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Web Browser Client - UN Comtrade Version User Manual

1.1. Subscription
Guest Users can become Registered Users and gain full access to Comtrade by paying an annual fee. The
Subscription menu in the main interface is reproduced below:

Figure 1: Subscription menu

These three entries are discussed below.

1.1.1. “Why Subscribing?”

As already mentioned, connecting as Guest (i.e., with no ID, password or recorded address) doesn’t provide
the User with full Joint System application services.

The following paragraph is reproduced from the “Why subscribing?” entry display:

Figure 2: “Why Subscribing?”

This is why subscribing to an individual or site license and becoming a registered User may be interesting to
most trade Statisticians.

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1.1.2. Subscription Prices
The Subscription Prices link sets out the subscription options and fees in a form that is reproduced below.
This form is copied from the online Help (for information only):

User license

Site license

One-month free site license

On-line subscription

Download Word
subscription document

Figure 3: Subscription options and fees (partial view)

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1.1.3. Order Form
Finally, a registration form is provided by clicking the Order Form entry. This form is reproduced below:

Figure 4: Order Form (partial view)

Notice that the Subscription Price form has Online and Word download subscription links.

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1. The Main Interface (Guest User)

A Comtrade Guest User isn’t registered in the Joint System administration, nor is the IP address they use to
connect to the Application server 1 . Anyone with the proper equipment (see above) can get connected to the
UNSD Comtrade application and become a Guest User.

Guests can use most of Comtrade capabilities, while Registered Users have unrestricted access to all of
them. Section 3. of this document deals with Registered Users, either individual or belonging to a registered
site.

1.1. Home Page

Connecting to the UNSD Joint System site, without any User ID or password, brings the Guest Welcome /
Main Interface to life:

Current
User status

Registered
User Login

Example of query
List of links and corresponding
results

1 In fact, guest Users are registered in Comtrade as Users with IP address 0.0.0.0. and restricted rights.

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Figure 1: Joint System main interface – connection as Guest – Shortcut Query and In Graph functions
exemplified

The left part of the Main interface is a list of function links that allow Users to select the query processor,
define reference data, subscribe to extended services, get technical support and link to related Websites. This
document will describe and exemplify all of these function links.
Query links share in fact the interfaces of only four selection/display processors; this is why parts of the text in
this document often refer –via Word links– to other sections where interfaces have already been discussed or
introduced.

Notes:
1. Free access as a Guest User to the database and search engines is restricted: for instance, up to
1,000 records SDMX-downloaded per day and no direct data downloading capability. This type of
access is used in this section. Extended service, with full capabilities, is available for an annual fee.
See the Subscription and Registered User sections for more details.
2. As already mentioned, most of the interface objects and some labels display a ‘tool tip’ text when
pointed to by the mouse cursor –see for instance fig. 5.
3. The “Example of query and corresponding results” area in fig. 1 depends on the User’s settings –
namely the ‘Customize Front Page’ parameters. It may be empty. Only a Registered User can access
the setting options.

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1.1.1. Shortcut Query

1.1.1.1. Outline and Examples
Selecting Shortcut Query displays the following filter interface –already populated in the example below:

Figure 1: Shortcut Query selection interface – here: cars exported from Japan in 2004
Clicking Search displays the following summarized results:

Commodity code in the classification

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Figure 2: search results for the selected data

Note: the date contained in some commodity classification codes isn’t related to the selected statistics year(s).
It is the date the classification was defined or revised. UNSD and OECD mostly receive data according to the
last HS version. Data is then converted into older HS and SITC versions as well as into BEC.

In the example above, HS2002 is used. HS stands for ‘Harmonized System’, 2002 means that this
classification has been in use since 2002. Another classification is SITC rev. 3 (Standard International Trade
Classification revision 3). All the classifications are based on commodity features (kind, production stage,
primary material of not, durable or not, etc). The default classification in Comtrade is HS2002. See the
Comtrade Glossary entry later in this document.

If a commodity isn’t found in a classification, Shortcut Query searches other classifications for it.

In fig. 13, we notice that commodity codes are in fact links; what we get when clicking them is illustrated
below:

Figure 3: direct selection of an item by clicking its code (here, 871130)

The following form is displayed:

List of classification codes

Extra links
Figure 4: description of the selected commodity and its ancestors

This tree-structured report describes all the commodity classes from the root (ALL COMMODITIES) to the
selected item. Again, the item codes can be selected to get more specific information.

The Snapshot link leads to the already met Comtrade Explorer –Snapshot. Refer to fig. 5 for an example of
such a snapshot, and to the Comtrade Explorer section for a thorough description of the processor.

(Continued on the next page)

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Clicking a Data Availability link displays the commodity statistics availability by country and by year:

Figure 5: data availability by year for the selected commodity

Clicking one year in the list leads back to another query processor and shows the trade values:

Query processor
name

List of actions

Figure 6: data availability - trade details for year 2003

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The actions represented by the links above are discussed in this section. Notice the Query processor name:
Basic Query. This specific processor is fully described in its own section in this document.

Back to fig. 13, we see that the imprecise commodity definition results in a wide range of retrieved items. We
can select some of these items by ticking their checkboxes:

Figure 7: two items selected from the commodity list

Then clicking ‘View trade Data’ displays detailed information about the selected items through the Basic Query
processor:

Quick filter
combo

Selection summary

List of actions

Figure 8: detailed information on two commodities

The order retrieved entries are displayed can be changed through the Sort Order combo. This combo contains
all the criterion combinations that can be used as ordered sort list:

Figure 9: sort order selection

Click Refresh to make the new selection the current selection.

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A list of links is present under the Sort Order combo (fig. 19); each of them represents an action. These
actions are described in the following level 4 paragraphs.

There are no actions to directly download query results or record queries: this is because the connected User
is a Guest. Downloading extracted data as a text file (what we call ‘direct download’) and saving the definition
of a query are reserved to registered Users. What registered Users only can do is described in section 3.

1.1.1.2. Modify Selection

Clicking this link loads the Express Selection interface with the current selection in its fields:

Processor name

Figure 10: getting the Express Selection interface from the Shortcut Query

The User can add selection criteria, modify the existing ones or change the display sort order. The Express
Selection form is fully described in this document.

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1.1.1.3. View Graph
Clicking View Graph in the list of actions brings up a pie chart that reflects the current selection:

Figure 11: detailed information on two commodities – graphical form

This is the Comtrade Explorer Processor interface we already met in fig. 5; also see Note 1 below this figure.
The pie chart shows the two selected items trade values compared to all the other commodities.

Again, a “tooltip” text pops up when moving the mouse cursor over the pie chart.

Back to fig. 5, we notice the already described Quick Filter and Further Research combos.

