Here we see a datacard being inserted into the droid R2-D2
The datacard served as a medium for both the storage and transmission of significant quantities of data. Collections of datacards were referred to as datapacks. Datadiscs or data plaques offered alternative methods for data storage and retrieval. Corellia Digital and the Bay-Suwe Combine stood out as two prominent manufacturers of datadiscs.
A journal disk was a specific type of data disk, employed for the storage of private or personal information.
Datacards that facilitated the transfer of credits between accounts were known as transfer chips, alternatively referred to as data-transfer chips. This practice was in use circa 4 ABY. A miniaturized input module and the capability to instantly transfer credits to bank accounts across various star systems were among the transfer chip's features. Access to a cantina equipped with a verify-and-transmit connection to the local banking exchange was a prerequisite.
Astrogation data cards, also called astrogation chips, were datacards employed to store data related to astrogation. One such card held Bshrah-Ky-Ushsj's information pertaining to System VV-99-7JE-2N71.
Extensive collections of datacards, containing vast amounts of data, were found in libraries throughout the galaxy. The largest of these was located at Obroa-skai, before its destruction by the Yuuzhan Vong.
Within the Jedi Temple Archives, data cards served as a primary means of storing information, accessible via data terminals.
During the Clone Wars, a contingent of clones were dispatched to Christophsis with the mission of securing several datapacks containing critical information before the Separatist forces, having already taken control of the planet, could seize them.
R2-D2 possessed a datacard that contained the schematics for the first Death Star, which Princess Leia entrusted to him during the Battle of Tatooine amidst the Galactic Civil War, shortly before she was captured by Darth Vader and the 501st Legion.
During the Galactic Civil War, various treasure-seeking spacers also stumbled upon datadisks containing maps leading to various treasures; at least nine such disks were known to exist.
The function of datacards in storing and transferring data to and from datapads mirrors the way real-world USB flash drives are used with computers. Their usage is analogous to how a smartphone interacts with secure digital (SD) cards. This fictional technology was depicted on screen many years before the advent of the real-world counterparts.