Welcome to the freeDive wizard — your guide to making a searchable database

If you're new to freeDive, check out our how-to video. Start with a clean Google Spreadsheet. If you don’t know what this means, read our data cleaning tutorial. Make sure your spreadsheet has the following:

requirements

Publish your spreadsheet

This step gives freeDive access to your data by publishing your spreadsheet to the Web.

publish

Share your spreadsheet

This step gives freeDive access to your spreadsheet URL.

share

Enter your spreadsheet ID

freeDive accesses your spreadsheet using the unique ID in the spreadsheet URL.

key Loader

Click to practice with a spreadsheet.

Select the columns you want to include in your table

At least one column must contain numeric data. We recommend that you select five columns or fewer to provide the best user experience. You can use more but the absolute limit is 10 columns. If you are using our example, "Contribution" is numeric, so make sure it's checked.

You are working on spreadsheet:  


Check the columns you want to use:

Retrieving column data... Loader

Set the size of your table

Setting the size of your table directly impacts how your reader interacts with your data. A too-small table makes the data hard to read and an overly large table can overwhelm your user. Set the height to 300-600 pixels (size of your content area) if the table will be above a story. If your table will stand alone on a page, 600-800 pixels is better because it gives the reader access to more data.

pixels
pixels
table width

Set up the search widget

The first thing users will see is a search widget. It lets them search the entire database and will display the initial results.

Write a headline Customize or use the default headline

widget

Select the text search column

This is the main column that your audience will use to search your data. In the example widget above, the column "Name" is selected.

Use optional numeric filter column

Allows users to select a numeric value for their search. In the example widget above, the column "Contribution" is selected.

Would you like to include a chart? (optional)

This product is experimental and should be used with caution. If No, please click Next.

Customize the results filters

Users can refine their search results with additional filters — which is especially helpful with large databases. You must use at least one filter and a related data column. You can mix and match up to three filters. To see them in use, check out this example.

filters

Define the primary filter (required)

Congratulations! You're done...  

Download an HTML file to use in an IFRAME (recommended)

INSTRUCTIONSHow to use an iframe
• Upload the renamed page to your web server. Note the URL (web address) of where it's located.
• Copy the sample iframe code below and paste it into a web page.
• Replace the URL text in the sample code with the URL of your uploaded html page.

IMPORTANT: Rename the downloaded file to "yourname.html"

<iframe src="URL" width="100%" height="300" frameborder="0" ><p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p></iframe>

Or copy and paste this embed code into your post...

EMBED SECURITYThis embed code is mainly javascript which some platforms restrict, so you may have to ask someone with administrator access to post it for you. WORDPRESS TIPS WordPress users will need to use the Artiss Code Embed plugin or something similar to work with WordPress security settings. When viewing your post in HTML mode, make sure all text has opening and closing tags (<p>, </p>, etc ). GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK

SPREAD THE WORD Icon Facebook Icon Twitter