1.1.1.4. Printable Format

This action simply displays the trade information in fig. 19 using the whole screen width, so as to get a full-
page report. Also notice the included commodity labels:

Figure 12: Printable Format display – may need enlargement

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1.1.1.5. View Explanatory Notes
This link displays trade information on a country for a given year (e.g., local currency / USD conversion factor):

‘Free On
Board’

Figure 13: notes on Japan for 2004

‘All’ can be selected from Reporter (country) and Year combos; in this case, the resulting report looks like this:

Links to
other pages

Figure 14: trade notes for all countries and all years (first page bottom part)

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1.1.1.6. SDMX Download
The results of a query can be downloaded to the User’s station in SDMX format, provided the User doesn’t
download more than 1,000 records the same day.

The SDMX format is introduced in the Data Transfer Mechanism Manual; it is based on the XML 1 format and
adapted to statistical data description and transfer.

To illustrate this download operation, we can start from the following query results:

Figure 15: Basic Query results

Clicking ‘SDMX Download’ brings up the following warning message box:

Figure 16: file download warning message

Notice the constant filename. Clicking Save displays the usual ‘Save As’ interface that allows the User to
select the destination file (path and name)

1 Extensible Markup Language: a standard for designing and creating HTML documents

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Finally, the downloaded file is visible through Windows Explorer:

Figure 17: the downloaded SDMX file (highlighted) – the name was left unchanged

As stated before, this file has a XML-like structure; it can be read by Internet Explorer:

Figure 18: SDMX file contents (partial view)

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1.1.1.7. View Not Available Data
This function points out the data items that are not available (i.e., that haven’t been provided by the selected
country, or that have been rejected by UNSD…), for the selected year, classification and commodity. Most of
the time, the data will be available, and the following form will pop up:

Figure 19: not available data: none for this example

Another selection can show unavailable data for a specific year:

Figure 20: data from Albania unavailable in 2002 for the selected commodities

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1.1. Data Query & Extraction

Several functions provide the User with commodity-related results once selection parameters (commodity,
country, year…) are set. The data query functions are activated through the links below:

Figure 1: Data Query & Extraction links

1.1.1. Quick Search

Although not in the Data Query & Extraction group, the Quick Search processor makes it possible to retrieve
data according to pre-defined reporter countries that can be selected from a list:

Figure 2: Quick Search entries for first letter F

A subset of the Quick Search list is displayed as soon as a letter is typed. Extra letters refine the selection, like
in the example below:

Figure 3: two-letter selection from the Quick Search list

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Once an entry is selected, clicking Go shows the associated information, like in the example below:
On-line Help

Processor name

Selection
summary To filter the
selection

Field displays its caption

when pointed to by the mouse

Figure 4: results of a Quick Search for France (upper part)

We won’t reproduce the whole report here. Other pie charts show the six top import / top export partners, with
the corresponding commodity descriptions and trade values. The query processor used, Comtrade Explorer,
is fully described in its own section.

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Notes:
1. The Query Processor name, Comtrade Explorer, appears at the top left of the form. The functions
described in section 2.2 are in fact links to a small number of common query processors:
• Shortcut Query
• Comtrade Explorer
• Basic Query
• Express Selection
These four processors can be directly accessed from the Data Query & Selection links and each of
them has its own section in this document. Refer to the Table of Contents.
2. An empty filter field means that no filtering takes place: the whole data set is selected. This is true all
over this document.
3. The Classification field defines the international codes that represent commodity descriptions. This point
is discussed later.
4. The Quick Filter combo makes it possible to filter the selection by selecting an extra criterion that
relates to partner country, year or commodity:

Figure 5: Extra selection by commodity (first three letters are ‘pet’)

(Continued on the next page)

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Selecting the first entry in the list above and clicking Apply produces the following report:

Figure 6: results of selection by country (France) and commodity (gases except from petroleum)

Finally, the Further Research combo allows Users to change the selection criteria without returning to the
original interface. For instance, we can select other reporting countries:

Figure 7: changing selection criteria in the Comtrade Explorer report

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Asking for other reporting countries brings up the following interface (used, with some variations, by the
Lookup link):

List of currently
selected countries

List
management
buttons

Figure 8: country selection interface

We can add Japan to the country selection by selecting the Japan entry and clicking Add; we finally get:

Figure 9: adding a country to the current selection

(Continued on the next page)

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Clicking Continue brings up the new report:

New country selection

Figure 10: new selection (two countries) report

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1.1.2. Shortcut Query
1.1.2.1. Outline and Examples
Selecting Shortcut Query displays the following filter interface –already populated in the example below:

Figure 11: Shortcut Query selection interface – here: cars exported from Japan in 2004
Clicking Search displays the following summarized results:

Commodity code in the classification

Figure 12: search results for the selected data

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Note: the date contained in some commodity classification codes isn’t related to the selected statistics year(s).
It is the date the classification was defined or revised. UNSD and OECD mostly receive data according to the
last HS version. Data is then converted into older HS and SITC versions as well as into BEC.

In the example above, HS2002 is used. HS stands for ‘Harmonized System’, 2002 means that this
classification has been in use since 2002. Another classification is SITC rev. 3 (Standard International Trade
Classification revision 3). All the classifications are based on commodity features (kind, production stage,
primary material of not, durable or not, etc). The default classification in Comtrade is HS2002. See the
Comtrade Glossary entry later in this document.

If a commodity isn’t found in a classification, Shortcut Query searches other classifications for it.

In fig. 13, we notice that commodity codes are in fact links; what we get when clicking them is illustrated
below:

Figure 13: direct selection of an item by clicking its code (here, 871130)

The following form is displayed:

List of classification codes

Extra links
Figure 14: description of the selected commodity and its ancestors

This tree-structured report describes all the commodity classes from the root (ALL COMMODITIES) to the
selected item. Again, the item codes can be selected to get more specific information.

The Snapshot link leads to the already met Comtrade Explorer –Snapshot. Refer to fig. 5 for an example of
such a snapshot, and to the Comtrade Explorer section for a thorough description of the processor.

(Continued on the next page)

INFO³/OECD Ref: Comtrade Manual - Data Query & Extraction.doc

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Clicking a Data Availability link displays the commodity statistics availability by country and by year:

Figure 15: data availability by year for the selected commodity

Clicking one year in the list leads back to another query processor and shows the trade values:

Query processor
name

List of actions

Figure 16: data availability - trade details for year 2003

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The actions represented by the links above are discussed in this section. Notice the Query processor name:
Basic Query. This specific processor is fully described in its own section in this document.

Back to fig. 13, we see that the imprecise commodity definition results in a wide range of retrieved items. We
can select some of these items by ticking their checkboxes:

Figure 17: two items selected from the commodity list

Then clicking ‘View trade Data’ displays detailed information about the selected items through the Basic Query
processor:

Quick filter
combo

Selection summary

List of actions

Figure 18: detailed information on two commodities

The order retrieved entries are displayed can be changed through the Sort Order combo. This combo contains
all the criterion combinations that can be used as ordered sort list:

Figure 19: sort order selection

Click Refresh to make the new selection the current selection.

