File Upload

Upload CSV, Excel, or ODS files to create events. This is the simplest way to get data into TimeTiles.

Required Fields

Each row becomes an event. Your data needs three fields:

Field	Required	Example
Title	Yes	”Earthquake in San Francisco”
Date	Yes	2024-03-15 (ISO 8601 recommended)
Location	Yes	”San Francisco, CA” or `37.7793, -122.4193`

Any additional fields (description, category, source, severity) become filterable in the interface.

How to Import

Go to the import page

Navigate to /ingest or click the import button.

Choose or create a catalog

Catalogs are project-level containers. Create one for your topic or select an existing one.

Upload your file

Drag and drop your CSV, Excel, or ODS file.

Review the detected schema

TimeTiles identifies field types, dates, locations, and categories. Verify the mappings and adjust if needed.

Start processing

Click Start. TimeTiles validates, geocodes, and creates events. A progress bar shows the current stage.

Example CSV


title,date,location,category,description
"City Council Meeting","2024-01-10","Berlin, Germany","Politics","Budget debate for 2024"
"Factory Fire","2024-02-14","Hamburg, Germany","Incident","Chemical plant fire, no injuries"
"Climate March","2024-03-15","Munich, Germany","Protest","5,000 participants"
"Data Leak Published","2024-04-02","Frankfurt, Germany","Investigation","Financial records from 2019-2023"
"River Pollution Report","2024-05-20","Cologne, Germany","Environment","Elevated lead levels detected"

Tips

Start small — test with 100-500 events before importing large datasets
Use consistent dates — ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) works best
Add categories — fields with few distinct values become interactive filters
Include coordinates — if you have lat/lng, geocoding is skipped (faster and more accurate)
Preview first — review schema detection before starting the full import

Next Steps

Scheduled Imports — Automate recurring data fetches
Scrapers — Write custom scripts for non-tabular data sources
Exploring Data — Map, timeline, filters, and sharing