Error Message: Error exporting query data. Unexpected error

Ryan Sheehan

I need help from veteran OLX users from other organizations that use OLX for email marketing. We recently switched from NetCommunity to Online Express for a more user-friendly email system, but are having much difficulty creating email lists. It seems 60% of the lists we try to create fail, and the largest list we have been able to create during testing is about 7,000 records (we have 150,000 constituent records and send about 85,000 emails per month). We have RE 7.95.6283.3 and are not on 7.96 yet due to the .NET Framework requirement. Also, we are still integrated with NetCommunity because we cannot resolve the issue with creating email lists. 


When creating an email list from a constituent query, the following error message appears when saving the list in Online Express: Error exporting query data. Unexpected error.


We first checked the Knowledgebase and attempted all the suggestions within the articles (111718, 73974, 41071, and 111733). Then, we've been in contact with Support for the last month to troubleshoot the issue and have tried several recommendations to fix the problem, including simplifying queries, merging queries, using positive rather than negative query criteria, correcting email addresses with invalid or hidden characters, using static queries, and using query lists. After sending a copy of our database to Blackbaud Support for review, we were advised by Support and by the Product Developers that the issue is our data (not the amount of data but specifically the queries themselves ultimately "timing out" due to the way the data is entered and maintained in RE) and were given the recommendations below. BB Support said while the recommendations below are not directly related to Online Express, each of these items impact overall RE performance. I went on to ask why the queries work in NetCommunity successfully but fail in OLX and was told NetCommunity is a separate software that works on a different platform that utilizes resources differently than Online Express. 


Our database administrator and I recognize the recommendations below are helpful for maintaining our system, but do not understand why OLX cannot use the resources of our system to successfully and consistently create email lists. Because of the data we store about our constituents, it's unlikely we can implement 4 of the 7 suggestions. We are able to work on items 1, 4, and 6, but likely cannot change 2, 3, 5, and 7.


1. Your Organization has over 4000 queries saved in The Raiser's Edge with 160 Query Categories. Delete older Static Queries or any Queries no longer needed. Remove unnecessary Query Categories. CAN BE DONE

2. Your Organization has over 72 different relationship types, consider consolidating these to fewer entries using Table Cleanup. USE MOSTLY FOR REPORTING

3. Your Organization has approximately 511 table entries for Clubs. Again, consider deleting or consolidating these using Table Cleanup. USE FOR SEGMENTING EMAILS, CREATING MEMBER LISTS, ETC.

4. Review previous exports, reports, mail parameters, etc. and delete any that are not needed. CAN BE DONE

5. Clean up Config>International, which has 84 countries listed. 81 OF 84 COUNTRIES IN USE IN RE.

6. Clean up Addressee/Salutation Types which has 59 entries. CAN BE CONSOLIDATED

7. Clean up Counties which has 4-5 pages of entries. ALL POPULATED FROM ADDRESS ACCELERATOR. USE FOR REGIONAL EVENTS AND SEGMENTATION.


Do the recommendations above from Support seem reasonable as the primary cause? Have any of you had similar issues with creating email lists in OLX? Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.


Thanks you.