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A list of links is present under the Sort Order combo (fig. 19); each of them represents an action. These
actions are described in the following level 4 paragraphs.

There are no actions to directly download query results or record queries: this is because the connected User
is a Guest. Downloading extracted data as a text file (what we call ‘direct download’) and saving the definition
of a query are reserved to registered Users. What registered Users only can do is described in section 3.

1.1.2.2. Modify Selection

Clicking this link loads the Express Selection interface with the current selection in its fields:

Processor name

Figure 20: getting the Express Selection interface from the Shortcut Query

The User can add selection criteria, modify the existing ones or change the display sort order. The Express
Selection form is fully described in this document.

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1.1.2.3. View Graph
Clicking View Graph in the list of actions brings up a pie chart that reflects the current selection:

Figure 21: detailed information on two commodities – graphical form

This is the Comtrade Explorer Processor interface we already met in fig. 5; also see Note 1 below this figure.
The pie chart shows the two selected items trade values compared to all the other commodities.

Again, a “tooltip” text pops up when moving the mouse cursor over the pie chart.

Back to fig. 5, we notice the already described Quick Filter and Further Research combos.

1.1.2.4. Printable Format

This action simply displays the trade information in fig. 19 using the whole screen width, so as to get a full-
page report. Also notice the included commodity labels:

Figure 22: Printable Format display – may need enlargement

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1.1.2.5. View Explanatory Notes
This link displays trade information on a country for a given year (e.g., local currency / USD conversion factor):

‘Free On
Board’

Figure 23: notes on Japan for 2004

‘All’ can be selected from Reporter (country) and Year combos; in this case, the resulting report looks like this:

Links to
other pages

Figure 24: trade notes for all countries and all years (first page bottom part)

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1.1.2.6. SDMX Download
The results of a query can be downloaded to the User’s station in SDMX format, provided the User doesn’t
download more than 1,000 records the same day.

The SDMX format is introduced in the Data Transfer Mechanism Manual; it is based on the XML 1 format and
adapted to statistical data description and transfer.

To illustrate this download operation, we can start from the following query results:

Figure 25: Basic Query results

Clicking ‘SDMX Download’ brings up the following warning message box:

Figure 26: file download warning message

Notice the constant filename. Clicking Save displays the usual ‘Save As’ interface that allows the User to
select the destination file (path and name)

1 Extensible Markup Language: a standard for designing and creating HTML documents

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Finally, the downloaded file is visible through Windows Explorer:

Figure 27: the downloaded SDMX file (highlighted) – the name was left unchanged

As stated before, this file has a XML-like structure; it can be read by Internet Explorer:

Figure 28: SDMX file contents (partial view)

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1.1.2.7. View Not Available Data
This function points out the data items that are not available (i.e., that haven’t been provided by the selected
country, or that have been rejected by UNSD…), for the selected year, classification and commodity. Most of
the time, the data will be available, and the following form will pop up:

Figure 29: not available data: none for this example

Another selection can show unavailable data for a specific year:

Figure 30: data from Albania unavailable in 2002 for the selected commodities

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1.1.3. Basic Selection
1.1.3.1. Outline
We already met this processor when navigating along the Shortcut Query links. Back to the Data Query &
Extraction links, we can directly select the Basic Selection entry:

Tab selection

List of filter values (empty

for the moment)

Filter list management

Figure 31: Basic Selection interface (Commodities tab)

The Basic Selection feature allows the User to select the commodities, classification, reporting Nations,
partner countries and year values. It also makes it possible to filter and sort the data as well as select the type
of trade flow required (tab Others).

Each tab relates to a selection parameter and has its list of selecting (or filter) values. A group of buttons
(tagged as ‘Filter list management’) makes it possible to add, remove and exclude filter values.

The classification has already been discussed. The examples below show the selection of other parameters
tab by tab. Once all the parameters are selected, clicking Submit Query displays the records retrieved –if there
are less than 1,000 of them; otherwise, only the number of records appears.

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1.1.3.2. Commodities
The Commodities tab interface is reproduced below:

Figure 32: selection of commodity “cars”

The Source combo makes it possible to select the data source from which records will be selected:

Figure 33: selecting the data selection source

These data selection sources are discussed in this paragraph, tagged with a ‘ ’ sign.

(Continued on the next page)

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‰ Commodities Search
This is the default value. It means that any available commodity can be selected. “cars” is entered in the
example above.

Clicking Search displays a tree view that allows the User to precisely select the commodities to retrieve (the
whole contents of the tree are in fact any car-related items):

Selection-resulting tree

Figure 34: commodity tree view (only root is expanded)

Nodes that can be expanded are flagged with a symbol.

(Continued on the next page)

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Notice that parent nodes can be selected as well as leaves, like in the example below:

Figure 35: commodity selection – a node (Motorcycles) and a leaf (type of vehicle) are selected

Finally, clicking Add displays the selection in the Selected Items (a filter list) frame:

Items finally selected

– this is a ‘OR’ list

Figure 36: commodity list populated after clicking Add

As mentioned above, the selection list management buttons (see fig. 32) allow the User to edit the selection
list. Items that must be individually removed must be highlighted with the mouse; multiple selection is possible
through the Shift and Crtl keys, like in a Windows list.

Ticking the ‘All commodities’ checkbox selects the whole commodity set; the selected items are ignored in this
case.

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Ticking ‘Include the children’ not only selects the checked nodes, but also their descendants in the tree; the
checked nodes are flagged with a ‘*’, like in the figure below:

Node and its

descendants selected

Figure 37: a node is selected with its descendants

One or more items can be excluded from the selection by clicking the Exclude button after ticking their nodes;
the excluded items are flagged with a minus sign:

Notice the signs

Selected

Excluded

Figure 38: a category of vehicles is excluded from the vehicle selection

Of course, exclusion only makes sense when applied to the descendants of an already selected node for
which the ‘Include the children’ option is set.

‘Remove All’ clears the Selected Items list.

‘Save Selection to Favorites’ is reserved to Registered (not Guests) Users. Refer to section 3. for details on
this function.

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‰ Special Items
This entry selects commodities according to their code structure, namely their number of digits:

Figure 39: selecting commodities by number of digits in code

The digit-number selection can be added to commodity type conditions. Remember that the query processor
makes the union (not the intersection) of selected commodities, like they appear, for instance, in fig. 37.

The TOTAL entry means the total of trade flows. This entry should not be confused with (All): (All) means all
the registered commodities (or countries, or years, depending on the current tab of the selection interface –
see fig. 32). 'TOTAL' returns one summarized record while (All) returns all the available items, with one record
per item.

When it comes to country selection, (All) should neither be confused with ‘World’. ‘World’ is a pre-aggregated
group of the countries that make up the world. (All) means all the partner countries. 'World' is similar to
'TOTAL'.

Note: when used by the Comtrade Explorer processor, TOTAL and (All) have other meanings. Refer to
Comtrade Explorer section.

