Exporting Data

Table of contents:

Exporting data allows you to extract information to a variety of formats. There are currently four export formats. Although the exported information is the same for each type, the structure changes for each export format type. The formats include the following:

Comma-Separated Value Commas separate all data fields with one document per row in the export file. The resulting file can be opened with any ASCII text editor application. Some spreadsheet applications can also import the file, using each tab stop as the column delimiter. Its important to note, however, that commas in the data will also be exported to the data file and may make it difficult to parse the export file.
Lotus 1-2-3 All data fields are separated by columns with one document per row stored in a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. The resulting file can be opened with most spreadsheet applications.
Structured Text All data fields are exported in basically the same structured format thats displayed when the document is opened in the Lotus Notes client. This format varies from the remaining formats, which export information in rows. This format exports information by documents. The resulting file can be opened with any ASCII text editor application.
Tabular Text Tabs separate all data fields with one document per row in the export file. The resulting file can be opened with any ASCII text editor application. Some spreadsheet applications can also import the file, using each tab stop as the column delimiter.

How It Works

The process for exporting data is essentially the same irrespective of the output format. All information from each selected document will be exported to a specified file on the local workstation and formatted based on the selected export type.

Note

When exporting data, you can only access data visible to your user ID. This means that the data export is tied to the Access Control List (ACL) and roles assigned to you. If you select to export all documents in the view, only those documents that match your authority level will be exported, even if there are more documents in the view than you can see or access.

Implementation

Follow these steps to export information from a Lotus Notes database to a file or spreadsheet. The steps are basically the same regardless of the output file format.

Step 1.	Select one or more documents by placing a checkmark next to each one in the view or open a specific document.

Step 2.	Select the File > Export menu options to display the Export dialog window. Specify the destination folder in the Save in field, enter the output file name, and pick the export format type (see Figure 18.5). Figure 18.5. Export data dialog Note Be sure to specify a file extension in the file name. Lotus Notes does not automatically append the extension to the file name. Consider using .TXT for text files and .WK4 for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Step 3.	Click the Export button to continue with the export configuration process. At this point, an additional export dialog window will be displayed that will enable you to further refine the format and content to be exported. However, the export options presented on the dialog will vary depending on the export format. In other words, the options presented when exporting to Lotus 1-2-3 will be different from those displayed when exporting to Structured Text, Comma-Separated Text, or Tabular Text.
Step 4.	From the secondary export configuration dialog, select either All documents to export all documents from the view or Selected documents to only export those checked in the view. To include the column titles from the view, select the Include View titles option. This option will add the view column titles when exporting in Lotus 1-2-3, Comma-Separated Text, or Tabular Text. Other options will also be available depending on the selected export file format. Figure 18.6 illustrates the secondary export configuration dialog for the Lotus 1-2-3 format. Figure 18.6. Settings used to determine which values to export
Step 5.	After all export parameters have been specified, select the OK button to export the selected data to the specified file.