3.6 Viewing Application Data

After creating a data set definition, you can generate data set instances based on the data set definition. After generating a data set instance, you can also export it to a flat file.

Regardless of the method you use to generate a data set instance, Analyzer lists the currently available data set instances in the Data Set Instances view. To view a particular data set instance, double-click its entry to open a Data Browser editor for that data set instance. This lets you easily move between data set instances when analyzing and inspecting data.

3.6.1 Importing Data

When you import data, Analyzer queries the data source (either application or file) based on the selected data set definition, and copies the resulting data set into the Analyzer database. This creates a snapshot of the data set that remains available between Analyzer sessions. However, if the source data changes over time, the imported data set can grow stale and outdated. To update the data, you must re-import the data set.

NOTE:For connection profiles, you must start the connection driver to import data. To do so, right-click the connection profile in the Project view, then select Start Driver.

To import a data set:

  1. In the Project view, right-click the data set definition object that you want to browse, then click Import Data.

  2. (Conditional) Select the attributes with multiple values that you want to display in the Data Browser, then click OK.

    Data set instances that contain many attributes with multiple values can cause significant performance issues when inspecting and analyzing data. The Data Browser settings page lets you manage attributes with multiple values. If the data set you are importing contains many these attributes, Analyzer opens the Data Browser settings page during the import process.

    For more information, see Section 2.5, Data Browser Settings.

Analyzer retrieves data from the selected data set definition and displays it in the Data Browser editor.

3.6.2 Exporting Data

Analyzer lets you export any data set instance to a flat file.

IMPORTANT:The Export To File Wizard takes into account any filters you have applied to the data set through the Data Browser editor. If you want to capture the entire data set, make sure you remove filters before exporting the data set to a file. For more information about filters, see Section 3.7.1, Filtering Data.

To export a data set instance:

  1. In the Data Set view, right-click the appropriate data set entry, then select Export to File.

  2. In the Export to Flat File dialog box, specify the desired file characteristics, then click OK.

    Analyzer creates the flat file based on your specifications.

    File Path: Specify a name and location for the file.

    Encoding: Specify the character encoding to use in the file. The default setting is UTF-8.

    Field Delimiter: Specify the field delimiter to use in the file. The default setting is a comma.

    Text Delimiter: Specify the character to use to enclose values that contain the field delimiter as part of the value. You can choose between double quotes (“”) and single quotes (‘’).

    Export Field Names as First Row Data: When this option is selected, Analyzer includes the data set’s column headings as the first row of the file.

    Export modified data only: Select this option to have the file contain only those values modified since Analyzer imported the data set.

  3. (Optional) While Analyzer is creating the file, click Details to see more information about the file creation process. If the data set is large, click Run in Background to continue working while Analyzer creates the file.