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Exporting Data Using Data Transfer

Using the Transfer Out action on the Data Transfer screen, you can generate a CSV or XLS file on the application server. When you export data using Data Transfer, all visible fields from the main table are exported, plus all primary key fields for the main table whether or not they are visible. For example, if the Rooms table is the main table in the view to be exported, the Building Code, Floor Code,and the Room Code are exported, even if they are not visible.

Note: If you export a view with no fields visible, all fields defined for the data source for the main table are exported.

In order to support data transfer round tripping, only main table fields will be exported. This means that if the field defined in the data source of the view is from the standards table, that field will not be exported.

For views that include data transfer, the view designer needs to make sure their data source's restriction or the client restriction depends only on the main table. For more information, search the ARCHIBUS System Management Help for the topic "Define your own SQL query in a view datasource." This topic provides further details in the section: "Defining SQL queries for data sources used in Data Transfer."

When the data is transferred out, you can download the file from the URL provided in the Result View or File section of the Transfer Progress tab. If you are sending the export file to administrative staff to have them make changes using Excel, you can protect specific data from being modified. See How to Control Changes in Excel Files.

You can also export data to Excel in human-readable format from views that have an XLS action button. See Exporting Data to Excel Format

Note: If you have exported your data to CSV format and then worked with the CSV file in Excel, you might encounter issues when importing the files back into ARCHIBUS. See Working with CSV Files in Excel.

How to Export Data

To transfer out data:

  1. Load the Web view that you want to export. Use the Filter console, if available, to show the fields you want to export.
  2. Click the Data action button.

    The Data Transfer wizard appears.

  3. On the Transfer Action tab, select Transfer Out as the action.
  4. Click Continue.

    The Transfer Format tab appears.

  5. Select one of the following as the file format to export to:

Note: If you have exported your data to CSV format and then worked with the CSV file in Excel, you might encounter issues when importing the files back into ARCHIBUS. See Working with CSV Files in Excel.

  1. Select Begin Transfer.

    The Transfer Progress tab appears. From this tab, you can view the progress of the job, and load the results file from the URL when the transfer completes. The application that the file opens in depends on the settings and software on your local machine. The export file is written to: \archibus\projects\users\<username>\dt folder. When you mouse over the link to the file, the status bar shows the file's full path.

    If there are any errors, for example, if the output file cannot be created, the error log file is added to the list of URLs.

    Note: By default, reports are deleted from the server every 6 hours. See About File Deletion from the Server. and Saving Export Files.

How to Control Changes in Excel Files

You may want to prevent users from changing parts of the extract file. This is useful when emailing spreadsheets, getting updates to data, such as employee data, while disallowing new records or deleting records (that is, disallowing changes to the primary key).

To do so:

  1. In Excel, invoke the Tools/Protection command. A password is optional.
  2. Use the Format/Format Cells command to lock those columns of data you do not want changed.