‰ My Favorite Commodities / Commodity Groups

Guest Users cannot define their own favorite items. They can use the standard, built-in groups of commodities
and countries. There should be more of these groups in the near future. The picture below shows the standard
country groups every guest User can select when the Reporter or the Partners tab is up:

Figure 40: standard country groups (or trade agreements between countries)

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Whatever the selection is, clicking ‘Submit Query’ (fig. 32) displays the retrieved items, if any, also taking into
account the selections carried out in the other tabs. For instance, here are the results of selecting item 950100
from “cars” with classification HS2002:

Nb of records retrieved

Optional additional selection

Selection summary

Action links

Figure 41: results of a Basic Query operation

The interface above, and especially its action links, has already been discussed with the Shortcut Query
function, which in fact makes use of the Basic Query processor. Again, we notice that no Direct Download or
Save Query options are available. We can still refine the selection, for instance by selecting 2002 as year; we
just have to click the 2002 link. The results are now:

New nb of records

Figure 42: results of a Basic Query operation; extra selection by Year

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Another extra selection can be carried out, for instance from the partners. If we click on Partner World in fig.
42, we get a country-broken down report:

Figure 43: country-broken down report (first page partial view)

We notice that the records themselves are now displayed: this is because there are less than 1,000 of them.
In fact, this is more an aggregation than a filtering operation: retrieved records are aggregated by reporting
countries. A true filtering by partner can be achieved through the Partners tab interface

The Quick Filter combo can also be used to filter the selection. Refer to the Shortcut Query section for details
and examples.

The Sort Order combo gives the list of all parameter permutations and makes it possible to select the order
records will be displayed.

Back to fig. 32, we notice a ‘Go to Comtrade Explorer’ button. Clicking this button leads to the Comtrade
Explorer - snapshot display we already met in the Shortcut Query section, since Shortcut Query uses in fact
the Comtrade Explorer processor. This processor is discussed in its own section.

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1.1.3.3. Reporters
The same –but far simpler, because there is only one level of data– filter operation can be carried out to select
one or more reporting countries from the Reporters tab:

Figure 44: Reporters tab interface

The Reporters selection has already been discussed in the Quick Search section. Keeping the Commodities
selection of fig. 36, we can filter the query by two reporting countries:

Figure 45: two countries (Italy and Japan) selected in Reporters interface

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Again, clicking Submit Query displays the query summary and results:

Query summary

Figure 46: query results for Commodities and Reporters selection

The links in the Basic Query results interface have been described with the Shortcut Query form.

1.1.3.4. Partners
An additional selection can be performed through the Partners interface:

Figure 47: three partners selected

Reminder: a Partner is a country that carries out trade operations with a reporting country. The trade
operations are defined by the Trade Flow parameter: import, export, re-export. Of course, all the reporting
countries are also partners.

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The new query gives the following results:

Figure 48: query results for Commodities, Reporters and Partners selection (partial view)
We notice that this time, the retrieved records are also displayed. This is because there aren’t too many of
them.
1.1.3.5. Years
One or more years can be selected through the Years tab:

Figure 49: additional selection by year

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The query results are now:

Figure 50: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners and Years (full view)

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1.1.3.6. Others
Finally, the Others interface makes it possible to select the Trade Flow type, to filter according to the Trade
Value and to define the retrieved items sort order, like exemplified below:

Only Trade Values >=

1,000,000 will be kept

Sum up records with same

selection values except
Quantity Unit codes

Figure 51: the Others selection interface – notice the aggregation option

The final query results are:

Sorted by…

Figure 52: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners, Years, Trade Flow and Trade Value (full view)

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The User can choose to aggregate the retrieved records according to the Quantity Unit code. In the examples
above, codes 5 (number of items) and 8 (weight in kilograms) are present. If several retrieved records have
the same selection record values except the Quantity Unit code, their Trade parameters (value and quantity)
will be added and only one record will appear.

1.1.3.7. A Useful Capability: the Intra Trade Query

To end the Basic Query section, the intra trade query is a good example of what a powerful query engine can
do with grouped entities. It consists in extracting and summarizing all the trade flows within the same group of
countries (for instance, the fifteen-nation Europe). This is achieved by selecting this country group as Partner
and Reporter.

The selection settings and the query results are reproduced below:

‘Ignored for
Aggregation’

Figure 53: an intra trade query – Transport Equipment within Europe for 2003 - 2004

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1.1.4. Comtrade Explorer
1.1.4.1. Outline and Examples
The next entry in the Data Query & Extraction links is Comtrade Explorer. People familiar with Internet search
engines (such as Google) will easily use this processor. In addition, some of its interfaces have already been
described when discussing the Shortcut Query function.

When clicking the Comtrade Explorer entry, the following interface pops up:

Figure 54: Comtrade Explorer initial interface

The User can enter any word that defines a commodity, a county or a year. For instance:

Figure 55: example of search string

Clicking Search displays the following global results:

Figure 56: Comtrade Explorer – global results for the query

(Continued on the next page)

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Selecting an entry and clicking View Description displays detailed information on the product:

Links

Figure 57: detailed information about an entry

Notice that the parents and children (no child here) of the Product are also displayed; the code of the selected
product appears in red.

The ‘Input keywords’ textbox can be used to run another independent query –it doesn’t filter the current query
results.
1.1.4.2. Snapshot
Clicking the Snapshot link for an entry provides a summary report with graphic information on the selected
item. Comtrade Explorer is the query processor used:

Selection reminder

Figure 58: results of snapshot function: upper part of Comtrade Explorer interface – see lower part below

Keywords TOTAL and All in figs 58 and 59 have already been explained in the Basic Selection section. But
their meanings are different here because of the snapshot report type:
– If All is selected as partner, it will be considered as single entity World
– If All is selected as commodity, it will be considered as single entity TOTAL
– For years and reporters, All means ‘all available data’ -refer to Data Availability.

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The lower part of the Snapshot report is reproduced below:

Percentage
repartition
by country

Figure 59: Comtrade Explorer (lower part) – summary graphic report

(Continued on the next page)

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The Quick Filter combo has been introduced in the Quick Search function. It makes it possible to filter the
current selection, like in the example below:

Figure 60: filtering list – entries beginning with ‘Fr’

If we select ‘France (Partner Name)’ and click Apply, we get the following report:

Selection reminder:
France added as Partner

Figure 61: Comtrade Explorer (upper part) – selection filtered by Partner

Note: if Quick Filter is used for a criterion that is already set (value ≠ ‘All’ in query summary), the Quick Filter
value replaces the already set value; in this case, Quick Filter redefines the query rather than filters it.

