figshare help

Upload large datasets and bulk upload using the FTP uploader, desktop uploader or API

07/09/2020 - Please note, ongoing support for the desktop uploader has shifted to the FTP solution outlined above. Existing installations may still work, but no new downloads or support for existing installations will be offered


There are several ways to upload your data, depending on the size:

1. Through My data where you can drag and drop files of up to 20GB into an item (20GB limit is for figshare.com, limits may vary for institutional repositories)

2. Using the FTP uploader (scroll down for more details) which can work with either small or large files

3. Using the Figshare API, especially when working with large file(s) - most web browsers can cope with ~5GB single file uploads only  

If these options do not meet your data needs please create a support ticket.

All Figshare.com accounts are provided with 20GB of storage and are able to upload individual files up to 20GB.

If an individual would like to publish outputs larger than 20GB (up to many TBs), please consider Figshare+, our Figshare repository for FAIR-ly sharing big datasets. There is a one-time cost associated with Figshare+ to cover the cost of storing the data persistently ad infinitum. Find out more about Figshare+ or get in touch at review@figshare.com with the storage amount needed and we will find the best way to support your data sharing.

For institutional users, your private space limit is dependent on your institution, please contact your institutional admins if you require more space. Figshare for institutions also offers larger file size uploads up to 5TB. 

Please note: there is a 500 item file limit on accounts. If you have more than 500 files, please create an archive. Individual account limits - such as the number of files per item - are listed here.

How to use the FTP solution

Overview

You can easily and securely upload files into your Figshare account directly from your computer using the secure FTP uploader (including if you have an institutional account). To use this method, you will need to install an FTP client like Filezilla (but any FTP client will work).

Before you begin

There are some simple rules you need to follow when using the FTP uploader:

  1. Once you connect using FTP to Figshare, you will see a folder called “data”. The data folder is your home directory in Figshare.
  2. To upload your file(s) you need to create a folder first within the data directory. The folder name will become the item title. For example, if you have several files and you want to upload them into separate items — and get a DOI for each of them — you will need to make multiple folders. If you want to group the files together — with a single DOI for the set of files —, create a single folder and upload them all inside.
  3. You can’t copy sub-folders only files.
    If you have multiple files grouped in sub-folders, you would need to remove the folder structure first, as Figshare won’t allow you to add folders in the item folder you’ve just created in the root directory. (If you add a sub-folder inside the folder, this will be ignored and its contains won’t be uploaded into your Figshare account). 
  4. The folder name you create has a maximum of 200 characters.
    You can modify the title from My data in the Figshare interface later. After you rename the item title, you will still be able to upload files in the folder, even if it has a different name.
  5. There are some characters that you cannot use, as they are not allowed by operating systems: \ / : * ? " < > | ' { }
  6. You cannot upload a file called debug_log.txt or processed_files_log.txt.
  7. The FTP solution allows you only to upload files not delete. Deleting them is an action that must be performed from My data in the Figshare interface.
  8. You can only upload files to new Figshare items. You cannot update existing Figshare items.
  9. There is a limit of 5TB per file.
  10. All files uploaded to the FTP uploader will be deleted automatically after 10 days. If you encounter any issues with your upload, please contact support@figshare.com as soon as possible to resolve the issue to avoid losing the upload.

What you need

  1. Filezilla (or other FTP) installed and running on your computer.
  2. Your FTP username and password from Figshare.
  3. The Figshare connection settings.

Log into your target Figshare account, this will be a figshare.com account or an institutional Figshare account.     

Go to the top right of the interface, click on your personal image and select ‘Application’ from the drop-down menu. This will bring you to the Integrations page where you can view your username and generate a password to use with the FTP application.

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Username: You can find the username under the FTP login detail.     

Password: If you have an institutional Figshare account (using SSO) you will need to generate a password, otherwise use the same password as the one you usually use to log in to Figshare.

Note: You need to store/copy this safely as it will not be displayed in the interface once you leave. However, if you forget it you’ll always be able to generate a new one. In this case, the old password becomes unusable.

Now open your FTP application and connect to Figshare following the setting below (for Filezilla).

Filezilla instructions

To create a connection in FileZilla you will need to use the site manager.

  1. Click File and open the site manager.
  2. Click the new site button.
  3. Enter a name for the new site (e.g. Figshare).
  4. Enter the following settings:

Host: : ftps.figshare.com Port: 21 (if you're using stage, please use ftps.figsh.com instead)

Protocol: FTP - File Transfer Protocol

Logon Type: Ask for Password

User: The username you copied from Figshare (e.g. 23456788)

  1. Click the transfer settings tab. Then select Passive for the transfer mode,
  2. Click the connect button.
  3. You will be prompted for your password; enter it, and click OK.
  4. Right click in the right hand /data area of Filezilla and create a directory.  This will be the location you copy your files into and will be the title of the item in My Data in Figshare. 
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  1. Drag and drop files between the local folder on the left to the remote Figshare directory/folder you created on the right.
    Note: You can only copy files not folders
  2. The files will be processed immediately. After successfully processing the file(s), they are deleted from the folder and a log event is inserted into processed_files_log.txt, which is created on the fly. The log file is located in the item folder. Another log file is created debug_log.txt containing all actions for items/files.

After setting up the site in the site manager you can simply open the site manager and click the connect button. You will not have to enter your settings again.

FAQs

What can be added to the folder?

After creating the item folder, you will be able to upload any number of files inside it.

If you have multiple files grouped in sub-folders, you would need to remove the folder structure first, as Figshare won’t allow you to add folders in the item folder you’ve just created in the root directory.

If you add a sub-folder inside the folder, we will simply ignore it and its contains won’t be uploaded into your Figshare account.

In case you need to maintain the structure, you need to make an archive and upload it in the original folder. You can upload any type of archive and we will be able to visualise it on our website like in the example below:

https://figshare.com/articles/Yahoo_Password_Frequency_Corpus/2057937

What is the maximum file size you can upload?

It is important to know that Amazon S3 has a limit of 5TB per file. This is a hard limit that we cannot surpass.

If you have an institutional (or publisher/preprint/lab/conference) account, the file limit is based on your quota (storage), that you can see in your My Data tab. You will be able to upload files that are smaller than the 5TB limit, if your remaining quota allows it. Institutional accounts do not have a file size limit at the moment.

If you have an individual account, you will be able to upload files up to 5GB, since this is the file limit for individual accounts, even if your overall storage is of maximum 20GB, provided you haven’t uploaded other files. However, the FTP process allows you to upload files greater than the limits we have for the two account types. The file will be uploaded, but it won’t get processed and you will see an error in the debug_log.txt. The file will remain in the folder until you choose to remove it.

Do you support WinSCP?

Yes, but if asked for encryption, please select TLS/SSL Explicit Encryption.

How to use the desktop uploader

07/09/2020 - Please note, ongoing support for the desktop uploader has shifted to the FTP client outlined above. Existing installations may still work, but no new downloads or support for existing installations will be offered

The desktop uploader is a lightweight app that sits on your desktop and allows you to drag in your research outputs, where you can then track their progress as they are uploaded securely to the cloud.

You can upload many files at once and resumable uploads are also supported, which means if your internet connection drops you don’t need to start the uploads again.

You can download the uploader here. Once installed, login using your figshare credentials:

To generate a personal token, go to the application page - https://figshare.com/account/applications - and scroll down to:

Click 'Create Personal Token' and use the code to sign into the Desktop uploader.

How to use the API

Documentation on how to use Figshare's API can be found at https://docs.figshare.com/ and some examples have been highlighted at https://help.figshare.com/article/how-to-use-the-figshare-api.

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