ODK Briefcase - can't see instances

Support
1

Hello All,

I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my data into
CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in Briefcase, I
am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a standard
naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered to in
order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the
"forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not
having any luck with exporting my actual data.

Thanks in advance,

John

2

I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the "Custom Path
to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull instances into Briefcase. None
of the data are encrypted either.

John

··· On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote: > > Hello All, > > I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my data > into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in > Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a > standard naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered > to in order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the > "forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not > having any luck with exporting my actual data. > > Thanks in advance, > > John >
3

I am having difficulty understanding what you are asking.

ODK Briefcase supports:

(1) PULLing data into the ODK Briefcase Storage Location.

(2) PUSHing data to ODK Aggregate from the ODK Briefcase Storage Location.

(3) EXPORTing data in CSV format to a set of files

It sounds like you are trying to do (1) -- PULLing from a set of
directories that you have copied off of a device. To do that, you need to
have an 'odk' directory that contains a 'forms' and an 'instances'
subdirectory.
When using the "Custom Path to ODK Directory", choose this "odk" directory.

··· On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 2:30 PM, John Berini wrote:

I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the "Custom
Path to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull instances into Briefcase.
None of the data are encrypted either.

John

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote:

Hello All,

I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my data
into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in
Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a
standard naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered
to in order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the
"forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not
having any luck with exporting my actual data.

Thanks in advance,

John

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4

Hi Mitch,

That's exactly what I'm trying to do - PULL completed forms from a set
of directories into Briefcase so that I can then EXPORT these data to a
.csv. I've attached an image (image_1) of my 'odk' directory, which
contains the 'forms' and 'instances' directories. When using briefcase
(image_2), I'm able to see the contents of my 'forms' folder but not my
'instances' folder.

I know that when collecting data in the field using ODK Collect, it
saves each instance in a folder, which contains the contents of the
completed form in .xml format and any media that we collect. I've tried:

  1. keeping these files in the default folder that Collect places them in
  2. taking them out of the default folder that Collect creates for each
    instance, and placing them directly in the 'instances' folder within the
    odk directory.

Regardless, I can't see the contents of my 'instances' folder within the
'odk' directory.

Any help anyone can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

John

image

image
image681×595 37.6 KB

··· On 1/24/15 7:05 PM, Mitch Sundt wrote: > I am having difficulty understanding what you are asking. > > ODK Briefcase supports: > > (1) PULLing data into the ODK Briefcase Storage Location. > > (2) PUSHing data to ODK Aggregate from the ODK Briefcase Storage Location. > > (3) EXPORTing data in CSV format to a set of files > > It sounds like you are trying to do (1) -- PULLing from a set of > directories that you have copied off of a device. To do that, you need > to have an 'odk' directory that contains a 'forms' and an 'instances' > subdirectory. > When using the "Custom Path to ODK Directory", choose this "odk" > directory. > > > On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 2:30 PM, John Berini <jberini@gmail.com > wrote: > > I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the > "Custom Path to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull > instances into Briefcase. None of the data are encrypted either. > > John > > > On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote: > > Hello All, > > I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export > my data into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export > my forms in Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of > my instances. Is there a standard naming convention or > directory structure that needs to be adhered to in order for > Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the > "forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, > but am not having any luck with exporting my actual data. > > Thanks in advance, > > John > > -- > -- > Post: opendatakit@googlegroups.com > > Unsubscribe: opendatakit+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > > Options: http://groups.google.com/group/opendatakit?hl=en > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "ODK Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, > send an email to opendatakit+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > > > -- > Mitch Sundt > Software Engineer > University of Washington > mitchellsundt@gmail.com > -- > -- > Post: opendatakit@googlegroups.com > Unsubscribe: opendatakit+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > Options: http://groups.google.com/group/opendatakit?hl=en > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "ODK Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to opendatakit+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > . > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
5

All you need to do is:

(1) zip up the entire /sdcard/odk directory on your phone (e.g., using OI
File Manager )
(2) copy that over to your computer
(3) extract the files into a directory named 'odk'
(4) specify the 'odk' directory that contains the 'forms' and 'instances'
sub-directories when you pull.
(5) check the checkbox beside the form(s) you want to pull
(6) click Pull.