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For instance, if we enter ‘Gold’ in the Quick Filter box:

Figure 62: Quick Filter selection

Then if we select ‘Gold compounds’ and click Apply, we get the following selection summary:

New commodity replaces

the previous one

Figure 63: new selection through Quick Filter

1.1.4.3. Data Availability

Back to fig. 58, if we click the Data Availability link for commodity 870210, we get the following report:

Summary of
reported data

Details by
country

Figure 64: data availability report for selected commodity (partial view)

This interface is addressed in the Data Availability / Commodities section later in this document.

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1.1.5. Express Selection
The last entry in the query processor list is Express Selection. The User interface of this processor is in a way
a simplified summary of query processor interfaces we already met, especially the Basic Selection (or Basic
Query) processor, with meta-language capabilities to describe the selection criteria.

There are two tabs in this interface:

Meta-language
capabilities

Links

Figure 65: Express Selection – Basic Items tab

Notice the Save and Lookup links that make it possible to save the codes entered and retrieve them from a list
(‘Favorites’). The interface used by Lookup has been introduced in section Quick Search.

Reminder: saving a selection or a report is reserved to registered Users (unavailable to free Users, also called
“Guests”). Refer to section 3. for information on registered Users and Favorites.

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The Advanced Items frame allows Users to filter the available data according to Trade Values, to define a sort
sequence and to set an aggregation option on Quantity units:

Figure 66: Express Selection – Advanced Items tab

This interface has already been discussed in the Basic Query section, form Others.

(Continued on the next page)

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Finally, clicking Submit Query displays the resulting Basic Query report:

List of actions
Several pages to display

Figure 67: Express Selection report (partial view)

Refer to the Basic Query and Shortcut Query sections for details, especially on the list of actions that is tagged
above. Note that the commodity codes and quantity units used are described by a ‘tooltip’ text.

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Clicking View Graph displays summary information about the most important export Partners:

Figure 68: Express Selection – top export Partners

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1.1. Data Availability

While the data Query section explains how to retrieve information on commodities (e.g., quantities in terms of
trade value, mass or number of items exported), the Data Availability section deals with the amount of data
records collected for a given selection, whatever type they are.

Several interfaces provide the User with data availability results, for instance the already discussed Comtrade
Explorer.

The Data Availability functions are activated through the links below:

Figure 1: Data availability function in the main interface

1.1.1. Interactive
The Interactive interface is reproduced below, with a selection already carried out:

Number of records collected for the selected classification

Trade value for the selection

Figure 2: Data Availability Interactive interface – selection in effect

The comments in the form itself explain the role of each field. The values between parentheses are the
number of records collected for the selected classification.

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Clicking ‘Go to Comtrade Explorer’ brings up the usual reporting interface (see above) with a graph display:

Figure 3: Comtrade Explorer for Interactive interface

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1.1.2. In Graph
The ‘In Graph’ interface is reproduced below, with a selection already carried out:

Year range
Filter part

Region

Real
value

Figure 4: ‘In Graph’ results

The filter part of the interface makes it possible to select the reporting country, commodity codes and years.
Two bars at the top and bottom of the filter area allow the User to select a year range and a geographic entity
(e.g., European Union), instead of a country and one or more years. The Lookup links brings an already met
interface that makes it possible to select commodities by their names instead of their codes, or to select
standard Favorites.

In this interface, the results are contained in the same form as the filter values, and displayed as a bar chart.
All the classification types are used and appear with different colors. Moving the mouse cursor over a bar
displays the real number of data records, like exemplified above.

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Double-clicking a bar (here, the first one) details the data records selected in the familiar Basic Query report
form:

Several pages

Figure 5: the data records selected from the In Graph interface (partial)

Refer to fig. 44 in the Basic Selection section for comments on this report.

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1.1.3. Reporters
This function allows Users to filter the data records by Reporters (i.e. statistics provider countries) and year.
The commodity classification is also used.

The Reporters interface – with country names beginning by Z – is reproduced below:

Country selection –
first letter

Figure 6: Reporter countries by year and classification codes

As usual, clicking an underlined year displays detailed information on the data records provided this year. The
Basic Query processor is used.

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Clicking View Description under a country name brings up information data on the selected country with links
to other reporting interfaces, some of which we already met:

Links to reporting
interfaces

Figure 7: Reporter interface – information on country

1.1.4. Commodities
This processor makes it possible to filter the provided data records by Commodities. Commodities are
selected from a tree-structured list we already described in the Basic Selection section:

Figure 8: commodity selection – food is the main selection – two items selected

Once the nodes or leaves are selected, clicking Add stores them in the Selected Items frame.

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Clicking Continue displays the query results:

Two food
items selected

Figure 9: commodities – report for two selected items – Data Availability

Clicking View description brings up the Commodity List interface; clicking Snapshot leads to the Comtrade
Explorer Snapshot form.

(Continued on the next page)

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Again, clicking a highlighted year leads to the Basic Query reporting form:

Several pages
in this report

Figure 10: report on specific year for selected commodities – Data Availability

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1.1.5. Year
The Year processor makes it possible to get data availability information by year and country, as illustrated
below:

Year range
selection

Figure 11: Year reporting for Data Availability

The following points should be noted:

• Clicking View Snapshot displays the already met Comtrade Explorer snapshot.
• Clicking an underlined country brings up a Basic Query report.
• Moving the mouse cursor over a country displays the number of records collected for the current
selection.

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1.1.6. By Date of Loading
The ‘By Date of Loading’ entry makes it possible to get data availability information by record upload date, as
illustrated below:

Filter section

Figure 12: selection by record upload date – Data Availability – ‘one month ago’

In this example, the only filter parameter is the upload date, and it is set to ‘1 month ago’. The picture below
shows the possible values:

Figure 13: possible values for date selection

As usual, clicking an underlined country allows Users to get trade details on it.

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1.1. Support
The Support menu includes the following entries:

Figure 1: Support menu

These entries provide online Help and remote communication with UNSD. Since they are by nature strongly
User-oriented, we won’t describe them but briefly. For some entries, we just reproduce the form they display.

1.1.1. Service Message

Clicking this entry displays the latest Joint System Application informative messages, for instance the latest
data upload operations:

Figure 2: Service Message display (partial view)

Notice that, for each data upload entry, a link provides data availability by date of loading. The ‘What’s New’
link in the main interface displays the same kind of information in an abbreviated format.

(Continued on the next page)

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Messages can also relate to new Comtrade references, like in the two entries below:

Figure 3: other Service Message entries

Clicking the RSS button at the right of the entry displays the same information as fig. 99, but in RSS format:

Figure 4: Service Message display – RSS format (partial view)

1.1.2. Comtrade SDMX

This is just a link to an explanatory text about the SDMX format and capabilities, with links to related sites and
capabilities to download SDMX keys.

The Data Transfer Mechanism document gives a few details about SDMX and its usage by the Joint System
Application.

1.1.3. Comtrade RSS

RSS stands for ‘Rich Site Summary’. It is a new, XML-format way to publish information on line. This label has
already been met beside some of the Joint System Application links; see for instance fig. 1., a global view of
the main interface. Registered Users can get Upload news via RSS.

