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Multi-Table Export to Text File

Question asked by RichardHart on Mar 21, 2015
Latest reply on Mar 22, 2015 by philmodjunk

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I am unable to find a way to export the contents of all fields in all tables into a single text tile.
You have a primary Table named CITY. Related to it are the Tables named HOTELS and RESTAURANTS. What you want is to export a text file something like this:

Boston
Hotel 1
Hotel 2
Hotel 3
Restaurant 1
Restaurant 2

Chicago
Hotel 1
Hotel 2
Restaurant 1
Restaurant 2
Restaurant 3

However, any kind of export gives you only the first hotel and the first restaurant. A Report does the same. Printing a list of portals to PDF doesn’t work. Any ideas short of a long string of scripts and export tables?

philmodjunk Mar 21, 2015 7:27 PM

Correct Answer

You were the one who said " A Report does the same. " I was pointing out that this was definitely not the case for reports.

But an export like you want may indeed be possible without use of a plug in. But again, this depends, on your data model.

I'm pretty sure that you can get this result without a plug in, but those that allow you to append data to an existing file may make for a simpler solution.

See the reply in context

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philmodjunk Mar 21, 2015 10:33 AM

This should be possible though a plug in might be needed. It depends on your data model.

A report can certainly reproduce what you show here if it's a list view summary report based on a table where Hotel1,2 3 and Restaurant 1, 2, 3 are all records in the same table--which may not match your actual data model.

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RichardHart Mar 21, 2015 10:58 AM

True, a Report can display this. However, a Report cannot generate a text file, and you cannot save or export a Report as a text file—only as a fully-formatted PDF (which includes graphics for the enclosing divs!).

I will look for a plugin. Thanks.

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philmodjunk Mar 21, 2015 7:27 PM

You were the one who said " A Report does the same. " I was pointing out that this was definitely not the case for reports.

But an export like you want may indeed be possible without use of a plug in. But again, this depends, on your data model.

I'm pretty sure that you can get this result without a plug in, but those that allow you to append data to an existing file may make for a simpler solution.

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RichardHart Mar 22, 2015 12:58 AM

In the end, I created a new table (Export) with a field to contain each "summary" list. I wrote a script that looped through all the related records, one ID at a time, and populated each field in that new Export table with a return-delimited list of all contents of that field. That makes a File->Export a simple matter. The reason I posted here was to make I sure I wasn't reinventing the wheel—that there wasn't a built-in way to do this already. (I've confirmed that there is no such plugin, either.) Thanks for the help, Phil.

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philmodjunk Mar 22, 2015 8:56 AM

I have seen plug ins that allow you to append text to an existing file so I know they exist.

Your method is one of the options I had in mind as a way to do this.

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philmodjunk Mar 21, 2015 10:33 AM
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Correct Answer
This should be possible though a plug in might be needed. It depends on your data model.

A report can certainly reproduce what you show here if it's a list view summary report based on a table where Hotel1,2 3 and Restaurant 1, 2, 3 are all records in the same table--which may not match your actual data model.
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RichardHart Mar 21, 2015 10:58 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
True, a Report can display this. However, a Report cannot generate a text file, and you cannot save or export a Report as a text file—only as a fully-formatted PDF (which includes graphics for the enclosing divs!).

I will look for a plugin. Thanks.
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philmodjunk Mar 21, 2015 7:27 PM
Unmark Correct
Correct Answer
You were the one who said " A Report does the same. " I was pointing out that this was definitely not the case for reports.

But an export like you want may indeed be possible without use of a plug in. But again, this depends, on your data model.

I'm pretty sure that you can get this result without a plug in, but those that allow you to append data to an existing file may make for a simpler solution.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
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RichardHart Mar 22, 2015 12:58 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
In the end, I created a new table (Export) with a field to contain each "summary" list. I wrote a script that looped through all the related records, one ID at a time, and populated each field in that new Export table with a return-delimited list of all contents of that field. That makes a File->Export a simple matter. The reason I posted here was to make I sure I wasn't reinventing the wheel—that there wasn't a built-in way to do this already. (I've confirmed that there is no such plugin, either.) Thanks for the help, Phil.
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philmodjunk Mar 22, 2015 8:56 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I have seen plug ins that allow you to append text to an existing file so I know they exist.

Your method is one of the options I had in mind as a way to do this.
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Multi-Table Export to Text File

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