With Data Crow you can export your items to a text or XML file and import your items from a CSV or XML file. For this you can use the Item Export Wizard or the Item Import Wizard respectively.

Item Export Wizard #

Menu path: Tools > Item Export Wizard

The item export wizard allows you to export items to an external file. Items of each module within Data Crow can be exported. Before the wizard is started you will be asked to select the module from which you like to export the items.

Formats #

The wizard is capable to export items to a text or a XML file. XML is the preferred format as the items will be stored in a hierarchical structure rather than a flat, single line, structure. The XML format is also the preferred format when exchanging items between Data Crow installations. The XML format is also used internally by Data Crow for operations like the module export and import.

The text export exports the items to a text file. Each line represents a single item. The values are separated by a character which you can define in the configuration step of the wizard. The text export has a few limitations;

• The text export option is not capable of exporting relationships between items.
• The text export option will remove new line characters from the values. Each line of the text file will contain just one item.

Configuration options #

Export File

Select the target file (mandatory).

Images

In the second step of the wizard you can choose to export the images. This is recommended as the images are then stored in a sub folder of the location of the report file.

–	Copy Images. Copies the images to a sub folder. If you choose not to export the images a link to the original location of the image will be exported.
–	Scale Images. You can choose to store a smaller version of the original image. Specify the width and the height. The original proportions are kept so that will not end up with malformed image sizes.

The CSV export writes the pictures in two columns: Main picture, and Other pictures (all other pictures, separated by a vertical bar). Before, there was a column per picture and pictures after the 10th were left out. Importing the file again restores all pictures in the same order.

Text length

You can indicate the maximum text length. The value “0” means that text will not be cut. Data Crow will try and find the nice position possible to cut the text. For example right after a dot or an end of line character.

Item Import Wizard #

Menu path: Tools > Item Import Wizard

The item import wizard allows you to import items from an external file. The items are directly imported into the database. Before the wizard is started you will have to select the module into which you would like to import the items.

Formats #

Select the type of import you would like to perform.

• Data Crow XML File Import: for XML files which were exported by Data Crow. (This used to be called XML Import.)
• Generic XML File Import: for XML files of other programs, for example an export of another collection program. Data Crow finds the items in the file by itself. The values are shown as paths (such as genres/genre/name), which you map to the fields of the module, the picture fields included. Values which occur more than once for an item, such as several genres, are combined.
• CSV import: for text files. A valid CSV contains one item per line, with the values separated by a specific character.

Configuration #

Depending on the format you have chosen some of the configuration options might not be available.

–	Value separator. For CSV imports Data Crow detects the separator for you. You can choose another one from the list: comma, semicolon, tab or vertical bar.
–	First row contains the column names. Switch this off for a file without a header row. When no column could be matched to a field you get a warning. Column names are matched ignoring upper and lower case and spaces, and in the names of the fields in all languages.
–	Try and match imported items. If selected, Data Crow will try and check whether the item already exists in the database. If so, it will merge the information of the two items.

The character set is no longer a setting: Data Crow recognizes UTF-8, UTF-16 and Windows files by itself.

Source field mappings #

In case you are importing a CSV file you will be asked to map the source fields to the actual Data Crow fields. This is a crucial step in the import. In case you only see one field make sure you have selected the correct value separator in the previous step. Select for each of the fields of the source the correct target name in the table. The target name can be selected from a drop down.

You can save the mapping under a name and select it again in a later import. The settings of the import, such as the separator, are saved with it. The next import also starts with the mapping of the previous import. Columns which are no longer in the file and fields which are no longer available are skipped and reported. New columns can be mapped by hand.

Pictures. Map a column which holds the path of a picture file (or a web address) to Main picture or to Other pictures. The main picture comes first and is the picture shown in the overview. Several columns can be mapped to Other pictures. A column can hold several pictures, separated by a vertical bar or on separate lines. A path which does not exist on this computer, for example from an export made on another computer, is also looked for in the folder of the import file and its subfolders.

Lists, numbers and dates. A list in a single value, such as the genres or actors of an item, is detected: it can be separated by a vertical bar or a semicolon, or be on separate lines, otherwise by commas. Names such as “Allen, Woody” stay together. Numbers (1,5 or 1.5 or 1.234,56) and dates (2002-05-17, 17/05/2002 or 17 May 2002) are read in the notation which is used in the file. A value which cannot be read gives a short message.

Limitations #

A CSV file is expected to have the column names in the first row. For a file without them, switch off the option First row contains the column names. Empty lines are skipped.