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- <sect1 id="sect-file-textExport">
- <title>Exporting Text Files</title>
-
- <!-- TODO: Rewrite this sucker! Use the new screenshots. -->
-
- <para>
- &gnum; can export worksheets to text files using some kind of data
- structuring mechanism. Creating a text file requires, first, using
- the <interface>Save As</interface> dialog to name the file,
- select a folder in which to save it, and choose the file format
- "Text export (configurable)", then, using the <interface>Text
- Export</interface> druid to configure the characteristics of the
- file structure.
- </para>
-
- <para>
-
-
-
- files or file fragments that consist entirely of
- text. Text files provide a basic, common format enabling programs
- to share data.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- The <interface>Text Export</interface> Druid consists of two
- panels.
-
- The first panel...
-
- The second panel
-
- </para>
-
-
- <tip>
- <title>The steps involved in the text export druid.</title>
-
- <para></para>
- <!-- TODO: render hack- remove this spacing hack -->
-
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Launch the <interface>Text export</interface> druid using,
- in the <guimenu>File</guimenu>, the
- <guimenuitem>Save As</guimenuitem> and selecting the "Text export
- (configurable)" file format type.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select the worksheets to include in the exported file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Configure the order of the worksheets for the exported file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Go to the second panel.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select the line termination character.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select the value separating character or character sequence
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select when values should be surrounded by a text indicating character.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select the character or sequence to use to indicate a text field.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Configure the character encoding to use for the file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select how to handle unknown characters.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Select whether to preserve the format of the cell contents.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Click on the <guibutton>Finish</guibutton> button to export
- the file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
-
- </tip>
-
-
- <sect2 id="note-file-textExport-druid">
- <title>
- The Components of the <interface>Text Export</interface> Druid
- </title>
-
- <para>
- The <interface>Text Export</interface> druid consists of two
- panels. The first panel allows the user to select the worksheets
- included in the export and their order. The second panel allows
- the user to configure the structuring elements, the line
- delimiting characters, value separating characters, text indicating
- characters, and file encoding.
- </para>
-
- <sect3 id="sect-file-textExport-druid-panel1">
- <title>
- The first panel of the <interface>Text Export</interface> Druid.
- </title>
-
- <para>
- The first panel of the <interface>Text Export</interface>
- Druid allows users to set the file encoding, to determine the
- character sequences used to separate lines, configure the type
- of structuring being used and select the lines of the file to
- import.
- </para>
-
- <figure id="fig-file-textExport-druid-panel1">
- <title>
- The first panel of the <interface>Text Import</interface>
- druid with the component areas labeled with callouts.
- </title>
- <screenshot>
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/textguru-export-panel1-withTags.png"
- format="PNG" />
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <para>
- This screenshot depicts the first panel 'Text Export'
- druid with callouts labeling the different areas.
- </para>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>
- The different components of the first panel of the
- <interface>Text Export</interface> druid with each component
- labeled with a callout.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </figure>
-
- <para>
- The purpose of each labeled component in <xref
- linkend="fig-file-textExport-druid-panel1" /> is
- explained below:
-
- <variablelist>
- <title>The components of the first panel</title>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term>
- <emphasis role="bold">1</emphasis> - The worksheet
- selection area.
- </term>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- This area allows the user to select the worksheets to
- be included in the file. By default, only the top most
- sheet will have its checkbox checked and be included in
- the export. The user can add sheets by clicking in their
- checkboxes to set the check marks.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term>
- <emphasis role="bold">2</emphasis> - The worksheet
- selection and ordering buttons.
- </term>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The top two buttons allows the user quickly to select
- or unselect all the worksheets to be included in the
- export file. The bottom two buttons allow the user to
- change the order of the worksheets in the file to be
- exported.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term>
- <emphasis role="bold">3</emphasis> - The button area.
- </term>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- These three buttons allow the user to navigate the
- druid.
- <!-- TODO: bug- text export needs a help button. -->
- <!--
- The <guibutton>Help</guibutton> button should
- open the &gnum; manual to this section.
- -->
- The <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> button will dismiss
- the dialog and return the user to the worksheet. The
- <guibutton>Back</guibutton> button is disable since
- this is the first panel of the druid. The
- <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> button will dismiss the
- first panel and bring up the second panel of the druid.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
- </variablelist>
-
- </para>
-
- </sect3>
-
- <sect3 id="sect-file-textExport-druid-panel2">
- <title>
- The second panel of the <interface>Text Export</interface> Druid.
