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Importing from Xdata into Quark
- Thread starter cjagain
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- Thread starter
- #3
Thank you for responding,
My production department set up Xdata fields in Quark that will import data from a flat file from FileMaker. As long as I don't have any fields that are empty, it will import it where it needs to go. If I have one empty field, it skips that field and all the data moves up so it doesn't flow correctly. Now I have created a related FileMaker database which will now export variable data and no one here knows how to set up Xdata so the data will flow where it needs to go. When we view the data in excel all the projects are in separate rows which is different than the export from a flat file which puts everything in one row. It reads the first project and then the rest of the projects don't appear.
Ex of related data output viewed in Excel:
Company, sf, year, address, project
project
project
Company, sf, year, address, project
Company, sf, year, address, project
I thought I could use an if statement "if projects is not empty projects end if" Xdata recommended "if company is not empty...address end if" "projects". It seems I would need something in Xdata to count the projects too. I'm just not sure how it all works, unfortunately, I won't have access to Quark until next week so I cannot trouble shoot this until then. I hope I presented this clearly, let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.
My production department set up Xdata fields in Quark that will import data from a flat file from FileMaker. As long as I don't have any fields that are empty, it will import it where it needs to go. If I have one empty field, it skips that field and all the data moves up so it doesn't flow correctly. Now I have created a related FileMaker database which will now export variable data and no one here knows how to set up Xdata so the data will flow where it needs to go. When we view the data in excel all the projects are in separate rows which is different than the export from a flat file which puts everything in one row. It reads the first project and then the rest of the projects don't appear.
Ex of related data output viewed in Excel:
Company, sf, year, address, project
project
project
Company, sf, year, address, project
Company, sf, year, address, project
I thought I could use an if statement "if projects is not empty projects end if" Xdata recommended "if company is not empty...address end if" "projects". It seems I would need something in Xdata to count the projects too. I'm just not sure how it all works, unfortunately, I won't have access to Quark until next week so I cannot trouble shoot this until then. I hope I presented this clearly, let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.
The Xdata profile is easiliy modified
such as
«if project»«project»«endif»
(you don't need the is not empty part) so that part will only be populated if there is data in that field.
I'm assuming that the FileMaker flat file appears similar to an Excel file - with rows containing data and columns to separate fields (company, year, address, etcetera)? I'm not overly familiar with FM, but if so can't you export the data from that as tab-separated text the same as one would with Excel?
Can you post the profile from Quark? It will give me a little better idea of what you're trying to accomplish. Just remember that every field from the data file needs to be named in the Xdata profile - even if it isn't used.
Thanks,
Donna
such as
«if project»«project»«endif»
(you don't need the is not empty part) so that part will only be populated if there is data in that field.
I'm assuming that the FileMaker flat file appears similar to an Excel file - with rows containing data and columns to separate fields (company, year, address, etcetera)? I'm not overly familiar with FM, but if so can't you export the data from that as tab-separated text the same as one would with Excel?
Can you post the profile from Quark? It will give me a little better idea of what you're trying to accomplish. Just remember that every field from the data file needs to be named in the Xdata profile - even if it isn't used.
Thanks,
Donna
- Thread starter
- #5
I believe the Xdata "script" looks like the following. Did you need the Quark page?
<<Company>> <<sf>> <<pend>> <<year>>
<<address>> <<city>>
<<phone>> * <<web>>
Executives: <<execs>>
2006 Projects/Locations:
<<projects>>
All the fields are listed here but it doesn't seem to allow for multiple projects. I noticed in the Xdata manual that they put all the fields at the beginning and then seemed to rearrange the data from there. I don't believe my production department did that. Could this be the problem?
<<Company>> <<sf>> <<pend>> <<year>>
<<address>> <<city>>
<<phone>> * <<web>>
Executives: <<execs>>
2006 Projects/Locations:
<<projects>>
All the fields are listed here but it doesn't seem to allow for multiple projects. I noticed in the Xdata manual that they put all the fields at the beginning and then seemed to rearrange the data from there. I don't believe my production department did that. Could this be the problem?
Sounds like it could be. Say the database contains columns: company, sf, pend, year, address, city, phone, web, execs, projects - in that order.
You should declare the fields and then setup the profile - something like this:
«fields company, sf, pend, year, address, city, phone, web, execs, projects
<<Company>> <<sf>> <<pend>> <<year>>
<<address>> <<city>>
<<phone>> * <<web>>
Executives: <<execs>>
2006 Projects/Locations:
<<projects>>
There's no ending » after the field declaration in Quark - just a hard paragraph return, then the stuff I copied/pasted from your post is the formatting area. The key is declaring the fields (in the order they appear in the database text file) - and make sure you declare all fields even if you don't use all of them. Xdata will be going in order based on your field declarations to import the data. So, if there's actually a field called "blah" between company and sf - Xdata is going to assume that that field is sf.
Make sense?
You should declare the fields and then setup the profile - something like this:
«fields company, sf, pend, year, address, city, phone, web, execs, projects
<<Company>> <<sf>> <<pend>> <<year>>
<<address>> <<city>>
<<phone>> * <<web>>
Executives: <<execs>>
2006 Projects/Locations:
<<projects>>
There's no ending » after the field declaration in Quark - just a hard paragraph return, then the stuff I copied/pasted from your post is the formatting area. The key is declaring the fields (in the order they appear in the database text file) - and make sure you declare all fields even if you don't use all of them. Xdata will be going in order based on your field declarations to import the data. So, if there's actually a field called "blah" between company and sf - Xdata is going to assume that that field is sf.
Make sense?
- Thread starter
- #7
- Thread starter
- #8
I was just told by production that they do have that line at the top without a chevron at the end so I believe the problem still exists. They say it will list the first project and then it won't list the others. Still not sure how to make it work. : |
- Thread starter
- #10
IMacQuarker
Technical User
Hi cjagain:
Have you considered doing a calculation in filemaker to arrange the text for export and use XPress Tags where they need to go?
I have experimented with Xpress Tags in filemaker and have no trouble doing a name, phone and address list using Tags to format the text using Style sheets and adding returns where they belong since Filemakler normally would only put a return after each record.
However in Filemaker I cannot use the tag for a return or a tab so i might use xx for a return and yy for a tab or some other letters not likely to be in the text.
Then before I import the text into Quark using XPress Tags I get text and find and change the xx to a hard return and the yy to a tab if i need that, then save as text again, then it is ready to import into Quark using XPress Tags.
This way a blank field will not change the text flow, it will it will just leave a blank spot wherever it belongs.
Hope this might help
IMacQuarker
Have you considered doing a calculation in filemaker to arrange the text for export and use XPress Tags where they need to go?
I have experimented with Xpress Tags in filemaker and have no trouble doing a name, phone and address list using Tags to format the text using Style sheets and adding returns where they belong since Filemakler normally would only put a return after each record.
However in Filemaker I cannot use the tag for a return or a tab so i might use xx for a return and yy for a tab or some other letters not likely to be in the text.
Then before I import the text into Quark using XPress Tags I get text and find and change the xx to a hard return and the yy to a tab if i need that, then save as text again, then it is ready to import into Quark using XPress Tags.
This way a blank field will not change the text flow, it will it will just leave a blank spot wherever it belongs.
Hope this might help
IMacQuarker
- Thread starter
- #13
It's not resolved yet. The production company is working frantically to get another publication out the door so they have not had time to work with me on it.
Thanks for the tip IMacQuarker. I will probably be asking more questions when I start working on it again. Thanks
Cj
Thanks for the tip IMacQuarker. I will probably be asking more questions when I start working on it again. Thanks
Cj
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