Exporting an OpenOffice™ Base table into a file with Comma Separated Values (CSV) format

A contribution by Axel Drefahl, axeleratio.com, September 24, 2016.

This post continues my preceding OpenOffice™ Base (ooBase) lessons:

1. Exploring OpenOffice™ Base: an example involving rare-earth mineral data  
2. Structuring rare-earth mineral data in an OpenOffice™ Base table
3. Modifying the column layout of an existing OpenOffice™ Base table  
4. Defining and creating relationships between OpenOffice™ Base tables  
5. Creating a query in OpenOffice™ Base
6. Combinatorial querying-with OpenOffice™ Base 

A common database task is to export data into a plain-text file and adhering to a well-defined format such that the data can automatically be imported and resourced by other applications. In the following exercise we export our CesbronList into a CSV file:

1. Open RareEarthMinerals_query.odb and click Tables in the Database pane bring the Tables pane in view.
2. From the menu, select File > New > Spreadsheet to open an empty Calc sheet..
3. In the Base window, right-click CesbronList and choose Copy from the context menu.
4. In the Calc window, click cell A1 and Edit > Paste. The Base field names will show up as column headings in row 1 (cells A1 to U1) and the data will populate the cells of the rectangle with the diagonal-lined corners A2 and U168.
5. In the Base window select File > Close to close RareEarthMinerals_query.odb.
6. Continue with Calc. Select File > Save from the menu to save the imported data as CesbronList.ods (temporarily or longer,;you are the database administrator).
7. Then, select File > Save As to open the dialog for outsourcing from OpenOffice™.
8. Click the drop-down menu next to “Save as type” to view the export options. Select Text CSV (.csv)(*.csv) .
9. Name the export file CesbronList.csv.
10. Click Save to finalize the export.

CesbronList table exported into an OpenOffice Calc sheet

CesbronList table exported into a CSV file

As you certainly have noticed, the drop-down menu of the “Save as type” text field displayed a list of various export options, some of which you also may want to try. Have fun!