The ASCII Export Output Form on the Print Control page of the Print Names dialog allows you to export most of CMD's data fields to an ASCII text file which can be used by other programs. Similar to the Mail-merge output form but more expansive in the fields you can select, ASCII Export can be thought of as a "super" mail merge output form.

Note that the Include Spouse check box affects the way names are prepared in this output form.

This type of output form may only be sent to a disk file.

Selecting Fields for Export

To select fields for export, click on the field on the list of field options provided. A check mark in the small box to the left of the field will indicate that a field has been selected.

Once all the fields are selected, you should make two other choices before beginning the printing:

•Check the Include Fields Header Line option if you want to have the list of field names be the first record in the actual text file. This is useful if you are merging into another data base or creating form letters in MS Word since these field names will be what you select when you begin to compose the letter for the merge. If you do not need for the fields header line to be included, then uncheck this option.

•Delimiter. By default, CMD will enclose each field in quotes and separate them with a comma. A line return will be added at the end of each person's record in the export file. This is the way most other programs will want to receive your data.

You may, however, elect to use the CR/LF option instead. Open the combo box and select it if that's what you need. This option places each field on its own line. Note that the fields will still be enclosed in quotes.

When the options are selected like you want them, click Begin Printing to start the actual printing process. You'll be given a standard Windows Save dialog so that you can name the text file whatever you wish.

By default, CMD uses .csv as the file extension. This is especially helpful if you are going to import this file with Microsoft Word or Excel since these programs can then see the ASCII text file as a data base file they can import.