documents
  • PowerPoint (.pptx): Presentation files
  • Email (.eml, .msg): Email files

Image Files

  • PNG, JPG, GIF: Standard image formats
  • Screenshots: Screen captures
  • Charts/Graphs: Visual data images

Uploading Files

Drag and Drop

  1. Navigate to Data Sources
  2. Click Add New > File Upload
  3. Drag files into the upload zone
  4. Wait for processing to complete

Browse and Select

  1. Click Browse Files
  2. Select files from your computer
  3. Choose multiple files if needed
  4. Click Upload

Upload Limits

Limits vary by subscription tier:
- Trial: 5 file uploads
- Starter: 50 file uploads
- Professional: 500 file uploads
- Enterprise: 5,000 file uploads

Processing Files

Automatic Processing

clariBI automatically:
- Detects file type and structure
- Extracts data from tables
- Performs OCR on images/PDFs
- Identifies column types

Column Mapping

After upload, review column mappings:
1. Verify detected column names
2. Set correct data types (text, number, date)
3. Mark key identifier columns
4. Exclude irrelevant columns

OCR Processing

For PDFs and images:
- Text is extracted automatically
- Tables are identified and structured
- OCR credits are consumed based on page count

Best Practices

File Preparation

  • Use clean, consistent headers
  • Remove empty rows and columns
  • Ensure consistent date formats
  • Check for special characters

Large Files

For files over 10MB:
- Split into smaller chunks if possible
- Allow extra processing time
- Consider database connection instead

Data Quality

  • Preview data after upload
  • Verify row counts match expectations
  • Check for encoding issues
  • Validate date and number formats

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