This will pull in all the instances for the given form.

There is no way to select a subset of instances for a given form. It pulls
all of the instances for the checked forms.

Clicking "Detail..." after the pull completes will display status messages
for the processing of that form (including a count of all submissions that
have been processed). This list of status mesages should end in SUCCESS!

If it does not, please select-all in the Detail... scrolling window, save
to a file and attach that to your e-mail.

··· ----- Note that you should ensure that only finalized instances are present on your device before pulling data off of it. Otherwise, you will have a mix of incomplete and finalized submissions within ODK Briefcase and that can be confusing during data analysis.

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 11:10 AM, John Berini jberini@gmail.com wrote:

Hi Mitch,

That's exactly what I'm trying to do - PULL completed forms from a set of
directories into Briefcase so that I can then EXPORT these data to a .csv.
I've attached an image (image_1) of my 'odk' directory, which contains the
'forms' and 'instances' directories. When using briefcase (image_2), I'm
able to see the contents of my 'forms' folder but not my 'instances'
folder.

I know that when collecting data in the field using ODK Collect, it saves
each instance in a folder, which contains the contents of the completed
form in .xml format and any media that we collect. I've tried:

  1. keeping these files in the default folder that Collect places them in
  2. taking them out of the default folder that Collect creates for each
    instance, and placing them directly in the 'instances' folder within the
    odk directory.

Regardless, I can't see the contents of my 'instances' folder within the
'odk' directory.

Any help anyone can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

John

On 1/24/15 7:05 PM, Mitch Sundt wrote:

I am having difficulty understanding what you are asking.

ODK Briefcase supports:

(1) PULLing data into the ODK Briefcase Storage Location.

(2) PUSHing data to ODK Aggregate from the ODK Briefcase Storage
Location.

(3) EXPORTing data in CSV format to a set of files

It sounds like you are trying to do (1) -- PULLing from a set of
directories that you have copied off of a device. To do that, you need to
have an 'odk' directory that contains a 'forms' and an 'instances'
subdirectory.
When using the "Custom Path to ODK Directory", choose this "odk" directory.

On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 2:30 PM, John Berini jberini@gmail.com wrote:

I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the "Custom
Path to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull instances into Briefcase.
None of the data are encrypted either.

John

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote:

Hello All,

I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my data
into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in
Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a
standard naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered
to in order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the
"forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not
having any luck with exporting my actual data.

Thanks in advance,

John

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--
Mitch Sundt
Software Engineer
University of Washington
mitchellsundt@gmail.com

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Software Engineer
University of Washington
mitchellsundt@gmail.com

6

Mitch,

I've had the instances downloaded to my machine for over 5 months. I
downloaded them from our tablets onto my machine using OI File Manager just
as you described. Should I:

  1. upload all the instances back to the tablets
  2. follow your direction starting with (1)?

As noted before, for some reason I can easily PULL and EXPORT forms. When
PULLing forms using Briefcase I get the following message:

resolving against briefcase form definitions
preparing to retrieve instance data
SUCCESS!

Yet, Briefcase refuses to PULL the instances for me...? Do I simply need be
more patient and allow Briefcase more time to "prepare" and "retrieve
instance data"?

