Getting started (AEN 4.1.2)

This getting started guide is for first-time users of Anaconda Enterprise Notebooks (AEN).

Before you start, download and print your AEN cheat sheet for easy reference.

After your administrator has set up your server and new Anaconda account, you will receive a welcome email.

Click the link in the email and your browser will open on the AEN login page. Log in with your new AEN account username and password. This takes you to your new user home page.

TIP: Some administrators allow you to create your own account. If so, click the link in the welcome email from your administrator to go to your AEN login page, and in the “Create a new account” section create your own username and password.

This brings you to your user home page, where all good things happen.

In this getting started guide, from your user home page you will:

1. CREATE a new project
2. ADD COLLABORATORS from your data science team
3. OPEN an example notebook
4. OR Create a new environment and open a new notebook
5. EXPLORE and analyze data to discover patterns, insights and predict future outcomes
6. SHARE your notebook and environment with others

1. CREATE a new project

From your user home page, click the New Project button and give your project a name like “Testing.” Add a summary of the project so you can remember it later, decide whether to make it public or private, leave the default Data Center selected and click the Next button.

TIP: You can change these settings later in Project Settings, then return to your project home anytime by clicking the project name.

2. ADD COLLABORATORS from your data science team

Still on the project home page, in the Team box, begin typing a teammate’s username, then select their name from the drop-down box that appears and click the Add button. Repeat for each team member you want to have access to this project.

TIP: To find a team member’s username, search in the top right Search box.

3. OPEN an example notebook

On your project home page, click the JUPYTER NOTEBOOKS icon to open Notebooks. This brings you to the file view. Click the Examples folder, then select any of the example notebooks to play with.

In the notebook you opened, from the top menu bar, click CELL - Run All to see the results of the formulas used.

To play with the notebook, edit any of the formulas, then click CELL - Run All to see the difference.

4. OR Create a new environment and open a new notebook

If you are already familiar with creating notebooks, you can easily set up a new environment with the programs you need like SciPy and NumPy, then open a new notebook and edit away.

On your project home page, click the JUPYTER NOTEBOOKS icon to open a new Notebook. This brings you to the File View.

On the File View page, click the top Conda tab. Add a new conda environment by clicking the top right “+” icon, give it a name, select Python 2 or 3 or R language kernel and click the Create button.

Activate your new environment by clicking its name. Now the information below lists packages available and installed in your new environment.

Now we want to add SciPy and NumPy packages to our new environment with just a few clicks. In “available packages” search for “scipy” (all lower case). When it appears, check the checkbox and click the “right-arrow” Install icon. Confirm by clicking the Install button. You will see “scipy” appear in the “installed packages” box. (If not, hit the “Refresh” button.) Repeat for NumPy.

TIP: You can return to this screen anytime to add additional packages to this environment.

Now that you’ve created a new environment and installed the packages you need, you can open a new notebook in it.

Still in Notebook, go to the Files tab and click the top right NEW Button. Under Notebooks, select the Python that has your new environment name displayed next to it.

TIP: If you do not see your new environment listed, click the Refresh button immediately next to NEW, then repeat.

You are in a new locked notebook. Paste or write some code, then execute whenever you like.

5. EXPLORE and analyze data to discover patterns, insights and predict future outcomes

Whether you are exploring an existing notebook or created a new one, you can easily create checkpoints, go back to an earlier version, compare two different versions, and save for reference.

Create checkpoints with FILE - Save and Checkpoint. Revert to a previous checkpoint with FILE - Revert to Checkpoint.

TIP: For enhanced revision control features, creating commits and comparing diffs, see using the Revision Control Mechanism (RCM).

6. SHARE your notebook and environment with others with one click

Upload your notebook to your local Anaconda Repository or on the web at Anaconda.org (depending on how your administrator has set up AEN) with one click of the Upload button.

[INSERT aen-user-extensions_anacondacloud]

To share your notebook’s related environment (recommended), be sure to click the “Attach conda environment” box. This allows your team members to automatically have the right environment for your notebook.

TIP: If you have not logged onto Anaconda Repository or Anaconda Cloud or created an account, you will be asked to do so after clicking the Upload button.

Other ways to share your notebook include:

• Print with FILE - Print
• Download and share with FILE - Download as Notebook, Python, HTML, Markdown, ReStructured Text, or PDF
• Share and control team member direct access to read, write and/or execute notebook file or folder. See Access control
• Share non-team member file or folder access. SEE Access for non-team members
• Create a presentation with NBPresent [4.1]

NEXT: User guide