How to Work with Processes > Working with the Local Database Processes Group

Process Purpose

The "DB to Local File" process is used to export data from a local database table into a local file.

When you add a process, you are required to define its settings. This occurs in the process's properties window which is displayed automatically after having added the "DB to Local File" process. This properties window is constituted by three tabs - "General", "Query" and "Advanced".

If any subsequent edition is required, double-click the process to open its properties window and enter the necessary modifications.

"General" tab

Fill in the following options:

Export from Database Table (or View)
Table Name	Select the local database table/view used to export the records from the drop-down. If needed, click to join tables. See To Join Tables.
To Local File
Local File Name	Define the local file to receive the exported records OR click and select a variable with that value.
File Type	Select the local file type from the drop-down (CSV, SCSV, Text (tab-separated values) or Text (pipe-separated values)).
File Charset	Select the character codification from the drop-down (UTF-8; ANSI, US_ASCII, windows-1252 or ISO_8859_1). When selecting the charset/encoding, consider the characters used in the data file or database in question – some special characters may NOT be displayed if the wrong charset/encoding is defined. Ex: The Hindu character “अ” (included in a data file in use) can only be viewed with a “UTF 8” or “UTF-16 without BOM” encoding. The recommended codification for Android developed projects is "UTF-8" (or “UTF-16 without BOM”, if "UTF-8" is not available).
Add Header	Check this option to include the table header in the local file.

Continue to the "Query" tab.

"Query" tab

Proceed as follows:

Where
Where Clause	Click to create the appropriate query. See To Use the Query Assistant. You can create up to 80 Where conditions.
Order By
DB Field Name	Define the result order by selecting the appropriate table fields from the drop-down.

Use the editing icons to the right of the table to move the rows up and down and to delete or add more rows.

Proceed to the "Advanced" tab.

"Advanced" tab

Option
Field Mapping	Check this option to enable the "DB Field Name/Local File Fields" columns. When enabled, it allows for the mapping of fields from the local database table/view into the local file fields.
DB Field Name	Organize the mapping by defining the selected database table fields from the drop-down into the corresponding local file fields.
Local File Fields
If … Go to
SQL Error	Select a target location from the drop-down or list, if an "SQL Error" occurs. See Detail of a window below. When defining a screen as a target destination (ex: via a “Go to” process), you CANNOT use variables to specify the name of that target screen. You must select the intended screen from the available drop-down/list.

Use the editing icons to the right of the table to move the rows up and down and to delete or add more rows.

Detail of a window:

"S:Menu" is a screen included in the same program as the process.

"R:Routine_1" is a routine included in the same program as the process.

If required, use the icons on the top of the properties window:

Click it to create a new table in a local database. See Creating a Table.

Click it to test SQL scripts. See To Test SQL Scripts.

Use the icon to attach any relevant notes to this process. Click it and enter your notes in the resulting text box. These notes will be displayed in the corresponding "Actions" tab or "Process" window (in the "Notes" field) and in the "Developer Report".

After filling in the required options, click to conclude or to abort the operation.

The added process is displayed in the corresponding "Actions" tab or "Process" window.

You can use relative paths to refer the file(s) you want to use in your project. See Working with Aliases.

If you want to use a label as a target destination, you can use the "Auto-Label" mechanism. This alternative to the "Set Label" process allows you to create a label in the properties window of a process - specifically, in the fields used to define target destinations (ex: the "If Error..." type fields). See To Automatically Create a Label.

Use the right-click in MCL-Designer's input boxes to access some related options as well as the general "Cut", "Copy"; "Paste"; "Search" actions (active/inactive according to the current context).

Ex: If you right-click the "Variable" input box (included in a "Conversion's" properties window), you are provided with general editing/search actions and other more specific options such as "Variable Select" (see "Variable Select"); "Variable Insert" (see "Variable Insert"); "Insert Special Character" (see To Insert Special Characters into a Control's Text Input Field) and "Localization Select" (see Localization List).

If you right-click another input box, it may provide other possibilities.