Clicking this entry loads introductory pages to RSS with definitions, links to related sites and links to published
papers.

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1.1.4. Comtrade Features
This function provides a valuable global introduction to the Joint System Application.

Clicking this link displays the following multi-tab form:

Figure 5: Comtrade Features – Data tab

Users should have a look at each tab.

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1.1.5. Help Index
The Help Index page is reproduced below:

Figure 6: Help Index menu in the main interface

(Continued on the next page)

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• First Time User is an introduction to Comtrade and provides beginners with useful query scenarios.
The First Time User page is reproduced below:

Figure 7: query scenarios in Help menu (partial view)

The ‘First Time User’ link is also present on the top right part of the main interface (fig. 1):

Figure 8: Direct access to First Time User Help

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• Basic Selection and Express Selection introduce the already discussed query processors.
• Limitations defines the already mentioned Comtrade limits and requirements.
• Tips provides the User with the usual –and useful– advice. The Tips page is reproduced below:

Figure 9: Tips form in Help menu

1.1.6. Questions and Answers

This page contains the usual FAQ sequence and their answers. A part of it is included below:

Figure 10: frequently asked questions and their answers (partial view) – some may be outdated

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1.1.7. Contact Us
Comtrade Users can send their feedback (issues, suggestions…) to UNSD developers and administrators
through the following form:

Figure 11: feedback form

Fields 3 to 5 are required.

The Feedback category can be selected from a combo:

Figure 12: Feedback category selection

Clicking Continue sends the form to the people concerned.

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1.2. Links
Connections to related sites are possible through the Links menu:

Figure 13: links to related sites

ECLAC and SDMX have already been mentioned in the Support section.

WITS is an economic data compilation Comtrade is part of, as illustrated below:

Figure 14: WITS home page (partial view)

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User Manual
Ref: WBC_MUT001CEn.doc

1 Feb 2006
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UPDATE FORM

Name and Version Sent By Signed Approved By Signed

number
MUT001C 1 Feb 06 OECD/STD
DISTRIBUTION
Ronald Jansen UN
Markie Muryawan UN
Andreas Lindner OECD
Trevor Fletcher OECD
Gregory Legoff OECD
Sandrine Phelipot OECD
Valérie Thielemans OECD
Henri Kayali Info³

VERSION DATE OPERATION SPECIFICS

A 19 Oct Creation of the document
05
B 24 Nov Section 3. added
2005
C 1 Feb Cover page and Introduction edited
2006

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. WHAT IS MEANT BY “JOINT SYSTEM”? ................................................................................................................. 1
1.2. ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ...................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. PREREQUISITES ................................................................................................................................................... 2
1.4. ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................................................... 2
2. THE MAIN INTERFACE (GUEST USER).......................................................................................................... 3
2.1. HOME PAGE ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2. DATA QUERY & EXTRACTION............................................................................................................................... 4
2.2.1. Quick Search ............................................................................................................................................ 4
2.2.2. Shortcut Query ....................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.2.1. Outline and Examples.........................................................................................................................................11
2.2.2.2. Modify Selection ..................................................................................................................................................15
2.2.2.3. View Graph...........................................................................................................................................................16
2.2.2.4. Printable Format ..................................................................................................................................................16
2.2.2.5. View Explanatory Notes .....................................................................................................................................17
2.2.2.6. SDMX Download .................................................................................................................................................18
2.2.2.7. View Not Available Data.....................................................................................................................................20
2.2.3. Basic Selection ....................................................................................................................................... 21
2.2.3.1. Outline...................................................................................................................................................................21
2.2.3.2. Commodities ........................................................................................................................................................22
2.2.3.3. Reporters..............................................................................................................................................................29
2.2.3.4. Partners ................................................................................................................................................................30
2.2.3.5. Years.....................................................................................................................................................................31
2.2.3.6. Others ...................................................................................................................................................................33
2.2.3.7. A Useful Capability: the Intra Trade Query......................................................................................................34
2.2.4. Comtrade Explorer................................................................................................................................. 35
2.2.4.1. Outline and Examples.........................................................................................................................................35
2.2.4.2. Snapshot ..............................................................................................................................................................36
2.2.4.3. Data Availability ...................................................................................................................................................39
2.2.5. Express Selection .................................................................................................................................. 40
2.3. DATA AVAILABILITY............................................................................................................................................. 44
2.3.1. Interactive................................................................................................................................................ 44
2.3.2. In Graph................................................................................................................................................... 46
2.3.3. Reporters................................................................................................................................................. 48
2.3.4. Commodities ........................................................................................................................................... 49
2.3.5. Year.......................................................................................................................................................... 52
2.3.6. By Date of Loading ................................................................................................................................ 53
2.4. METADATA & REFERENCE ................................................................................................................................. 54
2.4.1. Commodity List....................................................................................................................................... 54
2.4.2. Country List ............................................................................................................................................. 55
2.4.3. Explanatory Notes.................................................................................................................................. 58
2.4.4. Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 59
2.5. SUBSCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................................... 60
2.5.1. “Why Subscribing?”................................................................................................................................ 60
2.5.2. Subscription Prices ................................................................................................................................ 61
2.5.3. Order Form.............................................................................................................................................. 62
2.6. SUPPORT ............................................................................................................................................................ 63
2.6.1. Service Message.................................................................................................................................... 63
2.6.2. Comtrade SDMX .................................................................................................................................... 64
2.6.3. Comtrade RSS ....................................................................................................................................... 64
2.6.4. Comtrade Features ................................................................................................................................ 65
2.6.5. Help Index ............................................................................................................................................... 66
2.6.6. Questions and Answers ........................................................................................................................ 68
2.6.7. Contact Us............................................................................................................................................... 69
2.7. LINKS .................................................................................................................................................................. 70

