How to use
The first thing to know, is that the objective of visual-overview is to show an overview of unknown datasets, even before downloading them. So, if you already have a "big picture" of the dataset you want to see, this tool may not be what you are looking for.
Please note that visual-overview only works with CSV format. Any other format will end with an error or a strange visualization.
Step 1: Get the URL of the dataset you want to see. The best way to do this (avoiding downloading it) is to right click the link and select "Copy Link Location".
Step 2: Go to the visual-overview page and write/paste the dataset URL in the input box.
Step 3: Click the button "Visualize!".
After loading, now you should see your overview. Here is the one that we used in the example images:
You may have noted that when you click "Visualize!", the URL of the page changes. The new URL is:
http://viz.niclabs.cl/visualoverviews/demo/visual-overview/index.html + # + the dataset URL
This allows you to easily save or share the overviews you have done. For example, if you have this dataset: http://datos.gob.cl/recursos/download/1275 (wich can be found in http://datos.gob.cl/datasets/ver/2719) and want to share the visualization with someone, you can send this URL:
To accelerate the proccess of generating an overview, a bookmarklet has been developed. The bookmark is called Visualize it! and can be found at the end of the visual-overview page.
To use it, you have to make sure that the bookmark toolbar is shown in your browser. Then you just have to drag and drop the Visualize it! link in the bookmark toolbar. The bookmarklet will be added and you will be able to click it on any page.
Clicking the bookmarklet will generate a small window to appear at the upper-left corner of the page. It contains the same as the visual-overview page: an input box and a "Visualize!" button.
If you open this window in a page where a dataset URL is, you can just drag and drop the link in the input and click the "Visualize!" button.
This will open a new visual-overview window wich will inmediatly load the given dataset.