Importing/Exporting Solutions for Developers

Scenario A - Developer of a Windows Business Application

You are the developer of a Windows business application like an accounting system for a Doctor’s office or a car dealership’s service shop. Your end users want to get the data that normally is printed on your reports into various spreadsheets and databases like Excel, Access, dBase and Lotus 1-2-3.




Answer 1: If you can afford to spend a short amount of development time, use our DataExport/DLL. With one set of standardized API calls, you can export into nearly 40 file formats. There are two primary ways of using DataExport/DLL.

a) One way is to output your data cell-by-cell (field-by-field) by making a call to the DLL for each cell (field) to be written to the output file.

b) The other way is to write the information to be exported to a file before calling our DLL. This file can be a fixed fielded file, a delimited file, or a report printed-to-disk. After the file is written, call our DLL once to translate the file into the spreadsheet or database. When calling our DLL, you must also pass it either the name of an Export Definition File or a DataImport Mask File.

An Export Definition File is a text file that you create with any text editor that contains a set of instructions such as the record layout and field types. You can supply this file with your software or create it dynamically each time you want to export.

A DataImport Mask File is created using DataImport’s Mask program. The Mask File contains a set of instructions describing your file’s layout and field types. In the Mask program, while your file is displayed in a window, you highlight the data you want translated. It has a very easy to use interface and a lot of filtering and rearranging capabilities. It can be used to pull specific data out of highly complex reports. The Mask Files can be distributed with your software without a royalty fee.

Answer 2: If you cannot afford any development time, you can (1) tell your end users to call Spalding Software and buy a copy of DataImport, (2) buy DataImport from us and resell it to your end users, or (3) become part of our DataImport Private Label Program.

If you only need a few copies then options 1 and 2 above are acceptable and cost effective solutions. However, if you need more than a few copies and/or you need to present your company as a complete, integrated solution to your customer’s needs, then the private label program is your answer. DataImport will be identified as being specifically designed for your software.

If you want what appears to be a high degree of integration to your users, you have a few options that can be quickly implemented:

• Change your software’s installation procedure to also install our software and put our icons in your program group.
  
• Add the ability to run our Mask and Translation programs directly from your application.
  

Masks that you or your users develop can be distributed freely to anyone. You could make these Mask Files available on your Web site, BBS or at User Group meetings.

Scenario B - Developer of Non-PC Application Software

Your software does not run on a PC, or runs under an operating system other than DOS, Windows or OS/2. Users can usually view or download reports created by your software on their PC’s. But, they would also like to import the data into their spreadsheet or database for further analysis.

Answer: You can (1) tell your end users to call Spalding Software and buy a copy of DataImport, (2) buy DataImport from us and resell it to your end users, or (3) become part of our DataImport Private Label Program.

If you only need a few copies then options 1 and 2 above are acceptable and cost effective solutions. However, if you need more than a few copies and/or you need to present your company as a complete, integrated solution to your customer’s needs, then the private label program is your answer. DataImport will be identified as being specifically designed for your software.

Masks that you or your users develop can be distributed freely to anyone. You could distribute these Mask Files or make them available on your Web site, BBS or at User Group meetings.

Scenario C - Developer of Report Access Software

Your software does CD-ROM archival, report distribution or report downloading. Some components of your software may be running on a non-PC platform. However, your end user interface is running on a PC. In addition to viewing and printing reports, users want to move information from them into spreadsheets, databases and HTML tables.


Answer: If you cannot afford any development time, you can (1) tell your end users to call Spalding Software and buy a copy of DataImport, (2) buy DataImport from us and resell it to your end users, or (3) become part of our DataImport Private Label Program.

If you only need a few copies then options 1 and 2 above are acceptable and cost effective solutions. However, if you need more than a few copies and/or you need to present your company as a complete, integrated solution to your customer’s needs, then the private label program is your answer. DataImport will be identified as being specifically designed for your software.

If you want a high degree of integration between your product and DataImport, there are a few options that won’t take long to implement:

• Change your software’s installation procedure to also install our software and put our icons in your program group.
  
• Run the mask program from your application.
  
• Add a browse function that lists previously defined masks along with the description and author (which you can easily read from the mask files). Let them launch a translation by pointing and clicking on the mask name.

Masks created by your user’s Information Technology department for reports that are commonly imported can be made available to everyone in the organization.

Scenario D - Need to Import Data into a Windows Application That You Developed

The source of data to be imported into your software is from non-standardized outside sources that vary from user to user. You might currently have (or could easily develop) the ability to import data from a file in a format we support with a standard record layout that you specify. The data your software needs often exists on reports that your users can generate. However, your users are not programmers and struggle with creating the import file with the proper format and layout that your software requires.

Answer 1: If you want to provide a turnkey solution for your users (i.e. you do all of the work), buy one copy of DataImport for your in-house use and either one copy of DataExport/DLL (royalty free runtime) for your use or a copy of DataImport RunTime Edition for each of your users.

When you get a new user, have them send you a print-to-disk file of the report(s) that contains the data to be imported into your application. Using DataImport’s Mask program, create the "Mask File" to be used for creating the file to be imported into your software. The Mask File contains a set of instructions about the report file to be translated such as the layout and field types. In the Mask program, while the file you want to translate from is displayed in a window, you highlight the data you want extracted. It has a very easy to use interface and a lot of filtering and rearranging capabilities. It can be used to pull specific data out of highly complex reports. The Mask Files can be distributed with your software without a royalty fee.
Your users will need to be able to translate using the mask(s) that you provide them. There are two options:

a) If you can afford to spend a short amount of development time, use our DataExport/DLL. Add the capability in your software to call our DLL with the name of the Mask File you distributed to them.

b)If you cannot afford any development time at all, you can (1) buy DataImport RunTime Editions from us and resell them to your end users or (2) become part of our DataImport RunTime Edition Private Label Program.

If you only need a few copies then option 1 above is an acceptable and cost effective solution. However, if you need more than a few copies and/or you need to present your company as a complete, integrated solution to your customer’s needs, then the private label program is your answer. DataImport will be identified as being specifically designed for your software.
If you want what appears to be a high degree of integration to your users, there are a few options that can be quickly implemented:

• Change your software’s installation procedure to also install our software and put our icons in your program group.
• Add the ability to run our Translation program directly from your application.

Answer 2: You cannot afford the time to solve each user’s importing problem by doing all of the work for them. You can (1) tell your end users to call Spalding Software and buy a copy of DataImport, (2) buy DataImport from us and resell it to your end users, or (3) become part of our DataImport Private Label Program.

If you only need a few copies then options 1 and 2 above are acceptable and cost effective solutions. However, if you need more than a few copies and/or you need to present your company as a complete, integrated solution to your customer’s needs, then the private label program is your answer. DataImport will be identified as being specifically designed for your software.

If you want what appears to be a high degree of integration to your users, there are a few options that can be quickly implemented:

• Change your software’s installation procedure to also install our software and put our icons in your program group.
  
• Add the ability to run our Mask and Translation programs directly from your application.
  

Masks that you or your users develop can be distributed freely to anyone. Therefore, if several of your users have the same source for the data to be imported into your software, they could exchange or share their Mask Files. You could even make Mask Files available on your Web site, BBS or at User Group meetings.


If you are interested in the Private Label program email us at