After reaching an investigation entity (such as investigation, study, assay, source, protocol, sample, or data file), you can download that entity, in whole or in part. When deciding how much to download, keep in mind the following points:
- If you download just the selected metadata, file sizes are minimal. Metadata describes the structure of the data collected in an investigation and translates to the file columns, field definitions, and placeholders that can be viewed in a spreadsheet. It is in Investigation-Study-Assay tab-delimited format (ISA-Tab), which is based on the ISA-Tab specification:
http://isatab.sourceforge.net/docs/ISA-TAB_release-candidate-1_v1.0_24nov08.pdf 
- If you download data, the data files often include image files and spreadsheets, and file sizes can be large.
- For any downloads exceeding 30 GB, we highly recommend using Globus.
- The option to download full data allows you to download full data for the investigation (even if you are currently viewing a Study Details page or Assay Details page). Also, this option is limited to just the one investigation you are viewing.
- The option to download selected data allows you to download data files and associated metadata from multiple investigations, as well as selections at any level of the data structure (investigation, study, assay, source, protocol, sample, or data file). If you select multiple objects to visualize and filter, a download includes all of those objects, by default. For information, refer to Selecting Multiple Objects.
- If another DCC user has given you a link, such as from a "CSSI DCC Portal File Download Ready" message, your ability to download that data depends on various factors. For information, refer to Accessing Investigation Data.
- Download Full Data downloads only data files for the entire investigation. Since this can be a large file size, the file size appears on the button.
- Download Selected Metadata downloads only the metadata of a selection you make.
- Add to Download downloads the data files of one or more selections you make, with or without filters applied. (Filtered or partial investigations include both data and metadata; full investigations contain only data.)
The following page family describes the various methods of downloading data.