This tutorial's goal is to introduce
exporting the records of an existing database into a comma separated
value
(CSV) file as a new feature in HanDBase Desktop for Mac 4.0.Being able to export data extends the previous
functionality of HanDBase Desktop for Mac by allowing users to have the
information in a format that is interchangeable with other desktop
applications, such as spreadsheet programs.In this tutorial, the necessary steps to configure HanDBase on
the desktop
to take advantage of this new feature will be detailed.Then, the results of properly exporting
records will be examined.Finally,
additional resources will be provided should any further information be
needed.
To take advantage of exporting records
into a CSV file, HanDBase Desktop for Mac 4 first needs to be
configured
properly.The first step in doing so is
to launch HanDBase Desktop by finding the application in the Finder and
double-clicking the icon.Be default,
the application is installed to the following directory:
- Macintosh HD / Applications /
HanDBase /
Once running, the following steps
illustrate the process of exporting records from a HanDBase database to
a CSV
file.
Step #1:
a)Set
HanDBase’s preferences to define the type of CSV file
that will be exported.To do this,
select the menu item “HanDBase 4/Preferences”.In the resulting dialog, configure the preferences as
illustrated below,
for the purpose of this tutorial:
b)As
illustrated, the user can define the date and time format
as well as the decimal separator for numbers.It is best practice to leave the decimal separator set to a “.”,
otherwise changing it to a “,” comma may cause interference with the
default
delimited.
c)Since
most typically CSV files are delimited by a comma,
leave the bottom option set as it.In
the case that a file happens to be delimited by a tab, this option can
be
changed.
Step #2:
a)Once
the export preferences are set, the next action is to
open the HanDBasedatabase to be
exported.This can be done by:
-selecting
the file from the backup directory in the HanDBase
Desktop window
-selecting
a valid HanDBase file using the File / Open… menu
option
-selecting
a recently opened database using the File / Open
Recent menu option
b)The
contents of the database should now be viewable in
HanDBase Desktop for Mac, as illustrated below:
Step #3:
a)Once
the database is opened in HanDBase Desktop for Mac,
choose the menu option:
File
/ Export / Export to comma separated value text file
b)As
soon as the menu option above is selected, a series of
dialogs allow for the definition of parameters for the CSV file.
c)The
first dialog asks whether the exported file should
include field names on the first line.Including the field names on the first line is best practice, as
it can
be very easy to lose track of what a particular set of data pertains to.
d)The
second dialog asks whether or not the data should be
surrounded by quotes.
e)Finally,
the third dialog is a standard OS X save as
dialog.Be default, the name of the CSV
file will be that of the HanDBase file being exported, with a “.csv”
file
extension appended.Be sure to leave the
extension on the filename, as it will be needed by other programs so
that they
can determine what to do with the file.
f)Choose
the appropriate directory to save the file to and
click the “save” button.A file titled
“filename.csv” should now be located in the directory chosen.This file can be viewed or manipulated with
most text editor and spreadsheet programs.
To summarize, this tutorial has
introduced exporting data to a comma separated value file as one of the
many
new features in HanDBase Desktop for Mac 4.Additional resources, if needed, can be found at:
