How to Read a File from Your Computer with an Online Jupyter Notebook

Jupyter Notebook is a popular tool among data scientists and developers for creating and sharing interactive code and data visualizations. With Jupyter Notebook, you can write and execute Python code, create visualizations, and document your work, all in one place. However, one common challenge that users face is how to read a file from their local computer into Jupyter Notebook. In this blog post, we will explore how to read a file from your computer using Jupyter online. For free Jupyter notebooks online, you can use Saturn Cloud.

Step 1: Upload the File to Jupyter Online

The first step is to upload the file that you want to read into Jupyter Online. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Jupyter Online in your web browser.
2. Click on the “Upload” button in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Select the file that you want to upload from your computer.
4. Wait for the file to upload.

Once the file is uploaded, you should see it in the file browser on the left side of the screen.

Step 2: Write the Python Code to Read the File

Now that the file is uploaded to Jupyter Online, you can write the Python code to read the file. In this example, we will read a CSV file using the Pandas library.

1. Open a new Jupyter Notebook by clicking on the “New” button in the top right corner of the screen and selecting “Python 3”.
2. Import the Pandas library by typing the following code:

import pandas as pd

3. Read the CSV file by typing the following code:

df = pd.read_csv('filename.csv')

Replace “filename.csv” with the name of the file that you uploaded to Jupyter Online. If the file is in a subdirectory, you can include the path to the file in the filename, like this:

df = pd.read_csv('path/to/filename.csv')

4. Display the contents of the file by typing the following code:

print(df)

This will display the contents of the CSV file in the Jupyter Notebook.

Step 3: Save Your Work

After you have read the file into Jupyter Online and displayed its contents, it is important to save your work. To save your work, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “File” menu in the top left corner of the screen.
2. Select “Save Notebook As”.
3. Give your notebook a name and choose a location to save it.

By saving your notebook, you can come back to it later and continue working on it or share it with others.

Reading a file from your local computer into Jupyter online is a simple process. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can quickly and easily read a file into Jupyter Online and start working with its contents. Remember to save your work regularly to ensure that you do not lose any progress. With Jupyter notebooks, you can create powerful data visualizations and share your work with others, making it an essential tool for any data scientist or developer.