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Query Results: Fields, Sort, Paging, and File Formats

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Use this page to understand how Query Results shows your data, including columns, value formats, rows per record, sort order, and download formats. For the steps to run and download a query, see Design and Run a Query.

Columns ​

Rule What It Means for You 
Default Columns and Sort Each query type has preset output fields and a preset sort. New queries start with those fields and that sort, and queries with no output fields use them too. These defaults belong to the query type, so you cannot change them for every query of that type. In your own query, you can remove the defaults and add other output fields. For example, currency code is available as an output field when the query type offers it, so you can add it to that query’s results. Adding it to a query does not change a summary report. To show currency code directly on a report such as the Event Revenue Summary, the report itself must change; there is no setting you can turn on. Some query types use different defaults when you narrow the query to one record. 
Chosen Columns Results include exactly the fields in Selected Fields, in the order shown. 
Headings If you entered a label, Query Results uses that label as the column heading. If you did not enter one, it uses the field label. In downloads, headings for fields from related records include the group first, such as “Organization - Name.” 
Field Naming The same data can have different names in different places. For example, a form field label, the main address on a contact or organization record, and a query output field name do not always use the same wording. If you cannot find the field you expect, check related-record groups and nearby columns for the same information under another name. 
The Same Field Twice You can add the same field twice in the designer, but results return that field once. 
Removed Fields If a field no longer exists, such as a deleted custom field, results leave it out without warning. If the field still exists but has no data yet, results show an empty value. 
Column Width You can temporarily widen or narrow a column on screen by hovering over its right edge and dragging. The width resets the next time you open the query, including a saved copy. 

How Values Appear ​

Kind of Field How the Value Appears 
A reference to another record, such as membership type, chapter, or "created by" A reference field shows the referenced record’s name. If the query type also offers an ID field, that field returns the identifier itself. Choose the ID field when you need IDs, such as for an import or bulk change. In rare cases, a defect can make “Created By” or “Last Modified By” return blank even though the record still shows who created or last changed it. When this happens, the matching ID field is usually still populated. 
A field that refers to several records Results show the record names as one comma-separated value, and the order is not guaranteed. 
A pick-list field Results show the chosen value in Title Case. 
A Yes/No field Results show Yes or No. 
A field with a default When the field is empty, results show the default value, such as 0 tickets. 
A custom Number field configured to allow decimals Query output can round the value to a whole number, such as 0.5 shown as 0 or 1.5 shown as 2, even though the record itself shows the decimal value. 
A custom text field whose value looks like it contains a year Results can show the value as a date instead of the original text, even though the record shows the text value as entered. 
A rich-text or HTML-formatted field, such as a description Results can return the underlying markup, including HTML tags, instead of plain text. Rhythm has no in-product option to strip that markup before or during export, so remove it manually afterward if you need plain text. 
Amounts when Multiple Currencies is enabled for your account Amounts may not show a currency symbol because one result set can include values from more than one currency, and one symbol would be misleading. 
An uploaded file shared publicly, such as a profile photo Public uploaded files show a normal web link. Opening the link may download the file to your computer instead of displaying it in the browser. Other uploaded files open through a download link on screen. In downloaded files, those other files keep an internal reference beginning service://, which is not a usable link. A query export cannot bulk-download every file stored on your records through file-type custom fields. 

If an output field is unexpectedly blank for some rows, but the field is mapped correctly and other related fields return values, the saved query’s field mapping can occasionally become mismatched. Remove the field from the query, add it back, and save again to usually restore it.

On screen, Query Results formats values so they are easier to read. Amounts use currency formatting, counts use thousands separators, and dates use date formatting in your own time zone, which is not necessarily the time zone where the record was created or configured. For example, a session set up in Eastern time can display an hour earlier for someone viewing results from Central time. Downloads use saved values instead of the formatting you see on screen, and Formatted Excel does not apply number or date formats to cells. Date-only fields download as plain dates, while date-and-time fields download with their time and time zone marker, so the same date can look different in two files. The preview can show your local, formatted time, while the export can show the raw underlying timestamp, which can even shift the date for a transaction that happened late in the evening.

A date-and-time value in a download can look like raw text, such as an ISO-8601 value ending in “Z” with the date and time separated by the letter “T.” The characters after “T” are the time portion. Rhythm has no in-product option to reformat these values to match what you see on screen. If you need them to look like the console display, convert them yourself after you download the file, such as with Find and Replace in Excel using T*, a spreadsheet macro, or another manual conversion step.

