Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Basic Database Tools

Export Data option

Choose this option to export data in different formats. Table 10–11 describes the menu that appears when you choose this option. More detailed descriptions of the options follow the table.

Table 10–11: Export Data menu 

Menu option	Description
DIF ...	Exports data records in DIF format.
SYLK ...	Exports data records in SYLK format.
Text ...	Exports data records in plain text format.
Microsoft Word Merge Data...	Exports data records to Microsoft Word in text format.

Choose these options to export data in the specified format. When you choose the desired format, the Data Dictionary alphabetically lists all the tables defined for your database. When you select a table, a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 10–10 appears.

Figure 10–10: Export DIF dialog box

The Export DIF dialog box contains the following user-interface elements:

Output File

Specifies the name of the destination file. Table 10–12 lists the export format file extensions.

Table 10–12: Export format file extensions 

File format	Extension
DIF	.dif
SYLK	.sl
Text	.txt
WordStar	.txt
Microsoft Word	.doc
WordPerfect	.txt

If you enter Text as the format in the Export DIF dialog box, the Output Record Formatting dialog box shown in Figure 10–11 appears.



Figure 10–11: Output Record Formatting dialog box

The Output Record Formatting dialog box contains the following user-interface elements:

Record Starter String

Specifies the character that indicates the beginning of a record. Enter the appropriate three-digit code.

Record End String

Specifies the character that indicates the end of a record. The default is a carriage return (~012).

Field Delimiter

Specifies the character that surrounds a field. The default is a quotation mark (").

Field Separator

Specifies the character that separates fields. The default is a comma (,).

Note: Do not use an escape character—tilde (~) or backslash (\)—as a field delimiter or field separator.

For all formats, the Data Dictionary informs you of the number of records it dumped in specified format and prompts you to continue.

WHERE-Clause

Specifies the record selection criteria (for example, WHERE cost > 100). A record becomes a row in a worksheet, and the worksheet starting point is always row 1, column 1. The default is to select all the records.

BY-Clause

Specifies that you want to sort the records using a BY clause (for example, BY name). The default is to use the primary index.

Export Fields

Specifies the fields you want to export. The default value is Some. Each field corresponds to a worksheet column.

If you specify Selected Fields, the Data Dictionary lists all the fields in the specified file. To select a field, press SPACEBAR to highlight the field, than press RETURN. Select the fields in the order you want to export them into your destination file. To skip a column in the worksheet, do not press RETURN while the field is highlighted. Press GO to export the fields.

Disable Triggers During Export?

Specifies whether to disable triggers during the export.