Best practices for loading data to AO

Tips for getting your data into AO smoothly, especially large amounts of it. For every way to move files in and out of AO, see Moving Files In and Out of AO.

Large uploads and downloads

• For large amounts of data, or a slow or unreliable connection, use the AO CLI rather than the browser. It moves files one by one, can run unattended, and skips files that are already in place when you run it again. It signs in with your AO account but doesn't need AO open in a browser. Download it from the AO Tools project in AO, or contact support@terradepth.com for access. See AO CLI.
• In the browser, keep the page open until uploads finish. If a file fails, choose Retry instead of starting over.

Folders and names

• Keep capitalization consistent. AO treats "Raw Data" and "raw data" as the same name when you create or rename a folder or file, but an upload into a folder path capitalized differently creates a separate folder.
• Upload folders, not just files. Folders keep their structure in AO. To add to a folder later, upload the same folder again.
• AO doesn't store hidden files, whose names start with a dot, such as .DS_Store.

Adding, replacing and deleting

• Uploading adds to what's already in the project. It never deletes anything.
• AO skips files it already has (same name, folder and content) and asks what to do when an upload has the same name as an existing file: Keep Both, Skip, Replace or Stop. Keep Both adds a number to the new file's name, such as Line 01 (1).tif.
• If your connection drops, the files that finished stay in AO. Upload the folder again and AO skips them.
• To delete files, do it in the project's Files tab.

ZIP files

• Generally, don't zip data before uploading. If the connection drops before a ZIP finishes, the whole ZIP has to upload again. Zipping makes sense when you want to keep the files as ZIPs in AO, or to upload a very large number of small files.
• With Unzip Archives checked (the default), AO extracts a ZIP on the server once it uploads. Upload one ZIP at a time: with two or more, Unzip Archives is grayed out, even if it still shows ticked, and they upload as ZIP files.
• Extracting a big ZIP can take a long time after the upload shows 100%. It carries on if you close the page, so don't cancel it.
• To extract a ZIP that's already in AO, for example one uploaded with the CLI, choose Unzip on its row in the Files tab.
• Extracting a ZIP replaces files with the same name in the same folder.

Related: Moving Files In and Out of AO · Supported file types and format requirements · Project Management & File Visualization