Rows ​

Query Results normally shows one row for each record in the query type, with these exceptions:

  • List fields give one row per entry. When you include a field from a list on the record, Query Results shows one row for each list entry. Examples include each of a contact’s other addresses or each chapter of a membership.
  • A record with an empty list produces no rows. If you add a chapter field, members with no chapter do not appear in the results.
  • Two lists multiply. If you include fields from two different lists, Query Results shows a row for every combination.
  • Some related-record columns can repeat a record. For example, per-type address columns can return more than one row for a contact with two addresses of the same type.
  • Portal sign-in fields return one row per contact. Adding Portal - Last Login Date to a contact query returns one row per contact and shows that contact’s most recent portal sign-in, rather than a separate row for each sign-in. This field has been observed to populate only for sign-ins from 2022 onward, so a contact whose only portal sign-in was earlier may show blank here even though their record’s Security tab shows an earlier date.

To tell repeated rows from true duplicates, remove the related-record or list fields you added and run the query again. If each record appears once, those fields multiplied the rows. Keep only the fields you need, or narrow the criteria so only the related entries you want match.

Sort ​

  • Rows follow the sort fields in the order listed, and each field sorts ascending or descending. The designer allows up to five sort fields.
  • You can sort by a field even when it is not a column.
  • If a sort field no longer exists, results ignore it. If no sort field remains, the order is not guaranteed and can change between runs.
  • Text sorts alphabetically. Criteria cannot filter text by alphabetical range, so use sorting to arrange text.
  • Document and file names are treated as text for sorting. Names that contain numbers sort alphabetically rather than by numeric value, so 01, 10, and 109 sort in that text order, as do 1, 10, 15, and 2.
  • When you sort a column heading on Query Results, only the rows on your screen change. Downloads use the sort saved with the query.

Paging ​

On Query Results, choose 10, 20, 50, or 100 rows per page. You can move through the pages to see the full answer. Downloads include the full answer, not only the page you are viewing.

Through the API, a query can ask for one page of the answer by using a page size and a starting row. When the request includes a page size, Rhythm adds the record’s identifier as the final tie-breaker, so the same records stay in the same order. There is no maximum page size. If records change between requests, pages can still repeat or skip rows because there is no snapshot. To run a query through the API and retrieve its results, start the query with one request and fetch results with a separate request using the id you received. See Query Limits and Execution Rules for the full start-and-check flow, including how long you may need to wait before results are ready. See Run Queries from Integrations and Workflows.

File Formats ​

Format Offered In Layout 
Excel (Formatted) Query Results; schedules as Excel (the default) Uses one sheet named “Results.” Row 1 has the bold title “Query Results.” Row 2 has the run date and number of records, such as “Tuesday September 22, 2026 - 1,284 records.” Row 4 has bold column headings, and data starts on row 5 with the headings frozen. 
Excel (Unformatted) Query Results; schedules as Excel Unformatted Row 1 has field names, which are internal names rather than headings. Data starts on row 2, and the file has no title. 
CSV Query Results; schedules as Csv Uses the same layout as unformatted Excel. This comma-separated text opens in spreadsheet programs as UTF-8. 
JSON Query Results; schedules as Json Returns rows as data, with every selected column. It also includes an identifier for the record behind each row and a verification column you can ignore. 
XML The API only, for queries started in the background Returns one element per row, with one child element per field. 

Query Results does not export to PDF, and an Excel-formatted alternative to JSON on the API’s background path is not a supported option either. Treat that as a feature request rather than an existing setting. If you need a PDF copy, use your browser’s print function on Query Results and save or print to PDF from there instead. Formatted Excel always uses “Query Results” as its title. Its run date uses the server’s date when the file was made, so late-evening runs can show a date that is one day off.

Because Excel (Unformatted) already puts field names in row 1 with no title row, you can use it as a starting point for an import file. Export unformatted, and Rhythm can match those column names to fields when you import the file back in.

Each download from Query Results runs the query again in the chosen format, so the file shows the data from that moment.

A full export of all of your account’s data is separate from a query download. Support and Engineering provide it, not the Query Center. It is currently available only in JSON, delivered as a ZIP archive of JSON files rather than a spreadsheet. It comes only in Rhythm’s standard export format; a customer-supplied template or an alternate format such as CSV or Excel is not available for this kind of export.

Identifiers in Answers ​

JSON answers include a row identifier tied to the record behind each row. When one record produces several rows, each row still has its own unique identifier. Spreadsheet and CSV files follow your selected fields and do not include that identifier. If you need it in a spreadsheet, add the record’s ID field as a column.

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