Below is a very simple tutorial which shows any novice MADTRAC user how to export cases into an Excel file for reporting of those files to NAFCM. This is extremely valuable to NAFCM in our attempts to provide the Mediation community, its funders, and its supporters, with a National Report on the state of Community Mediation (please see the publications section of the website for the 2004 edition). I ask you to follw the very simple steps outlined below in order to export your cases into an excel file and then e-mail that file to NAFCM. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes, and once you have learned the steps, it will take less than 2. Thank you for your time, your effort, and your work.

MADTRAC file export tutorial

The First step in exporting Madtrac files is simply to open Madtrac.

Once you have logged into MADTRAC you will see the screen below, click on the 'EXPORT' button, as is shown

After clicking 'EXPORT' the following pupup menu will appear, click the 'CASE' button, as is shown

The window below appears

In the 'Limit to Cases Open Between:' field we want to stipulate that we want to send all cases sent between the last date of reporting to NAFCM, and the present date. This will send all cases between those two dates. If you have never, or do not remember ever sending data to NAFCM, put in the date 10/01/1996 in the field on the left, and the present date in the field on the right, to be assured of sending all of the data you have recorded on MADTRAC.

Then check the box labeled 'Closed During Date Period' so as to be certain of only sending the cases that are finished.

Once you have completed these two steps, leave everything else as it is and Click the 'OK' button as is shown.

This will bring up the popup window as seen below. Within the 'Select Format' field choose the 'Microsoft Excel (*.xls)' option to assure that the cases are exported in an Excel spreadsheet format, and click the 'OK' button as is shown

The window below will pop up and it is here that you determine where to save your exported excel file. In the 'File name' field type in what you would like the file to be called, you could just leave it 'CASEINFO.XLS' if you so desire. Scroll down to see the next step.

The next step is to decide where to send the new file. To find the drive in which you wish to save the file, click on the down arrow beside the 'C:' drive icon and choose which drive you want to save in. If you want to save to a diskette, cd, or flash drive you will also find those options in this field. Scroll down to continue.

You next want to choose what folder within that directory you will be saving the excel file in. In the 'Directories' field you can choose which directory, within the chosen drive, you would like to save the file in. Save it to a file you will remember, somewhere you will be able to locate it easily later. When you have chosen your directory, click the 'OK' button.

You will then see a blue line begin to move across the bottom of the screen, this shows the progress of the file export, this may take a few moments, depending on the amount of cases that were recorded in the time period we specified earlier.

Once the file transfer is complete, you simply close the window and exit MADTRAC. Navigate to the Drive, Directory, and file in which you just saved the Excel file, and you will find it where it is supposed to be.

Once this is finished you simply attach that file to an e-mail and send that e-mail to  nafcm@mailbag.com.

The excel file may be a large file. In my own experiments, I have created Excel files of some 65,500 cases which proved to be just over 9mb in size. This a sizable file, but nothing so big that it can't be attached to an e-mail and sent relatively simply even with free e-mail providers such as Yahoo.