Back to the Data Export Overview

Export Form Submissions to Excel

This export functionality provides the ability to download data from the forms submitted to CommCareHQ. You should use this feature when you are interested in measuring an outcome across beneficiaries across time. Applications that track a beneficiary over time will usually collect data in different forms at different points in time. This Form export will capture all of the changes in the data at these different time points. 

Location: CommcareHQ -> Data -> Export Data -> Export Forms

This page is divided into four main parts:

A. Creating New Form Exports

B. Downloading Form Exports

C. Bulk Forms Export

D. Daily Saved Exports

A. Creating New Form Exports

A form export allows the user to set up a download of a form's data. Form exports can later be viewed and downloaded by other members of the project space.

In order to create an export, you can follow the steps below:

• Next to the form name in the "Export Full Forms" section, click on the "+ Create New Export" button.

• You can select which form you would like to export by selecting from the following options:
  
  • App type
  • Application
  • Module
  • Form

• Once you have selected your form, you will see the number of submissions that are associated with that form:

• Click "Create Export" to navigate to that export's edit page, where you can manipulate more settings:

• The Form Export Edit page is broken down into three parts:
  • Export Settings
  • Form Settings
  • Privacy Settings

Export Settings

• Change the name of your custom report in the "Export Name:" field. The name will correspond to the name under the “Saved Custom Exports” and should use keywords to identify the type of information in the report.
• Select the desired default file type using the drop-down option.  There are four types available: Excel 2007, Excel (older versions), CSV (Zip file), Web Page (Excel Dashboards).

Additionally there are four options that can be selected by checking the box:

• Include duplicates and other unprocessed forms: If every variable collected by the mobile user is the same, CommCare flags these submissions as a "duplicate." This can happen when there is more connectivity, so CommCare mobile submits a form multiple times before it receives confirmation that a form has reached the server. By checking this box, there will be duplicate form submissions in the export download.
• Create a Daily Saved Export: By checking this box, the saved custom report will be pre-processed once every 24 hours and available for immediate download on the main Form Exports page. After 35 days without downloading the export will stop updating, but you can press the "Update Data" button to resume daily updates. 
• Automatically convert dates for excel: Leaving this checked will ensure dates appear in excel format. Otherwise they will appear as a normal text format.
• Show Deleted Questions and Advanced Properties: if checked the export will allow you to see to see advanced properties and questions that have been deleted from the current version of your application. Advanced properties include metadata like case updates and server information.

Form Settings

• In the first column, the field (data point) can be re-ordered by dragging the box  up or down. The order that is selected on this page will correspond with the order the variables are displayed in the export file.
• Select the fields you want to include in your report by using the check boxes. The fields shown represent the data collected by the mobile user, the application, the phone, and the server where the data is stored. 
• In the fourth column, change field names which will update the title row of the data export. By default the display column will repeat the field name from the third column.

Privacy Settings

This allows the user to select form data to be de-identified. This means that when the data is exported to an excel sheet, the columns will still be in the data export but the data values will not contain personal information that can be tracked to a single beneficiary.      

• Click “Allow me to mark sensitive data” and another column called “Sensitivity” will be added to the Form table.
• A drop down box will appear next to each field name. A field can be marked as “Sensitive ID” which can be used for all text or numeric fields such as name or age. Alternatively, a field can be marked as “Sensitive Date” which would be used for date of birth. Finally, a field can be left blank and the data will export directly as it was input into the application.

• Once you have marked the sensitive fields, scroll all the way down to Privacy Settings and check the box "Publish in De-identified Export"

• Create: Click "Create" to finish the export creation process.  You're done!
• The export will now be available on the Export Forms page

B. Downloading Form Exports

The Export Forms page shows the exports you or others have created:

            Name: The name you titled the custom report

            Edit: Edit your export to change the data included in that export

            Export: Download the export

            Bulk Export: Download your exports in bulk. Each export will be downloaded as an individual sheet in a single Excel workbook

In order to download an export, click "Export"

• On this page, you have the option to select filters for your export, consisting of user types, groups, and date range:
  
  
  
  
• Once you have selected your filters, click "Prepare Export"
  
  
  
  
• Click "Download" and your export with the filters you have selected will be downloaded!

C. Bulk Forms Export

Purpose: Allows a data manager to track the data across forms in one single excel document. It further increases the scope of data analysis and allows more in-depth study.

The bulk forms export gives you the option to download all form exports in bulk - i.e all forms data can be downloaded into one excel workbook with each tab in the excel file representing each form in the application.

These are the steps to create a bulk forms export

• In the Export Dashboard you will find a check box allowing for Bulk Export
• On checking the box, you will notice a "Bulk Export" button becomes available
• Click on the "Bulk Export" button, and all selected exports will be downloaded to a single excel workbook

D. Daily Saved Exports

• To view your Daily Saved Export data, you can utilize the following options:
  
  
  • Click the "Export" button to download a normal form download with the latest data
  • Click the download a saved version of the download. You can see when the saved download was last updated in the "Last Updated" text.
  • Click the "Update Data" button to update the export to its most recent version

E. Multimedia Exports

Downloading Captured Media Files

You can download all of the media files attached with a form from the Export Forms page on CommCareHQ:

Any form with associated files will have a Download button accessible.