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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Practical answers about formats, privacy, tools, exports, mobile use, and limits — written for the product as it works today.
What Datio does
- What is Datio?
- Datio is a browser-first workspace with eight tools for everyday tabular work: viewing, cleaning, converting, profiling, transforming, charting, and dashboarding CSV-style data. Everything runs locally in your browser.
- Do I need an account or install anything?
- No. Open the site, pick a tool from the sidebar, and choose a file from your device. There is no signup, no install, and no server-side project to manage.
Formats & workflows
- Which formats are supported?
- CSV, TSV, TXT (delimited text), and JSON. The dataset tools also open Excel workbooks (.xlsx, .xls): Datio lists the sheets first and converts the one you pick to CSV in memory. The converters handle CSV ⇄ JSON, including arrays of objects, arrays of arrays, and single key-value objects.
- How large a file can I use?
- Files up to 5 MB are supported. That comfortably covers hundreds of thousands of cells on a typical laptop. Larger files may feel slow because parsing happens in browser memory — trim columns or split the file first.
- How do the tools work at a high level?
- Pick a file, Datio parses it into rows and columns in memory, and each tool operates on that local copy: the Cleaner trims whitespace, normalizes casing, and drops duplicates or empty rows; the Profiler computes types, missing counts, and duplicates; Transform & Filter derives or filters rows; the Visualizer and Dashboard aggregate and render charts.
- How do I convert CSV to JSON?
- Open Tools → CSV to JSON, load the delimited file, choose Array of Objects (keyed records) or 2D Matrix (compact grid) plus an indentation level, then copy the output or download the .json file. Numbers and true/false become typed values and empty cells become null.
- Can I create a dashboard from an Excel file?
- Yes — load the .xlsx or .xls workbook directly in Tools → Dashboard. If the workbook has several sheets, pick the one you want when uploading, and Datio converts that sheet to CSV in memory; the Dashboard then detects your measures, categories, and dates and recommends one of four templates.
File handling basics
- Is my file uploaded anywhere?
- No. Files are read with the browser FileReader API into local memory only. Closing the tab discards the in-memory copy; Datio has no server copy to delete because one never existed.
- What happens with messy files?
- Empty lines are skipped during parsing, missing cells become blanks (shown as null in tables), and headers are trimmed. The Cleaner can then remove empty rows, deduplicate exact-match rows, and normalize text casing.
Cleaning & data quality
- How do I remove duplicate rows from a CSV?
- Open Tools → CSV Cleaner, check the duplicate-row count, enable Remove Duplicates, and run. Deduplication is an exact match on the whole row, so enable Trim Whitespace in the same run to also catch near-duplicates that differ only by spacing — then export the cleaned CSV.
- How do I handle missing values in a CSV?
- Open Tools → Data Profiler to get per-column and total missing counts. Drop fully empty rows in the CSV Cleaner, keep rows where key columns are present with Transform & Filter, and re-profile to confirm. Datio never fills in blanks automatically — you decide.
- How do I filter CSV rows to just the ones I need?
- Open Tools → Transform & Filter, type the value, and choose Filter. Matching is a case-insensitive substring search across every cell, and you can first normalize one column (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, or trim) before filtering.
Exports
- What can I export?
- Cleaned CSV, converted JSON or CSV, chart PNG and SVG from the Visualizer, and full-report PNG or paginated PDF from the Dashboard. All exports are generated locally and download to your device.
- My chart export came out blank — what now?
- Wait for the chart to finish rendering, then retry. On small screens the Dashboard captures at a fixed desktop width, which takes a moment. If it persists, try the SVG export (Visualizer) or reload and retry with the same file.
Mobile usage
- Does Datio work on phones and tablets?
- Yes. Tools use a mobile tool switcher, tables scroll horizontally, and the Dashboard keeps its desktop composition by scaling inside a viewport wrapper. Small screens are best for viewing and light edits; heavy cleaning is more comfortable on desktop.
Limitations
- What are the known limits?
- 5 MB per file; browser-memory performance on very wide or very long files; single-file-at-a-time workflows; no cloud saving, sharing links, or scheduled refreshes; exports reflect exactly what is rendered on screen.
- Where do I learn the workflows step by step?
- See the documentation section for guided walkthroughs of cleaning, deduplicating, handling missing values, converting formats, profiling, charting, dashboarding, and exporting.
Need a walkthrough instead? Start with the documentation.