Exporting and Importing Test Data (CSV, EHR Interfaces)

What's happening

Test data needs to move between systems more often than you'd expect: pulling a CSV out for your own records, bringing in a prior testing vendor's historical results so this year's tests compare correctly against old baselines, moving data between two machines, or connecting to an outside EHR/case-management system. Each of these has its own quirks in the Benson software, and most reported problems come down to a handful of repeatable causes below.

One note before anything else: test data is protected health information. Move it only through channels your own organization's data-handling policy allows — don't email exported files as attachments, and check with your IT or compliance team on the approved way to transfer files if you're unsure. This guide describes what the software does; it isn't a recommendation for any particular transfer method.

Try these in order

1. If an export saves as a file type you didn't expect (for example, a .asc file instead of .csv), don't re-export — just rename the extension.
2. If dates come in wrong after an import (test years showing up as 1900s instead of 2000s), fix the source file's date format and import again.
3. If you're bringing in historical data from a different testing vendor or service, convert it to Benson's own export format first — don't try to import a raw third-party CSV directly.
4. If you're moving data between two machines, or between software tiers (for example CCA-200 down to CCA-100), use the Extract & Merge workflow, keeping the version rule in mind.
5. If a merge or import fails without an obvious reason, double-check the exact file path you're pointing at.
6. If import/export menu options — or EHR-interface/connection-settings options — don't appear in your software at all, check the two prerequisites below before assuming something's broken.

Step 1 — Export saved as the wrong file extension

The export dialog can default to saving as .asc even though the data inside is already formatted as CSV. You don't need to re-export or troubleshoot further — when saving the export, choose "All Files" as the file type filter and manually change the extension to .csv when you name the file. The content is fine; only the file name needs fixing.

Step 2 — Fix date formatting before importing

If imported records show test dates from the 1900s instead of the correct year, the source file's dates are almost certainly using a 2-digit or otherwise ambiguous year format. Before importing, open the source CSV and confirm every date column uses a full 4-digit year (YYYY, not YY). This is specific to the date columns — other fields typically import correctly even when test dates don't, because it's a formatting issue in that one column, not a broader corruption.

Step 3 — Bringing in a prior vendor's historical data

If a company was tested by a different service before switching to you, and you need last year's results in the system so this year's tests compare against the right baseline, don't try to hand-import their raw export. The data needs to be converted into Benson's own .mdb export format first (we can provide the conversion package on request), then merged in through File > Merge with the configuration set to All. Skipping the conversion step and trying to import a vendor's raw CSV or text export directly is the most common way this goes wrong.

Step 4 — Moving data between machines or software tiers (Extract & Merge)

To move a company's data from one installation to another — including from a CCA-200 install down to a CCA-100 install — use File > Extract on the source machine, then File > Merge on the destination, with the Plus Package hardware key attached. There's one hard version rule: the source software version has to be the same as, or older than, the destination's version. You can move data sideways or down in tiers, but never from a newer version into an older one.

Step 5 — Merge or import silently failing

If Extract & Merge or an import isn't behaving as expected and there's no obvious error, check the exact file path first. A common cause is simply pointing the Merge dialog at a different folder than the one where the extracted or exported file actually saved. The fix is confirming the real save location and re-selecting that exact path — not troubleshooting the data itself.

Step 6 — Import/export or EHR options missing from the menus

Two things gate whether these options even appear in your software:

• The Plus Package (the physical hardware key) has to be present, or you need the Solo-HC software. A bare install without either can't import or export data at all — those menu options simply won't be there.
• Some integrations — like a direct database interface to an outside case-management system — additionally require the CCA-200 software specifically, not CCA-100. If you're on CCA-100, or don't have the hardware key plugged in, don't assume something is broken; those screens are designed not to appear until the prerequisites are met.

About EHR / database interfaces, generally

If your site connects Benson to an outside EHR or case-management system, the general shape is: the outside system holds demographic and baseline information, and when you launch a test, Benson pulls in what it needs from that connection. Once a test finishes, the completed result gets sent back to the outside system rather than staying stored in Benson itself. If the PC loses its connection mid-test, completed results queue locally and send automatically once the connection comes back. Not every data type from every instrument is guaranteed to come across in every integration — check with us or your integration contact about exactly what's covered for your setup before relying on it.

When to call us

Contact Foster Instruments if:

• Renaming the export extension or fixing the date format doesn't resolve the issue.
• You need the conversion package to bring in a prior vendor's historical data.
• Extract & Merge fails after you've confirmed the file path and the version rule.
• Import/export or EHR-interface options are missing and you've confirmed you have the right software tier and hardware key.
• You're unsure whether your planned way of transferring test data meets your organization's data-handling policy — ask before moving protected health information anywhere.