Managing Exports

Once an export has been created you can use the other tabs to request a download, schedule exports, change the settings and also view the export log.

Note: The Export Log tab will not appear until an export has taken place.

On this page:

Request Download

Data exports can be requested on an ad-hoc basis via the 'Request Download' tab.

You will need to define the date range of the events to be exported, by selecting an inclusive start and end date.

The format of the output file will be CSV and a drop-down box is displayed to specify the delimiter, which will default to comma.

Once you have specified the criteria, clicking 'Request' will begin the export process.

Note: This could take an hour or more, depending on the account size and the quantity of data. An email containing a link to download your export, which will be available for the next 24 hours, will be sent upon completion.

Data Retention

If you select a data range that exceeds the data retention period for your account you will be notified with a popup.

You don't need to do anything but please be aware that your export will not include event data older than the retention period.

Scheduled Exports

Data exports can be scheduled on a regular basis, and you are given the means to specify how often they are sent and by what method, using the ‘Schedule’ tab.

Frequency Settings

The frequency settings define how often your export will send. The default will be set to daily, but you can change this using the drop-down box to weekly or monthly. If you select to send weekly, you are given the option to specify which day of the week you wish the export to send. Similarly, if you select monthly, you are able to specify the day of the month.

Note: You can choose the time of the export; however, the hour you select indicates when the export will start processing, not when it will be sent—as the export process could take an hour or more.

Data Settings

The data settings of your export concern the feed type and the format of the final output file.

Feed Type

Exports can be one of two feed types:

  • Incremental: exports run sequentially, with only the most up-to-date data being sent each time, according to your frequency settings. We recommend running incremental exports as this means the output file size is considerably smaller.

    Note: incremental reports only include contacts newly added to the core table. For example, adding an existing contact to a list would not result in that contact being included in the incremental list export. They would appear in an incremental export when they are first added to the core table.

  • Full: exports run cumulatively, with the entire dataset being sent each time. This is not recommended as the file size becomes increasingly large, as new data is added to previous data.

    Note: Event data is archived after the data retention period set on your account. Full exports will not be able to retrieve event data past this point

Format

The format of the output file needs to be CSV/Text. The form will display the delimiter format drop-down box for you to select your preferred delimiter. We recommend using the default format, which is comma delimited CSV.

Data Supply

Exports can be sent via email, FTP, SFTP and Remote Connection and in the case of large exports we recommend using an FTP or SFTP server rather than email. Depending on which method is selected; the screen will update to display the necessary options.

Each method will give you the option to zip the output file, which we recommend for efficiency, as this can reduce the file size considerably.

Sending exports to an FTP or SFTP server will require the hostname and port number for the server you wish to send to. The username and password required are those for your server, not your Adestra credentials.

You can include the date and time in the file name using %d and %t, which will make each export file name unique. %d returns the current date in YYYYMMDD format, and %t returns the current time in HHMMSS format.

For example, if you wished to include the date to the filename 'example_export', you would enter:

Copy 
example_export_%d

which would result in:

example_export_20110824.csv

Or for example if you wished to include both the date and the time, you would enter:

Copy 
example_export_%d_%t

which would result in:

example_export_20110824_110803.csv

When sending exports by email, all that is required is the email address and attachment file name. Checking the 'zip output' option below will automatically zip data to reduce the output file size during export. This can be useful if the data is likely to exceed the 50MB limit when sending data by email.

You can add multiple email addresses if you wish, simply separate the addresses with commas.

If using a remote connection you're required to give a filename and the remote connection, with the option to add a destination path too.

Regardless of which method you choose, the 'Enabled' option must be selected in order for the export schedule to run. By default this is unselected, and the yellow notification at the top of the screen will display ‘Scheduled export is disabled’.

When you select to enable a schedule, the notification at top of the screen will display 'Scheduled export is enabled'.

You can stop a live schedule from running by deselecting this option, which leaves all of the schedule settings intact for future use.

Settings

Once an export has been created, you can edit basic details of the export using the 'Settings' tab.

You are able to change the name, description and owner of the export.

Export Log

Once your export has been scheduled, the 'Export Log' tab will be available. This displays the history of your export, and will initially be empty until your schedule starts running.

Once the schedule is enabled, each data export will be listed in the export log.

Clicking on an individual data export will open the schedule log, where you can download the data again using the 'Request Download' button. When your export is ready to download you will be sent an email, which will contain a link to where you can download it. This may take some time if it is a large export.

Note: This type of download is called an 'ad-hoc' data export and will not appear in the log.

FAQ

If I select an individual campaign as a data source, and also the whole workspace, will the export contain duplicate records?

No, the export will only contain one set of data.

What happens if I edit an export whilst it has a schedule enabled?

If you edit the export after saving a schedule, the next scheduled export sent will reflect the changes.

Can I delete a scheduled export after it has been enabled and started sending?

Yes, you can delete an export at any point using the 'Delete Export' link. If you simply wish the export to stop sending, you can disable a scheduled export in the ‘Schedule’ tab of the relevant export by un-checking the ‘Enable’ option.

I entered my password and saved a schedule more than once, will I receive multiple exports?

No, only one export, containing the most up-to-date data, will be sent according to the frequency settings, regardless of how many times the schedule is saved.

Can I schedule an export to send both by email and FTP at the same time?

No, for an ongoing schedule, an export can only be sent to one destination at one time. You can however, create a second export with the same criteria, and send that in addition to the original export.

Is there a limit to the size of data I can export?

Yes, there is a 50MB limit on the size of data sent by email. There is no limit to data sent by FTP or SFTP.