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3. THE MAIN INTERFACE (REGISTERED USER)............................................................................................ 71
3.1. OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................................................... 71
3.2. THE TWO AUTHENTICATION MODES .................................................................................................................. 72
3.3. USER ID – PASSWORD AUTHENTICATION (INDIVIDUAL LICENSE)..................................................................... 72
3.3.1. Connection – Home Page..................................................................................................................... 72
3.3.2. ‘My Comtrade’ Menu.............................................................................................................................. 74
3.3.2.1. Account Info .........................................................................................................................................................74
3.3.2.2. Favorites – Commodities ...................................................................................................................................75
3.3.2.3. Favorites – Reporters/Partners/Year................................................................................................................81
3.3.2.4. Favorites – Country Groups / Commodity Groups .........................................................................................82
3.3.2.5. Predefined Favorites...........................................................................................................................................84
3.3.2.6. Download History ................................................................................................................................................84
3.3.2.7. Saved Queries .....................................................................................................................................................85
3.3.2.8. Customize FrontPage .........................................................................................................................................86
3.3.2.9. Customize Download Format ............................................................................................................................88
3.3.2.10. Batch Monitor.......................................................................................................................................................88
3.3.3. Additional Capabilities ........................................................................................................................... 90
3.3.3.1. Reminder ..............................................................................................................................................................90
3.3.3.2. Direct Downloading .............................................................................................................................................91
3.3.3.3. Query Saving .......................................................................................................................................................94
3.3.3.4. Batch Submission................................................................................................................................................99
3.4. IP ADDRESS AUTHENTICATION (SITE LICENSE) .............................................................................................. 102
3.4.1. Connection – Home Page................................................................................................................... 102
3.4.2. Access Rights ....................................................................................................................................... 103
3.4.2.1. Institutional Users..............................................................................................................................................103
3.4.2.2. Individually Registered Users ..........................................................................................................................103
3.4.2.3. Sub Users (link) .................................................................................................................................................103
3.4.2.4. To Sum it up.......................................................................................................................................................103
3.4.3. Master Users......................................................................................................................................... 103
3.4.3.1. Definition.............................................................................................................................................................103
3.4.3.2. Creating Sub Users...........................................................................................................................................104
3.4.3.3. Sub Users Properties........................................................................................................................................105
APPENDIX: USER TYPES AND ASSOCIATED RIGHTS ─ SUMMARY.......................................................... 106

FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................................................... 107

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1. Introduction

1.1. What is meant by “Joint System”?

Since 2000, UNSD 1 and OECD 2 have joined forces to reduce the response burden for national data
providers in the field of merchandise trade statistics and to agree on one unique and transparent set of data
instead of having parallel (and often not harmonized) data collections. This considerable amount of very
detailed investigation has led to the signing of an UNSD/OECD Memorandum of Understanding in January
2001 and further extensions, where UNSD and OECD jointly developed
(i) an agreement on data collection and data sharing
(ii) common trade data processing standards, and
(iii) computer applications for use in processing of trade data.

This set of agreements, standards and applications is referenced by both organizations as:
UN─OECD Joint Trade Data Collection and Processing System (Joint System)

Both organizations agreed to use the above name in any documents describing their cooperative activities. It
is also to be used when referring to the respective databases.

The Joint System is the foundation of the trade databases maintained by both organizations. Both
organizations continue to keep separate (institutionally and legally) trade databases to ensure rights and
ability of each organization to pursue their own policies with regard to
(i) storing various data in addition to those agreed in Joint System [e.g., historical data, memorandum
items, derived data etc],
(ii) developing additional analytical and presentational functionalities and controlling user access to
them,
(iii)dissemination practices including pricing of user access to the database services, entering into
contracts with users, etc.

Each organization maintains its own brand name for use in data dissemination activities. The names of those
databases are:
• For UNSD: UN Comtrade 3
• For OECD: OECD ITCS 4 Database

To ensure user awareness of the joint efforts of both organizations in the area of international merchandise
trade statistics, both organizations agreed to make data responsibility very clear.

Consequently, the UN Comtrade disclaimer contains the following statement:

“Beginning 2005, trade data of OECD member countries are compiled by OECD in accordance with UN-
OECD Common Trade Data Processing Standards and are available in UN Comtrade in accordance
with UN/OECD Data Sharing Agreement. Any deviation from this practice is reflected in the
country/period metadata.”

Similarly, the OECD trade database disclaimer contains the following statement:
“The trade data for the selected non-OECD member countries are compiled by UNSD in accordance
with UN/OECD Common Trade Data Processing Standards and are available in OECD ITCS Database
in accordance with UN-OECD Data Sharing Agreement. Any deviation from this practice is reflected in
the country/period metadata.”

1 United Nations Statistics Division

2 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
3 Commodity Trade Statistics Database
4 International Trade by Commodity Statistics

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1.2. About this Document
Two versions of this Manual are available: The UNSD version and the OECD version.

This Manual is the UNSD version and deals with the data retrieving/displaying interfaces of the Application.
These interfaces can be used by connecting to a specific UN Web site, hence the name of the corresponding
application module: Web Browser Client. The OECD version is largely identical, with the exception of
organization-specific particularities, such as captions, URLs, etc.

The following points should be noted:

1. In the rest of this document, the UNSD Comtrade application interfaces are used for screen
captures and examples. We will indiscriminately use the denominations ‘Comtrade’ or ‘Joint System’
to reference the Web Browser Client application. In other documents, such as the Database
Administrator Client Manual, Comtrade Reporting Application is the denomination used.
2. When running the Application, the User has a general Help index at their disposal. In addition:
• most of the interfaces include a Help link which provides a contextual on-line Help;
• most of the objects (charts, buttons, values displayed…) in each interface display
a ‘tool tip’ text when pointed to by the mouse cursor.
3. Although it includes a detailed table of contents and a figure index, this document is more an in-
depth introductory manual than a practical guide. It can also be used as a training support during
training sessions.
4. Pictures in this Manual include detailed comments in callouts or in their captions. These comments
contribute to trimming down the text and making it clearer. This layout is generally appreciated by
non-expert readers.

1.3. Prerequisites
Joint System Web Browser Client workstations should be equipped with:
• MS Windows operating system version 2000 or higher;
• MS Internet Explorer version 6 or higher
(other browsers can be used; they must support cookies, JavaScript and Java applets);
• An Internet connection to the server that hosts the Joint System Application
(the current UNSD Comtrade URL is http://unstats.un.org/unsd/comtrade/ ).
9

1.4. Associated Documents

The UNSD – OECD Joint System package also includes the following documents:
• Data Capture / Data Processing Manual
• Data Transfer Mechanism Specification Manual
• Database Administrator Client Manual
• Database Dissemination Model Guide

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2. The Main Interface (Guest User)

A Comtrade Guest User isn’t registered in the Joint System administration, nor is the IP address they use to
connect to the Application server 5. Anyone with the proper equipment (see above) can get connected to the
UNSD Comtrade application and become a Guest User.

Guests can use most of Comtrade capabilities, while Registered Users have unrestricted access to all of
them. Section 3. of this document deals with Registered Users, either individual or belonging to a registered
site.

2.1. Home Page

Connecting to the UNSD Joint System site, without any User ID or password, brings the Guest Welcome /
Main Interface to life:

Current
User status

Registered
User Login

Example of query
List of links and corresponding
results

5 In fact, guest Users are registered in Comtrade as Users with IP address 0.0.0.0. and restricted rights.

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Figure 1: Joint System main interface – connection as Guest – Shortcut Query and In Graph functions
exemplified

The left part of the Main interface is a list of function links that allow Users to select the query processor,
define reference data, subscribe to extended services, get technical support and link to related Websites. This
document will describe and exemplify all of these function links.
Query links share in fact the interfaces of only four selection/display processors; this is why parts of the text in
this document often refer –via Word links– to other sections where interfaces have already been discussed or
introduced.

