Programs, such as EXCEL, will easily accept FileMaker Pro data, often even preserving field names as headings, as long as the file is created with some sort of delimiter between the fields, such as commas or tabs. If possible you should find out what form the data should be in before doing the export. If this is not possible it is quite easy to experiment with several different formats to see which will work the best. Unless the data set is extremely large FileMaker Pro creates export files very quickly. Consult a manual on FileMaker Pro for details about importing and exporting data.
An export can be considered another type of report from the database. The FSLP principles apply here as well.
When you wish to copy data to another software package, or simply make a usable text file, think first about finding the set of data you want, sort it for later ease of use, then select and choose the location (print) for the export file and the type of file to create.
- Find the data that you want to export.
- Sort the data so that it will be easier to use.
- From the FileMaker menu select File > Export Records.
- Enter a name in Save As and select the location for the file.
- Select the Type for the file: Tab-Separated Text, Comma-Separated Text, SYLK, DBF, DIF, WKS, BASIC, Merge, HTML.
- Click the Save button to save the file.
- Click the Cancel button to exit without taking any action.