For special purposes Cumulus can also export and import records, categories and collections in special Cumulus exchange file formats. These files can be used on any supported Cumulus platform. But note that records and categories do not support the Cumulus 8 Table fields. Canto recommends you use these formats only for special purposes concerning Cumulus versions prior to 8. The Cumulus exchange file formats are:
• Categories – Cumulus exports categories in a Cumulus Category Exchange File. The file name extension is .cce
• Records – Cumulus exports records in a Cumulus Record Exchange File. The file name extension is .cre
• Collections – Cumulus exports collections in a Cumulus Collection Exchange File. The file name extension is .cfe
Exporting data in these formats can be used for transferring data between catalogs for archiving category listings. These archive files can be imported into any other catalog when you need them. (You could do the same thing with records, but it’s probably more convenient just to keep copies of the records in catalogs.)
Character Encoding for Export
When exporting information in Cumulus exchange file formats, you can employ different character encoding. Universal Encoding (UTF-8: Unicode characters coded as 8-Bit Transformation Form) makes sure that special characters are transferred correctly across platforms. Choose this format only if you want to use the exported file on another operating system.