Custom exports are saved reports that you can run to output
specific data that you need. If you go to the 'Saved Exports' tab,
you can see some pre-written custom exports that come as standard
within Kartris - clicking on edit will allow you to see how these
are constructed. An export requires the following
information:
Export
name (any name will do, it just lets you identify this
export in a list)
Field
delimiter (separator between different data values,
normally a comma)
String
delimiter (the marker around text / non-numeric values -
experiment with a single or double-quote and open up the resulting
file in your spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel - if you
see the single or double-quote mark around data, then try using a
different delimiter)
Database
query
The database query is the key part of the export. This uses
'structured query language' (SQL), which is a standard common
language that is largely similar on different types of databases to
specify which data is to be exported. A full explanation and
grounding in writing SQL queries is beyond the scope of this manual,
but there are plenty of books and web sites dedicated to the
subject.
Microsoft Access and MS SQL Management
Studio also include graphical tools to help you build
queries.
Advanced users may also prefer to create
stored procedures and then call these from the saved export - our
standard 'Products data for data tool' export which is included in a
default installation uses this method.