John

··· On Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 12:19:33 PM UTC-6, Mitch Sundt wrote: > > All you need to do is: > > (1) zip up the entire /sdcard/odk directory on your phone (e.g., using > OI File Manager ) > (2) copy that over to your computer > (3) extract the files into a directory named 'odk' > (4) specify the 'odk' directory that contains the 'forms' and 'instances' > sub-directories when you pull. > (5) check the checkbox beside the form(s) you want to pull > (6) click Pull. > > This will pull in all the instances for the given form. > > There is no way to select a subset of instances for a given form. It pulls > all of the instances for the checked forms. > > Clicking "Detail..." after the pull completes will display status messages > for the processing of that form (including a count of all submissions that > have been processed). This list of status mesages should end in SUCCESS! > > If it does not, please select-all in the Detail... scrolling window, save > to a file and attach that to your e-mail. > > ----- > Note that you should ensure that only finalized instances are present on > your device before pulling data off of it. Otherwise, you will have a mix > of incomplete and finalized submissions within ODK Briefcase and that can > be confusing during data analysis. > > > > On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 11:10 AM, John Berini <jbe...@gmail.com > wrote: > >> Hi Mitch, >> >> That's exactly what I'm trying to do - PULL completed forms from a set of >> directories into Briefcase so that I can then EXPORT these data to a .csv. >> I've attached an image (image_1) of my 'odk' directory, which contains the >> 'forms' and 'instances' directories. When using briefcase (image_2), I'm >> able to see the contents of my 'forms' folder but not my 'instances' >> folder. >> >> I know that when collecting data in the field using ODK Collect, it saves >> each instance in a folder, which contains the contents of the completed >> form in .xml format and any media that we collect. I've tried: >> >> 1. keeping these files in the default folder that Collect places them in >> 2. taking them out of the default folder that Collect creates for each >> instance, and placing them directly in the 'instances' folder within the >> odk directory. >> >> Regardless, I can't see the contents of my 'instances' folder within the >> 'odk' directory. >> >> Any help anyone can provide would be GREATLY appreciated! >> >> John >> >> >> On 1/24/15 7:05 PM, Mitch Sundt wrote: >> >> I am having difficulty understanding what you are asking. >> >> ODK Briefcase supports: >> >> (1) PULLing data into the ODK Briefcase Storage Location. >> >> (2) PUSHing data to ODK Aggregate from the ODK Briefcase Storage >> Location. >> >> (3) EXPORTing data in CSV format to a set of files >> >> It sounds like you are trying to do (1) -- PULLing from a set of >> directories that you have copied off of a device. To do that, you need to >> have an 'odk' directory that contains a 'forms' and an 'instances' >> subdirectory. >> When using the "Custom Path to ODK Directory", choose this "odk" >> directory. >> >> >> On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 2:30 PM, John Berini <jbe...@gmail.com > wrote: >> >>> I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the "Custom >>> Path to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull instances into Briefcase. >>> None of the data are encrypted either. >>> >>> John >>> >>> >>> On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote: >>>> >>>> Hello All, >>>> >>>> I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my >>>> data into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in >>>> Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a >>>> standard naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered >>>> to in order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the >>>> "forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not >>>> having any luck with exporting my actual data. >>>> >>>> Thanks in advance, >>>> >>>> John >>>> >>> -- >>> -- >>> Post: opend...@googlegroups.com >>> Unsubscribe: opendatakit...@googlegroups.com >>> Options: http://groups.google.com/group/opendatakit?hl=en >>> >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "ODK Community" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to opendatakit...@googlegroups.com . >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Mitch Sundt >> Software Engineer >> University of Washington >> mitche...@gmail.com >> -- >> -- >> Post: opend...@googlegroups.com >> Unsubscribe: opendatakit...@googlegroups.com >> Options: http://groups.google.com/group/opendatakit?hl=en >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "ODK Community" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to opendatakit...@googlegroups.com . >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> >> -- >> -- >> Post: opend...@googlegroups.com >> Unsubscribe: opendatakit...@googlegroups.com >> Options: http://groups.google.com/group/opendatakit?hl=en >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "ODK Community" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to opendatakit...@googlegroups.com . >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Mitch Sundt > Software Engineer > University of Washington > mitche...@gmail.com >
7

The Details... of each form should show the individual filled-in forms
(submissions) that have been processed.

Copying the directories to your tablet won't help you to get the data into
ODK Briefcase.

However, in this case, I would recommend doing this just to see what is
going on. This will only be useful if you have zipped up the entire odk
directory (including the metadata folder).

First: stop ODK Collect -- you can do this by clicking on Force Close on
the Settings / Apps / ODK Collect screen.

Then delete the /sdcard/odk directory on your device.

And copy the zip back to the device, unzip it, and make sure it expands to
/sdcard/odk with a forms and instances directory within that folder.

Then start ODK Collect and go into the "Send Finalized Forms" screen.

Long-press the "Toggle All" button, and choose "Show Sent and Unsent Forms"

What do you see?

This will display all the finalized forms on the device. If it is empty,
then you don't have any finalized forms.
And if you choose the "Edit Saved Form", it should display the set of
finalized and incomplete forms that have not yet been submitted to an ODK
Aggregate server.

