This blog article will cover the basic tips of using the Data Export module within Sage 200 Evolution. The Data Export module allows you to export templates for master files and transaction records. It is recommended to have some knowledge of Sage 200 Evolution SQL tables when making use of this module. It is important to note that this module can only export standard tables and views. This means that no custom tables and views can be used for Data Export purposes.

Just like in all modules the first step for this module is to setup your module defaults. This can be achieved by navigating to Data Export | Maintenance | Export Defaults

• File settings - This specifies the output format of the file. You may choose between XML, Excel, and Delimited (CSV) Format
• Date format - In this section, you select the date format to be used on files, it is recommended to have the date format in the same format as your existing Region date setting on the Control Panel.
• Export File location - This is a location that you will specify for all exported files to be saved.
• Template Header Display Settings - Here you can choose what the column headers for the export file should be. The first option will export the Column name of the table as the column header. The second option will export the TABLENAME.COLUMN_NAME as the column header. For example, if exporting from the STKITEM table using the “Use Column Name as Header” then the Code column will appear as CODE on the Export file. Whereas, when using the “Use Column and Table Name as Header Caption” the Code column will appear as STKITEM.CODE on the export file.

Within the Email Settings tab, you can specify whether you would like to send an E-mail after every Export by selecting the check box and then selecting an Email Account. To add an Email account, you would navigate to Maintenance | Data Export | Email Accounts. This email account can only be SMTP.

Export Settings: This option will append the export file with a date/time stamp on each export. So, if the same export is done multiple times and the user wishes to keep each of those files then they can do so with minimal hassles as each of the file names will be unique with a date/time stamp on the description. 

In addition to the above, one can add Export Templates still under the Maintenance of this module.

• Enter a Description and a file name for this template.
• The Append date option will be selected as per the default setting. This can be selected or de-selected here as well.
• If you select the option to include row count, the export file will have an extra count column (with a label of your choice) and will have a count on each row.
• Sub-folder settings create an additional folder in the export folder that you specified in the defaults and the file will be exported here.
• Email and Incident settings will email or post an incident (CRM setup dependant) respectively to the recipient or agent specified.
• Record export settings allow you to specify what to export, ALL, MODIFIED, or NEW records only. When modified records are selected the “Track changes on column” option will become available, depending on the table being exported the system will allow you to choose from a range of date-driven columns like “dateTimestamp”, “dCreatedDate” or “dModifiedDate”.
• Choosing the column, you wish you export is done with a simple click. On the right side of the window all the columns of the chosen table will be displayed, click on the checkbox to select/deselect.
• The Caption column allows you to give the column a more user-friendly name.
• Once completed with the template click on OK.
• Sub-Folder settings – as specified on the export Defaults, if specified here and the folder already exists, it will simply add the export file into the folder and not create a new folder.
• Choosing the column, you wish you export is done with a simple click. On the right side of the window all the columns of the chosen table will be displayed, click on the checkbox to select/deselect.
• The Caption column allows you to give the column a more user-friendly name.
• Once completed with the template click on OK.
• Sub-Folder settings – as specified on the export Defaults, if specified here and the folder already exists, it will simply add the export file into the folder and not create a new folder.

To process your export file, go to Transactions | Data Export | Export Data. Select the desired template and then “Export Now”. Your file will then be available in the file location specified.