I discover a small new feature the other day, but a very useful one. Previously, there was no way to upload files to an ADLS Gen2 storage account via the Azure portal. You had to use Azure Storage Explorer – if you hit the Upload button via the “Storage Explorer (preview)” in the Azure Portal, it told you to download Azure Storage Explorer.

But now, when on the Azure Portal, you can upload a file by choosing “Containers” from the overview blade or choosing “Containers” under “Data Lake Storage”, selecting a container, and using the “Upload” button. Note that you can upload multiple files at once and specify there authentication type, block size and access tier.

You can also change the tier of a file to Hot, Cool, or Archive, create a container, or create a folder/directory (Storage Explorer in the portal does not support changing the tier).

Also note in the containers section that next to each file the “…” has an option to “View/edit” the file, so you don’t have to download it to view it (unless the file size is over 2.1MB which is the max supported by the editor). Among the types of files that can be viewed are csv, json, jpg, log, avro but not parquet. All files in the Storage Explorer in the portal must be downloaded to view.

I have updated my previous post Azure Storage tips to reflect these changes.