Database Reference
In-Depth Information
port directly, XSLT is the way to do it. But be forewarned: XSLT is
not
in the same
league as FileMaker itself, ease-of-use-wise. You may need some hired help. (XSLT is
introduced briefly on
Importing a Folder of Text Files
.
)
NOTE
Although it applies to one
field value
and not a set of records, don't forget about the Export
Field Contents command. This command lets you export the data in the current field to a file. It
exports text, number, date, time, and timestamp fields to a plain text file. Container fields create
a file whose type is appropriate for the data in the field.
▪ Last but not least, you can choose one of the
Excel
options to create a bona fide spread-
sheet. The .xlsx option is generally your best bet, since even people using older versions
of Excel can download free converters from Microsoft to work with this format. When
you choose either format, FileMaker opens an extra dialog box, which lets you put
FileMaker's field names in the first row of your new spreadsheet. You can even give
your Excel file a worksheet Name, document Title, Subject, and Author if you so desire.
WARNING
Users of Mac OS X 10.7 and later
must
use the .xlsx option when exporting to Excel. The older .xls
export code doesn't run in the newer operating system. There's no danger to your database should
you choose the incompatible option, though; you'll just get an error message at the very end of the
process.
Regardless of which format you choose, the “Export Records to File” dialog box has two op-
tions that let you determine what happens to the file after FileMaker creates it. Choose
“Automatically open file” to avoid hunting down the file on your hard drive and then launch-
ing it yourself. And “Create email with file as attachment” does just what it promises: opens
your email program and creates a new message with your fresh new document attached. To
share your data, you just need to supply the email address, add a subject line and then click
Send.
Importing Data
Sometimes, the data you need is already somewhere else, and you need to get it into
FileMaker. Before you start lamenting your lackluster words-per-minute typing skills, con-
sider doing an
import
. Chances are FileMaker can load the data directly into its tables with
just a little help from you to tell it where things go.