··· On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 10:23 PM, John Berini wrote:

Mitch,

I've had the instances downloaded to my machine for over 5 months. I
downloaded them from our tablets onto my machine using OI File Manager just
as you described. Should I:

  1. upload all the instances back to the tablets
  2. follow your direction starting with (1)?

As noted before, for some reason I can easily PULL and EXPORT forms. When
PULLing forms using Briefcase I get the following message:

resolving against briefcase form definitions
preparing to retrieve instance data
SUCCESS!

Yet, Briefcase refuses to PULL the instances for me...? Do I simply need
be more patient and allow Briefcase more time to "prepare" and "retrieve
instance data"?

John

On Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 12:19:33 PM UTC-6, Mitch Sundt wrote:

All you need to do is:

(1) zip up the entire /sdcard/odk directory on your phone (e.g., using
OI File Manager )
(2) copy that over to your computer
(3) extract the files into a directory named 'odk'
(4) specify the 'odk' directory that contains the 'forms' and 'instances'
sub-directories when you pull.
(5) check the checkbox beside the form(s) you want to pull
(6) click Pull.

This will pull in all the instances for the given form.

There is no way to select a subset of instances for a given form. It
pulls all of the instances for the checked forms.

Clicking "Detail..." after the pull completes will display status
messages for the processing of that form (including a count of all
submissions that have been processed). This list of status mesages should
end in SUCCESS!

If it does not, please select-all in the Detail... scrolling window, save
to a file and attach that to your e-mail.

Note that you should ensure that only finalized instances are present on
your device before pulling data off of it. Otherwise, you will have a mix
of incomplete and finalized submissions within ODK Briefcase and that can
be confusing during data analysis.

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 11:10 AM, John Berini jbe...@gmail.com wrote:

Hi Mitch,

That's exactly what I'm trying to do - PULL completed forms from a set
of directories into Briefcase so that I can then EXPORT these data to a
.csv. I've attached an image (image_1) of my 'odk' directory, which
contains the 'forms' and 'instances' directories. When using briefcase
(image_2), I'm able to see the contents of my 'forms' folder but not my
'instances' folder.

I know that when collecting data in the field using ODK Collect, it
saves each instance in a folder, which contains the contents of the
completed form in .xml format and any media that we collect. I've tried:

  1. keeping these files in the default folder that Collect places them in
  2. taking them out of the default folder that Collect creates for each
    instance, and placing them directly in the 'instances' folder within the
    odk directory.

Regardless, I can't see the contents of my 'instances' folder within the
'odk' directory.

Any help anyone can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

John

On 1/24/15 7:05 PM, Mitch Sundt wrote:

I am having difficulty understanding what you are asking.

ODK Briefcase supports:

(1) PULLing data into the ODK Briefcase Storage Location.

(2) PUSHing data to ODK Aggregate from the ODK Briefcase Storage
Location.

(3) EXPORTing data in CSV format to a set of files

It sounds like you are trying to do (1) -- PULLing from a set of
directories that you have copied off of a device. To do that, you need to
have an 'odk' directory that contains a 'forms' and an 'instances'
subdirectory.
When using the "Custom Path to ODK Directory", choose this "odk"
directory.

On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 2:30 PM, John Berini jbe...@gmail.com wrote:

I should also note that I am using a mac (OSX 10.10.1) and the "Custom
Path to ODK Directory" option when trying to pull instances into Briefcase.
None of the data are encrypted either.

John

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 1:26:44 PM UTC-6, John Berini wrote:

Hello All,

I'm using ODK Briefcase (for the first time) to try and export my
data into CSV files. Although I can readily see and export my forms in
Briefcase, I am not able to see or export any of my instances. Is there a
standard naming convention or directory structure that needs to be adhered
to in order for Briefcase to see these files? I made sure to have both the
"forms" and "instances" folders in the directory I'm using, but am not
having any luck with exporting my actual data.

Thanks in advance,

John

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University of Washington
mitche...@gmail.com

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University of Washington
mitche...@gmail.com

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Mitch Sundt
Software Engineer
University of Washington
mitchellsundt@gmail.com