Uploading Investigation-Study-Assay (ISA) data to the CSSI DCC data portal allows you to curate, manage, and reuse datasets in a standards-compliant way. The ISA-TAB specification describes this standard and how to structure your ISA data to create an ISA-TAB archive file. An ISA-TAB archive file is a compressed (.ZIP) file containing multiple text files and data files.

Each text file in an ISA-TAB archive file describes the structure, meaning the column headers when considered in spreadsheet format, of the Investigation, Study, and Assay components of the template. The data files correspond to each assay and are included in the archive in their native format, for example, Microsoft Excel.

Users who are logged in to the CSSI DCC Portal can upload Investigation-Study-Assay (ISA) data. Before you upload a template to this repository, you must create and configure it using open-source software made for this purpose.

Uploading an ISA-TAB Archive File to a Template

You create a template in the CSSI DCC Portal first and then add an ISA-TAB template archive file to it.

Files that you upload to the portal must be in one of the following archive formats: .zip, .rar, .tar, or .gz. Each file must be no larger than 500 MB.

To upload a template

1. Access the CSSI DCC Portal.
2. Select Options > Upload File.
   The upload file page appears.
   
   
3. From the Standard list, select the standard applicable to the template you want to upload. At this time, only the ISA-TAB standard is supported.
4. From the Template list, select the CSSI DCC Portal template that the archive file you are about to upload is associated with. The options here reflect the templates you or your system administrator have previously uploaded.  

5. Select the file you want to upload by either

   • dragging and dropping the ISA-TAB archive file from your computer to the File box, or

   • clicking Add files to navigate to where the file is stored.
     Template files must be in one of the following archive formats: .zip,.rar,.tar,.gz. The file can be no larger than 500 MB.

6. Specify the status of this file:
   • Upload as new: A new file that has not been uploaded before.
   • Replace existing file: This file replaces an existing one associated with this template.
     Next version: This file becomes the active version of the file associated with the selected template. All previous versions of the template are accessible from the Template List and you can make any of them active or inactive as needed.
7. Select the appropriate access to this file.
   • Private restricts access only to you, when you are logged in
   • Public makes the file available to both registered and unregistered users.
   • Custom 
8. Click Save.
   CSSI DCC Portal unzips, processes, and parses the data in the archive file.