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Form Data Export

Form Data Export

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This export functionality provides the ability to download data from the forms submitted to CommCare HQ. 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: CommCare HQ -> Data -> Export Form Data

This page is divided into five main parts:

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 Form Data" section, click on the "+ Add Export" button.

  • You can select which form you would like to export by selecting from the following options:

    • App type (in general you leave this as Applications)

    • Application

    • Menu

    • Form

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

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

Export Settings

  • Change the name of your export in the "Export Name:" field. The will be the name displayed in the list of 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 five options that can be selected by checking the boxes:

  • Automatically convert dates for Excel: Leaving this checked will ensure dates appear in Excel format. Otherwise, they will appear in a normal text format.

  • Automatically format cells for Excel 2007+: If this setting is not selected, your export will be in Excel’s general format. If you enable this setting, Excel will format dates, integers, decimals, Boolean values (True/False) and currencies.

  • Create a Daily Saved Export: By checking this box, the saved export 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. 

  • 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 poor 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.

  • Expand Multiple Choice Questions: if you have checkbox questions in your app this setting will create one column for every possible answer. 

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 in which the variables are displayed in the export file. You can also select the fields you want to include in your report by using the checkboxes. 

  • In the second column, the fields shown represent the data collected by the mobile user, the application, the phone, and the server where the data is stored. 

    • Show Deleted Questions and Advanced Questions: If selected, the export will allow you to see advanced questions and/or questions that have been deleted from the current version of your application. Advanced questions include metadata like case updates and server information.

  • In the third 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 second column which is referred to as question ids.

  • You are also able to select and sort multiple rows simultaneously for easy management of form data. (Note: this is only on Standard plans and above)

    • To drag multiple fields, select by clicking while holding the CTRL key on a PC, or the Command key on a Mac.

    • To select a range of fields hold the Shift key and select the first and last field in the range.

    • To unselect a field hold the CTRL key on a PC, or the Command key on a Mac, and click.

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

Downloading Form Exports

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

            Name: The name you titled the export

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