- </title>
-
- <para>
- The second panel of the <interface>Text Export</interface>
- Druid allows users to select the line termination character,
- configure the value separating character, select the text
- indicating character and set the character encoding.
- </para>
-
- <figure id="fig-file-textExport-druid-panel2">
- <title>
- The second panel of the <interface>Text Import</interface>
- druid with the component areas labeled with callouts.
- </title>
- <screenshot>
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/textguru-export-panel2-withTags.png" format="PNG" />
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <para>
- This screenshot depicts the second panel 'Text Export'
- druid with callouts labeling the different areas.
- </para>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>
- The different components of the second panel of the
- <interface>Text Export</interface> druid with each component
- labeled with a callout.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </figure>
-
-
- <para>
- The purpose of each labeled component in <xref
- linkend="fig-file-textExport-druid-panel2" /> is
- explained below:
-
-
- <variablelist>
- <title>The components of the second panel</title>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term>
- <emphasis role="bold">1</emphasis> - The export
- characteristic menu buttons.
- </term>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- These drop down menus provide to set the different
- configuration parameters for the exported file. The
- various menus are as follows.
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Line Delimiting Character-
- </para>
- <para>
- This button allows the user to activate a drop
- down list from which to select the character
- used to indicate the end of a line and beginning
- of the next. The three commonly used
- alternatives are provided. See <xref
- linkend="sect-file-textImport-complex-lineBreak"
- /> for more details.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Value Separating Character-
- </para>
- <para>
- This button allows the user to select a character
- to use as a line separator. The "Custom" type
- will active the text entry area to allow the
- user to determine a particular character or
- character sequence to use to delimit data
- values. See <xref
- linkend="sect-file-textImport-complex-dataStruct"
- /> for more details.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Value Separating Character entry area-
- </para>
- <para>
- This entry area allows the user to define
- explicitly the character or character sequence
- which should be used to separate each value field
- on every line. This area is only active if the
- "Custom" type has been selected from the list in
- the button above.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The Text Field Delimiter activity setting-
- </para>
- <!-- TODO: ask- why does space require quotes in a csv file? -->
- <para>
- This button activates a list with three choices
- for the use of text field delimiters. Text
- fields can be delimited only where needed,
- meaning that the quote characters will only be
- used if the value contains the character used as
- a separator or a space. Alternatively the text
- field separators can be used around all values
- or never applied. See <xref
- linkend="sect-file-textImport-complex-dataStruct"
- /> for more details.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The Text Field Delimiter character entry area and list-
- </para>
- <para>
- This area can be used as a text entry area to
- type the character to use to delimit text
- fields. Alternatively, three pre-selected
- characters, double quotes or single quotes, can
- be selected from the drop down list which
- appears by clicking on the downward pointing
- arrow to the right of the text field.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- File encoding selection button-
- </para>
- <para>
- This button allows the user to set the encoding
- scheme to use for the file. By default, &gnum;
- selects the encoding scheme used by the locale
- of the user. See <xref
- linkend="sect-file-textImport-complex-encoding"
- /> for more details.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <!-- TODO: ask- how is this supposed to work? -->
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The unknown character handling setting button-
- </para>
- <para>
- This button selects whether to escape or
- transliterate characters which &gnum; does not
- recognize.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <!-- TODO: ask- is this really what this does? -->
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The format preservation checkbox-
- </para>
- <para>
- This checkbox sets whether to preserve the
- number formats for formatted values.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term>
- <emphasis role="bold">2</emphasis> - The button area.
- </term>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- These three buttons allow the user to navigate the
- druid.
- <!-- TODO: bug- text export needs a help button. -->
- <!--
- The <guibutton>Help</guibutton> button should
- open the &gnum; manual to this section.
- -->
- The <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> button will dismiss
- the dialog and return the user to the worksheet. The
- <guibutton>Back</guibutton> button is disable since
- this is the first panel of the druid. The
- <guibutton>Finish</guibutton> button will dismiss the
- druid and cause the file to be saved using the
- selected options.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
-
-
- </variablelist>
-
- </para>
-
- </sect3>
-
- </sect2>
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- </sect1>
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