If you like and enjoy using Notebook for Python (Google Colab, Jupyter, ...), you will be glad that there is a tip that could help you save some time to import files from your computer (or the one from the user of your app/scrip).
2 lines to create a prompt to import files from the user computer
Did you know that by using 2 lines of code, you could easily import files in Google Colab? It's like a small user interface, like a prompt. This tip is like the input() code to get information from a user. In this case it will let them upload a file from their computer, to the notebook.
We will be using .upload() and create a variable. But first we need to import files from Google Colab
from google.colab import files
file = files.upload()
If you want to know more about
import, you should read Importing a library in Python
The (classic) drag and drop
Without using this prompt, there is still a drag and drop option directly on Google Colab. To do so, go to the Files tab on the left, and you will be able to drag and drop 1 file or several files at once. Even a folder or a .zip file to unzip.
In addition to that, the end user of your script will not be lost since it is the same behavior as on their computer or lots of websites in the web.
A GIF to explain to you how it works:
