Standard Activity Exports

Overview

Engage+ allows you to extract data from your database in order to use that data outside of the platform for further analysis, or as input into some other process or system. This Help topic provides an overview of the standard activity Exports, as well as the different options that exist to configure these Exports.

The platform also allows you to define your own Exports be creating "Export Templates." An Export Template controls the content and layout of the extract, the schedule of when and how often it runs, and the destination of the Export file (such as an FTP server, for example). For more information on creating Export Templates, please see the Exports Help topic.

Messaging supports five standard activity Exports, all of which are related to customer activity in the email marketing channel. A unique file is generated for each activity type and includes data only from a single deployment table (usually a "Recipient" or "Customer" table).

The typical Export schedule is set to execute once a day at 2:00 AM in your local time zone. Once an Export file is generated, the file will be available to be downloaded from the Messaging platform. Files are retained for at least seven days. Please note that smaller files (under one gigabyte) will remain available for a longer duration.

Though Messaging does provide a great deal of flexibility in setting up your Exports, we've found that most clients utilize similar file layouts and fields for each activity Export type. The five standard activity Exports are as follows:

Activity		Description	Recommended File Name
	Sends	Export of records for all email messages sent.	<client>__send_YYYYMMDD.csv
	Opens	Export of records for recipients who have opened a message.	<client>__open_YYYYMMDD.csv
	Clicks	Export of records for recipients who have clicked on a link within a message.	<client>__click_YYYYMMDD.csv
	Bounces	Export of records that bounced.	<client>__bounce_YYYYMMDD.csv
	Unsubscribe	Export of records for recipients who have opted-out from future communications	<client>__unsubs_YYYYMMDD.csv

Note: The file names listed above are only recommendations; file naming conventions can be modified to meet your needs

Export Options

This section describes the options available to you in regards to the content, schedule, and delivery of the standard activity Exports.

Export Criteria

By default, each of the standard activity Exports will include all relevant customer activity for the activity type. Optionally, you can further limit the data that's included within an Export by setting specific additional criteria. The options described below are available for all five activity types:

Date-based calculations: Restrict the Export to include data based on the time that the activity occurred.
Frequency: Restrict the Export to include data based on how often the activity occurred.
Channel: Restrict the Export to include activity data from Campaigns sent in a single specific marketing channel.
Folder: Restrict the Export to include activity data from Campaigns stored within a specific folder in your account.
Tags: Restrict the Export to include activity data from Campaigns flagged with one or more "tags."
Cell Code: If you use the "Cells & Splits" feature in Messaging, you can restrict the Export to include activity data from only a specific Cell Code (note: the system will also include all cells "below" the selected Cell Code).
Metadata: Restrict the Export to include activity data from Campaigns flagged with specific Metadata values.
Campaigns: Restrict the Export to include activity data from one or more selected Campaigns.

The "Bounce" activity Export includes the following additional criteria:

Bounce Category: Restrict the Export to include data with a specific bounce-back category (that is, the reason the email message bounced).

The "Click" activity Export includes the following additional criteria:

Link: Restrict the Export to include activity related to a specified link within a specified Campaign.

File Layout

The file layout controls the contents of the Export file. The following configuration options are available for the file layout:

Header Row: Select either include or exclude. The default option is to exclude the Header row.
Delimiter character: Select either Tab, Comma, Semi-colon, or Pipe. The default option is Tab delimiters
Fields: Add any fields that exist in the sending table.
Field Sequence: Adjust the sequence in which the fields appear within the Export file.
System Fields: By default, Messaging will include various system-generated fields in the Export, such as Campaign ID and Campaign Name. Optionally you can exclude one or more of these fields from the Export file.
Metadata Fields: Include any Metadata fields that exist within your account.

Scheduling

Exports can be executed manually, or based on an automated schedule. If using the automated schedule feature, the platform provides the following options:

Start / End dates: Enter the date range for when the automated schedule should be used.
Frequency: Select how frequently an Export is executed: Daily, Weekly Monthly, or Annually.
Number of times per day: Enter how many times a day the Export is executed.
Time of day: Enter the time of the day that the Export executes.

Delivery Options

All finished Export files (within the file retention period) are available to be downloaded from the Messaging application.

In addition, if you set up an automated schedule, you can optionally have the platform send the Export file to an FTP server and / or email the Export file as an attachment to a selected group of recipients.

All file transfers are done via SFTP using an account that is set up specifically to receive or pull data from your specific Messaging account.

Files can optionally be PGP encrypted and / or compressed. Encryption is recommended, especially if using FTP as the transfer protocol. If using the PGP encryption option, you should add a ".pgp" extension to the file name.

For more information on your delivery options for Export files, please see the Export Help topic.

Custom Exports

If you require more advanced customization options, your Onboarding team will work with you to define your requirements and to provide a scope of work for the hours and costs associated with setting up a custom Export.

Some of the more commonly requested advanced custom Exports include:

Consolidation of Activity Types: Combine data for all activity types into a single Export file (as opposed to one Export file for each activity type).
Consolidation of Multiple Tables: If Campaigns are executed from multiple tables, combine the data into a single Export file (as opposed to one Export file for each activity type per Campaign execution table).
Addition of data from multiple tables: Add data from multiple tables (via joins) into the activity file Export.
Consolidation of Activity Types and Channels: Combine data for all activity types and marketing channels into a single Export file.

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