MC Trade has several ways of extracting and exporting data so that you can use and analyze it elsewhere:
- Exporting data from any Data Grid
- Using Selectors to find and filter data before exporting
- Building your own queries from the data Export and Reporting Tool
- Using the SQL Writer to write your own SQL statements
Exporting data from any Data Grid
When you browse various areas of MC Trade, you'll frequently see a Data Grid: a large grid of columns and rows of data that relate to the profile or record you are working with. Besides just showing you information, Data Grids can be manipulated in several ways to help you analyze the information further:
- Clicking the top of a column to sort by that columns (ascending or descending alphabetically)
- Using the Shift or Ctrl keys and clicking the left edge of a row so you can select multiple rows to work with
- Dragging the top of a column to create a grouping of information in that column.
- Rearranging and saving columns to present the information in an order more meaningful to you.
- Using the fields above each Data grid to search and filter the information that is being displayed
Once you have the data you want displayed in the Data Grid, you have several ways to extract it:
- Click the green Excel icon at the top right of the Data Grid
- Right-click your mouse and select Export to CSV. This will trigger your computer to save a new Comma Separated Value file (.csv) in your default CSV editor (generally Microsoft Excel). No formatting or sorting will be saved.
- Right-Click your mouse and select Export to Excel. This will open a new Excel file
- Right-Click and select Print Data Grid. This will open your Page Setup dialogue box you can format a print job. NOTE: Data Grids generally have too many columns of information to easily print on a single page.
- Right-click and select Generate Grid Report. This will open up a Generate Report dialogue box where you can modify the design and content of a printed version of your Data grid.
Watch the video below to learn more about Data Grids.
Using Selectors to find and filter data before exporting
Inside nearly every module of MC Trade is a Selector, a searchable area for finding and working with data inside MC Trade. By using these Selectors, you are able to search records across the database, as opposed to information featured within a particular profile or event. The following list includes most of the MC Trade Selectors:
- Profile Selector
- Event Selector
- Contacts Selector
- Sales Opportunity Selector
- Task Selector
- Project Selector
- Invoice Selector
- Payment Selector
- Billing Selector
- Committee Selector
Each Selector has its own set of relevant Search Fields so that you can drill down to specific sets of data that meet your own search requirements at the given time. Whenever you generate a Search, the preview button will populate the Selector with the records that meet your search. At that point, all of the Data Grid features referenced above in the Data Grid section will apply. Additionally, each Selector has it's own set of options in the Right-Click menu that are specific to that Selector. Some examples include:
- Profile Selector: Assigning Profiles to a Member Level
- Invoice Selector: Removing Members Only Access to the Profile attached to a given invoice until that invoice is paid
- Sales Opportunity selector: Emailing the Profiles attached to the selected Sales Opportunity
Creating your own Query with the Data Export and Reporting Tool
If you find that a particular Selector or Data Grid does not meet your needs, you can effectively create your own with the Data Export and Reporting Tool (also known as the DERT Tool).
The DERT Tool uses a Wizard to walk you through the steps of creating your own query and resulting data grid with the results of your query. The process follows 4 simple steps:
- Choosing the type of data you want to use (e.g., Event data, Invoice data, Profile data, etc)
- Choosing the fields you want to include in your results (these will be the columns in your Data Grid)
- Choosing the filters you want to use to build your query (e.g. member = True, Revenue Item = Dues, etc)
- Choosing the Sort Order of your results
Once your query is complete and you have the resulting data in your Data Grid, you can do several things:
- Export the Data to Excel for further manipulation and reporting
- Saving and Sharing this query so you and other staff members can use it again later
- Loading the Profiles referenced in your results Data Grid in to the profile Selector so you can further work on them in MC Trade
- Export the query to send or share with other MC Trade Users (including those outside your association)
- Import a Query from another MC Trade User
Watch the video below to learn about using the Data Export and Reporting Tool:
Watch the video below to learn about using the SQL Writer Tool:
Watch the video below to learn about Extracting Data from Data Grids