Data Export Formats
The following file formats can be selected as the file type for each data export.
Comma-Delimited File Format
The comma-delimited (or comma-separated values) file format is a file type that stores data in a text file with each field separated by a comma (,). Since this format dates back to the early days of business computing, it is generally the most common format used for data interchange between various software programs and computer platforms. It is therefore the default for most standard data exports.
The comma-delimited format can be saved with either a .CSV or a .TXT file name extension. The file is normally exported using ASCII characters, however custom data exports can be configured to export Unicode characters (see Custom Data Exports). The following table discusses rules that are applied in the creation of comma-delimited files by the data exports module.
Comma-Delimited File Format Rules
|
Rule |
Example |
|
The first record contains field names |
Name,Date,Quantity[CR][LF] |
|
Each record is separated by an ASCII carriage return and line feed pair |
"Jane
Doe",01/01/2006,55.99[CR][LF] |
|
Each field is separated by a comma (,) |
"Jane Doe",01/01/2006,55.99 |
|
All fields containing a text value are enclosed in double quotation marks (") |
"Jane Doe" |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes a double quotation mark character, an extra double quotation mark is placed next to it ("") |
"John ""Bull"" Doe" |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes line breaks, the line breaks are included within the enclosing double quotation marks |
"The item
was[CR][LF] |
|
Dates are formatted according to the configured Windows regional settings |
|
Field-Delimited File Format
The field-delimited file format (also known as the INI, or configuration, file format) is a file type that stores data in a text file where each row is in the format field=value.
The field-delimited format is saved with a .TXT file name extension. The file is normally exported using ASCII characters, however custom data exports can be configured to export Unicode characters (see Custom Data Exports). The following table discusses rules that are applied in the creation of field-delimited files by the data exports module.
Field-Delimited File Format Rules
|
Rule |
Example |
|
Each field and value pair is separated by an ASCII carriage return and line feed pair |
Name=Jane
Doe[CR][LF] |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes ASCII tab characters, the tab characters are replaced with a “\t” character combination |
Heading=Problem\tSolution |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes line breaks, the line breaks are replaced with a “\n” character combination |
Problem=The item was\ndropped in water |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes backslash (\) characters, each backslash is replaced with a double backslash (\\) character combination |
Path=C:\\My Documents |
The field-delimited file format is available only for licensed users of version 2.7 and higher.
Microsoft Excel File Format
The Microsoft Excel format is a standard workbook (spreadsheet) file format used by the Microsoft Excel software program. Microsoft Excel must be installed on the local workstation in order to export to this file format (see System Requirements). Three variations of the Excel workbook files are supported in the data export module, as discussed in the following table.
Microsoft Excel File Formats
|
File Extension |
Description |
|
.XLS |
The default binary format workbook used with Excel 97 (version 8.0) through Excel 2003 (version 11). It is also supported in Excel 2007 (version 12). It is the default for exporting data from browse windows. |
|
.XLSX |
The default zipped XML format workbook used with Excel 2007 (version 12). It does not support macros and is intended for smaller documents. If this file format is selected but a version of Excel earlier than 2007 is installed on the local workstation then the .XLS format will be used instead. |
|
.XLSB |
The binary format workbook used with Excel 2007 (version 12). It supports macros and is intended especially for very large documents (i.e. with tens of thousands of rows). If this file format is selected but a version of Excel earlier than 2007 is installed on the local workstation then the .XLS format will be used instead. |
The Microsoft Excel file format is available only for licensed users of version 2.7 and higher.
Tab-Delimited File Format
The tab-delimited file format is a file type that stores data in a text file with each field separated by an ASCII tab character. Since this format dates back to the early days of business computing, it is often supported for data interchange between various software programs and computer platforms.
The tab-delimited format is saved with a .TXT file name extension. The file is normally exported using ASCII characters, however custom data exports can be configured to export Unicode characters (see Custom Data Exports). The following table discusses rules that are applied in the creation of tab-delimited files by the data exports module.
Tab-Delimited File Format Rules
|
Rule |
Example |
|
The first record contains field names |
Name[TAB]Date[TAB]Quantity[CR][LF] |
|
Each record is separated by an ASCII carriage return and line feed pair |
"Jane Doe"[TAB]01/01/2006[TAB]55.99[CR][LF] |
|
Each field is separated by an ASCII tab character |
"Jane Doe"[TAB]01/01/2006[TAB]55.99 |
|
All fields containing a text value are enclosed in double quotation marks (") |
"Jane Doe" |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes a double quotation mark, an extra double quotation mark is placed next to it ("") |
"John ""Bull"" Doe" |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes line breaks, the line breaks are included within the enclosing double quotation marks |
"The item
was[CR][LF] |
|
Dates are formatted according to the configured Windows regional settings |
|
XML File Format
The acronym XML stands for Extensible Markup Language and is a relatively human-legible text file format that facilitates the sharing of structured data across different information systems. The data exports module creates “well-formed” XML documents, meaning that they follow closely the recommended specifications defined by the World Wide Web Consortium.
The XML format is saved with a .XML file name extension, and the file is always exported using Unicode characters. The following table discusses rules that are applied in the creation of XML files by the data exports module.
XML File Format Rules
|
Rule |
Example |
|
The XML declaration on the first line will always be for XML version 1.0 and for UTF-16 (16-bit Unicode) characters |
<xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?> |
|
The root element is always named “DataRoot” |
<dataroot> |
|
If no parent record name is specified as part of the individual data export definition then the parent record will be named “Parent” |
<dataroot> |
|
If no child record name is specified as part of the individual data export definition then the child record will be named “Child” |
<parent>
|
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes ampersand (&) characters, each ampersand is replaced with a “&” character combination |
<name>John & Jane Doe</name> |
|
Where a field contains a less-than sign (<) character, each less-than sign is replaced with a “<” character combination |
<size><6</size> |
|
Where a field contains a greater-than sign (>) character, each greater-than sign is replaced with a “>” character combination |
<size>>6</size> |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes apostrophe (') characters, each apostrophe is replaced with a “&apos” character combination |
<name>John&aposs Repair Shop</name> |
|
Where a field contains a text value that includes double quotation mark (") characters, each double quotation mark is replaced with the “"” character combination |
<name>John "Bull" Doe</name> |
The XML file format is available only for licensed users of version 2.7 and higher.
Selecting Which Fields to
Export