We define data as information that common software can read and analyse. We encourage contributions in any common data format. HDX has built-in preview support for tabular data in CSV and Microsoft Excel (xls only) formats, and for geographic data in zipped shapefile, kml and geojson formats. If multiple formats are available, each can be added as a resource to the dataset, or if you only wish to add one format, then for tabular data, csv is preferable and for geographic data, zipped shapefile is preferred.

A PDF file is not data. If you have a data visualization in PDF format, you can add it as a showcase item on the dataset page. If you wish to share documents, graphics, or other types of humanitarian information that are not related to the data you are sharing, please visit our companion sites ReliefWeb and HumanitarianResponse. A resource, such as a readme file, could also contain documentation that helps users to understand the dataset.