Jump to main content.

Border Air Quality Data - About Exporting Report Data

What Is Exporting ?

You can create a text file containing all the data displayed in a report of U.S.-Mexico border air quality. Other software, such as spreadsheets and databases, can read that text file. This gives you the opportunity to use your own software to analyze or rearrange the data in ways that a border air quality report does not. Exporting data is the term we use for creating a text file of report data.

What Does an Export File Contain ?

Export files contain plain text. There are no "binary" values.

The first dozen or so lines of a file describe what it contains. Each of these lines begins with an asterisk (*). The remaining lines of a file contain the data displayed in a border air quality report. The file has one line of data for each row of the report. The data file has the same order of columns and rows as the report.

Within a line of data, values (columns) are separated from each other with either a comma or a tab character, depending on which type of export file you chose. There is no delimiter character after the last value in a line. When the delimiter is comma, character values are enclosed in double-quotes (") and numeric values are not. When the delimiter is tab, neither character nor numeric values are enclosed in quotes.

Here is an example of an export file:

* US EPA - Border Air Quality Monitor Values Report 
* Thursday, 17-Jul-2003 at 1:32:34 PM (USA Eastern time zone) 
* Geographic Area: Imperial Valley 
* Year: 2002 
* Air Quality Monitors 
* File Size : 2 Rows 
* File Format: CSV - Comma Separated Values 
* Field 1: # Obs (1-hour CO) 
* Field 2: 1st Max (1-hour CO) 
* Field 3: 2nd Max (1-hour CO) 
* Field 4: # Exceed (1-hour CO) 
* Field 5: 1st Max(8-hour CO) 
* Field 6: 2nd Max(8-hour CO) 
* Field 7: # Exceed (8-hour CO) 
* Field 8: Monitor Number (CO) 
* Field 9: Site ID 
* Field 10: City 
5512,12.4,11.3,0,7.4,6.9,0,"1","060250006","Calexico" 
8299,6.4,5.2,0,2.9,2.8,0,"1","060251003","El Centro"

How Do I Create an Export File ?

At the bottom of every report page, there are two buttons that allow you to create an export file containing the same data included in the report. The buttons look like this:

Click on the button labeled with the delimiter you wish to have in the data file. It does not matter which page of a report you are viewing. The export file will include all rows and columns of the entire report.

How Do I Save an Export File on my PC ?

What happens after you click on one of the export buttons depends on which browser you use.

Internet Explorer
Displays a File Download window. Click the Save button. Next, a Save As window displays. Choose folder and file name, choose Text Document for the Save as type option, and click the Save button.

Netscape Navigator 4.x
Displays an Unknown File Type window. Click the Save File... button. Next, a Save As... window displays. Choose folder and filename, choose Plain Text for the Save file as type option, and click the Save button.
Netscape 7
Displays a Downloading <file name> window. Choose the Save this file to disk option and click the OK button. In the next window, choose folder and filename, and click the Save button.

Other browsers use similar procedures. See the Help file or documentation for your browser to determine the exact procedure for saving a text file.

The default export file name is web_page_name.txt, where web_page_name is the name of the criteria selection page for the border air quality report. For example, the Web page for the Monitor Values Report is monvals_e.html, and monvals_e.txt is the default export file name.

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.