Knowledge Base

Export Observational Data

The aim is to export logged events and related data. You have the following options:

• Export data to The Observer XT data files (*.odx) – To transfer event data from one project to another with The Observer XT data files (*.odx).
• Export data to Excel files (*.xlsx) – To export event data including external data to a Microsoft Excel workbook (*.xlsx) for further analysis.
• Export data to text files (*.txt) – To export event data including external data to other software for further analysis. Also use this option to export part of your event data selected in a data profile.

Export Data to The Observer XT Data Files (*.odx)

1. To export event data to Observer XT ODX files, choose one of the following options:
   • Export multiple observations at once – Choose File > Export > Observational Data. In the window that opens, choose The Observer XT, then select the observations to export.
   • Export a specific observation – Open the observation, click the Export current observation button on the toolbar, and choose The Observer XT.
2. Under Export options, choose one of the following as needed:
   • Include media files – To include a copy of each media file associated with the observations in the same folder as the ODX file.
   • Include external data – To include a copy of the external data files (*.pbi) associated with the observations. This option is only available if your license includes the External Data Module.
   • Create separate file per observation – To export each observation to a separate ODX file. Otherwise, all observations are exported to a single ODX file.
3. Click OK.
4. Enter a name and file location and click Export.

What an ODX File Contains

Observations

All selected observations are included in one ODX file. If an observation contains multiple event logs, these are all included in the ODX file. You cannot choose to export some of the event logs from an observation.

ODX files also contain the coding scheme, the coding scheme settings, the values of independent variables for the exported observations, event logs and subjects, and the current Project Settings for those observations.

Media Files

The ODX file contains the path to the media files associated with the observations. Even if you choose not to include those media files in the ODX file, when you import the observations to another project, the program can find your media files and re-link them to the observations provided that the media files are on the same computer or a network server.

See Import Media Files.

External Data

The ODX file contains a link to the location of the external data files associated with the observations, not the external data itself. When you next import the observations into another project, make sure that the external data folder contains those files otherwise the program cannot open them. To do so, locate the file with the extension *.pbi in the folder to which you exported the observation. Create a new project and save it. Then close the new project and copy the *.pbi file to the folder /External of the new project. Do not rename this file. Now re-open the new project and import the ODX file. The external data are now imported together with the observational data.

Export Data to Excel Files (*.xlsx)

1. To export event data to an Excel file, you have the following options:
   • Export multiple observations at once - Choose File > Export > Observational Data. In the window that opens, choose Microsoft Excel.
   • Export a specific observation - Open the observation. Then click the Export current observation button on the toolbar and choose Microsoft Excel.
   • Export event data selected in the currently active Data Profile (indicated in blue and bold in the Experiment Explorer) - Choose Analyze > Select Data > Export Selected Data and then Microsoft Excel.
2. In the Export Observational Data window, in the Observations tab, select the observations you want to export.
3. If your project contains external data, the Export Observational Data window also contains an External Data tab. See Export External Data.
4. Under Export options, select the following:
   • Create a single sheet with all observations – all observations are exported to a single Excel sheet.
   • Create separate sheets per observation – each observation is exported to a separate Excel sheet.
   • Create separate files per observation – each observation is exported to a separate Excel file.
   • Include user-defined Independent Variables – the user-defined Independent Variables are added to the export file.
5. Click OK.
6. Enter a name and click Export.

Export Data to Text Files (*.txt)

1. To export event data to a text file, you have the following options:
   • Export multiple observations at once - Choose File > Export > Observational Data. In the window that opens, choose Other software > OK.
   • Export a specific observation - Open the observation. Then click the Export current observation button on the toolbar and choose Other software.
   • Export event data selected in the currently active Data Profile (indicated in blue and bold in the Experiment Explorer) - Choose Analyze > Select Data > Export Selected Data.
2. In the Export Observational Data window, in the Observations tab, select the observations you want to export.
3. If your project contains external data, the Export Observational Data window also contains an External Data tab. See Export External Data.
4. Under Export options, select the following:
   • List separator – the selected list separator (comma, semicolon, tab or space, or the default Windows list separator) is used in the text file to separate columns. You can find and change the default Windows list separator in the Control Panel. Go to Region and Language and click Additional Settings.
   • Include user-defined Independent Variables – user-defined Independent Variables are added to the export file.
   • Create separate file per observation – each observation is exported to a separate text file. Otherwise, all observations are exported to a single text file.
5. Click OK.
6. From the Save as type list, select Unicode Text (in case your data file contains Chinese/Japanese/Cyrillic characters, or characters like "ä", "õ" etc.) or ANSI Text (in all other cases). Choose ANSI if you want to import your data into SPSS.
7. Optionally, change the file name and file location and click Export.