Importing and exporting data Importing DataYou may already have some data you wish to analyze in electronic form, for example in another iBase database, a spreadsheet, some other database, or as a text file. You use an import specification to define how the source data is interpreted during the import.Bulk importingBulk imports enable you to import data more quickly, and should be considered if you have large volumes of data to import or if you find the standard importer too slow. Before you can create and run a bulk import, the database must be activated for bulk imports.Exporting dataIn iBase Designer, you can export entity and link records to text files; to export to CSV or XML files, use iBase. To export to text files in iBase Designer, you need to select the data to export and define how the exported data is formatted.Using XML import and exportYou can import data from an XML file, using an XML schema specific to iBase and your database. XML import is a type of bulk import and so can only be run in iBase Designer, although import specifications can be created in iBase provided the user logs on as a system administrator.Batch import or exportIf you regularly receive data from other databases, or you regularly prepare data for others, you may want to run a series of import or export sessions. You set up the specifications that you want to use in an Import Batch Specification or an Export Batch Specification.Exporting and importing externally edited iBase DataYou can export data from iBase for editing in a different application, and then re-import it. This allows you to manipulate the data in a set of records without accessing each record independently. Time zones in import and exportIf you want to import records containing time zones from external data sources, then you need to represent each time zone by the appropriate code. For example, in the import file, the time zone (GMT+00:00) Greenwich Mean Time: Edinburgh, London must be represented by 32.Parent topic: Designing and administering databases
