Data Download Program - Help
How to use the Federal Reserve Board's Data Download Program
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Getting Started
Building a data package
Reviewing and editing the contents of a package
Formatting a data package
Retrieving your data package
Getting Started
The Data Download Program is designed to allow flexible access to data
produced by the Federal Reserve Board. Data associated with the several
statistical releases listed are currently available. Data from other
releases will be added in the future.
There are a few things you should know about the application before proceeding.
Information about specific steps of the download process is available throughout the application in the "Learn More" sections. Build your data package by selecting your data, choosing its format and date range, and downloading the file. To begin this process press the "Go to select" button.
OR Select a preformatted data package by selecting a package from the list provided and then pressing the "Go to download" button.
To see a list of the data series in the package, press the "Review package" button from the Download screen.
Note: You cannot edit the contents of a preformatted data package. Press the "Download file" button to retrieve your data file. OR Download all the data associated with a particular statistical release in a single XML file that has been formatted according to the SDMX data standard. Click on the "Download all ..." link to access a "zipped" or compressed file that contains the data in XML format and supporting files for processing the data. If you do not have a utility to open a "zipped" file, a link to the free PKWare software is provided. Building a data package
Press the "Go to select " button from the Choose screen.
Once you have made all of your selections, press the "Add to package" button. Once you have followed the instructions for building your package, you may add additional data series by pressing the "Select More" button from the Review screen.
A box will now appear on the right side of the screen. This box displays the
number of data series currently in your package and the frequency of those
data series. You can remove and review the contents of your data
package.
Note: When selecting additional data series, you are limited to selecting
series that have the same frequency as the data that are already in your
package.
Reviewing and editing the contents of a data package
To review the contents of a data package press the "Add to package"
button from the select screen
OR press the "Review Package" button from the Format or Download screens. To preview the last twenty entries in the data series click on the links that appear in the Series column.A small window will open with a table of the last 20 observations of the data series you have selected. To add additional data series to your package see "Adding to a package".To remove a data series from your package from the Review screen, uncheck the box in the include column and press the "Refresh package" button. Once you have completed editing your package, the message above the review table will tell you how many series you have in your package and you will be able to continue to the Format screen.
Press the "Go to format" button to continue to download.
Formatting a data package
Select either the number of observations or a date range.
You have three file type options for your data package:
When formatting is complete press the "Go to download" button
Retrieving your data package
The File Summary section of the Download screen shows the contents of your data
package.
To preview the final data package click the "preview sample" link. A small
window will open with a preview of your package.
To reformat the data package, press the "Change format" button. Press the "Download file" button to receive your requested data package. If you have chosen XML as your file type, an area titled "XML information" will be available at the bottom of the Download screen. The links to files listed in this section provide the data structure definitions and other structural information needed for validating the XML files according to the SDMX data standard. The files provided include:
The remaining links take you to SDMX related information on the SDMX website. More information on SDMX specifications and how to use the schema and structure files is available from the SDMX website. If you have formatted your package by number of observations or if you are downloading a preformatted package, you can return to this page to retrieve the most recent data as it becomes available. Use the menu options in your browser to bookmark the page. Packages formatted by dates will only show data for those dates. The "Direct download for automated systems" link on the page is the URL that can be used by computer programs to retrieve the contents of the data package without actually using a browsing window. It performs the same function as clicking the "Download file" button but is presented as a URL for those who wish to automate the retrieval of data. |
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