Notes:
1. Free access as a Guest User to the database and search engines is restricted: for instance, up to
1,000 records SDMX-downloaded per day and no direct data downloading capability. This type of
access is used in this section. Extended service, with full capabilities, is available for an annual fee.
See the Subscription and Registered User sections for more details.
2. As already mentioned, most of the interface objects and some labels display a ‘tool tip’ text when
pointed to by the mouse cursor –see for instance fig. 5.
3. The “Example of query and corresponding results” area in fig. 1 depends on the User’s settings –
namely the ‘Customize Front Page’ parameters. It may be empty. Only a Registered User can access
the setting options.

2.2. Data Query & Extraction

Several functions provide the User with commodity-related results once selection parameters (commodity,
country, year…) are set. The data query functions are activated through the links below:

Figure 2: Data Query & Extraction links

2.2.1. Quick Search

Although not in the Data Query & Extraction group, the Quick Search processor makes it possible to retrieve
data according to pre-defined reporter countries that can be selected from a list:

Figure 3: Quick Search entries for first letter F

A subset of the Quick Search list is displayed as soon as a letter is typed. Extra letters refine the selection, like
in the example below:

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Figure 4: two-letter selection from the Quick Search list

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Once an entry is selected, clicking Go shows the associated information, like in the example below:
On-line Help

Processor name

Selection
summary To filter the
selection

Field displays its caption

when pointed to by the mouse

Figure 5: results of a Quick Search for France (upper part)

We won’t reproduce the whole report here. Other pie charts show the six top import / top export partners, with
the corresponding commodity descriptions and trade values. The query processor used, Comtrade Explorer,
is fully described in its own section.

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Notes:
1. The Query Processor name, Comtrade Explorer, appears at the top left of the form. The functions
described in section 2.2 are in fact links to a small number of common query processors:
• Shortcut Query
• Comtrade Explorer
• Basic Query
• Express Selection
These four processors can be directly accessed from the Data Query & Selection links and each of
them has its own section in this document. Refer to the Table of Contents.
2. An empty filter field means that no filtering takes place: the whole data set is selected. This is true all
over this document.
3. The Classification field defines the international codes that represent commodity descriptions. This point
is discussed later.
4. The Quick Filter combo makes it possible to filter the selection by selecting an extra criterion that
relates to partner country, year or commodity:

Figure 6: Extra selection by commodity (first three letters are ‘pet’)

(Continued on the next page)

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Selecting the first entry in the list above and clicking Apply produces the following report:

Figure 7: results of selection by country (France) and commodity (gases except from petroleum)

Finally, the Further Research combo allows Users to change the selection criteria without returning to the
original interface. For instance, we can select other reporting countries:

Figure 8: changing selection criteria in the Comtrade Explorer report

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Asking for other reporting countries brings up the following interface (used, with some variations, by the
Lookup link):

List of currently
selected countries

List
management
buttons

Figure 9: country selection interface

We can add Japan to the country selection by selecting the Japan entry and clicking Add; we finally get:

Figure 10: adding a country to the current selection

(Continued on the next page)

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Clicking Continue brings up the new report:

New country selection

Figure 11: new selection (two countries) report

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2.2.2. Shortcut Query
2.2.2.1. Outline and Examples
Selecting Shortcut Query displays the following filter interface –already populated in the example below:

Figure 12: Shortcut Query selection interface – here: cars exported from Japan in 2004
Clicking Search displays the following summarized results:

Commodity code in the classification

Figure 13: search results for the selected data

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Note: the date contained in some commodity classification codes isn’t related to the selected statistics year(s).
It is the date the classification was defined or revised. UNSD and OECD mostly receive data according to the
last HS version. Data is then converted into older HS and SITC versions as well as into BEC.

In the example above, HS2002 is used. HS stands for ‘Harmonized System’, 2002 means that this
classification has been in use since 2002. Another classification is SITC rev. 3 (Standard International Trade
Classification revision 3). All the classifications are based on commodity features (kind, production stage,
primary material of not, durable or not, etc). The default classification in Comtrade is HS2002. See the
Comtrade Glossary entry later in this document.

If a commodity isn’t found in a classification, Shortcut Query searches other classifications for it.

In fig. 13, we notice that commodity codes are in fact links; what we get when clicking them is illustrated
below:

Figure 14: direct selection of an item by clicking its code (here, 871130)

The following form is displayed:

List of classification codes

Extra links
Figure 15: description of the selected commodity and its ancestors

This tree-structured report describes all the commodity classes from the root (ALL COMMODITIES) to the
selected item. Again, the item codes can be selected to get more specific information.

The Snapshot link leads to the already met Comtrade Explorer –Snapshot. Refer to fig. 5 for an example of
such a snapshot, and to the Comtrade Explorer section for a thorough description of the processor.

(Continued on the next page)

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Clicking a Data Availability link displays the commodity statistics availability by country and by year:

Figure 16: data availability by year for the selected commodity

Clicking one year in the list leads back to another query processor and shows the trade values:

Query processor
name

List of actions

Figure 17: data availability - trade details for year 2003

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The actions represented by the links above are discussed in this section. Notice the Query processor name:
Basic Query. This specific processor is fully described in its own section in this document.

Back to fig. 13, we see that the imprecise commodity definition results in a wide range of retrieved items. We
can select some of these items by ticking their checkboxes:

Figure 18: two items selected from the commodity list

Then clicking ‘View trade Data’ displays detailed information about the selected items through the Basic Query
processor:

Quick filter
combo

Selection summary

List of actions

Figure 19: detailed information on two commodities

The order retrieved entries are displayed can be changed through the Sort Order combo. This combo contains
all the criterion combinations that can be used as ordered sort list:

Figure 20: sort order selection

Click Refresh to make the new selection the current selection.

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A list of links is present under the Sort Order combo (fig. 19); each of them represents an action. These
actions are described in the following level 4 paragraphs.

There are no actions to directly download query results or record queries: this is because the connected User
is a Guest. Downloading extracted data as a text file (what we call ‘direct download’) and saving the definition
of a query are reserved to registered Users. What registered Users only can do is described in section 3.

2.2.2.2. Modify Selection

Clicking this link loads the Express Selection interface with the current selection in its fields:

Processor name

Figure 21: getting the Express Selection interface from the Shortcut Query

The User can add selection criteria, modify the existing ones or change the display sort order. The Express
Selection form is fully described in this document.

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2.2.2.3. View Graph
Clicking View Graph in the list of actions brings up a pie chart that reflects the current selection:

Figure 22: detailed information on two commodities – graphical form

This is the Comtrade Explorer Processor interface we already met in fig. 5; also see Note 1 below this figure.
The pie chart shows the two selected items trade values compared to all the other commodities.

Again, a “tooltip” text pops up when moving the mouse cursor over the pie chart.

Back to fig. 5, we notice the already described Quick Filter and Further Research combos.

2.2.2.4. Printable Format

This action simply displays the trade information in fig. 19 using the whole screen width, so as to get a full-
page report. Also notice the included commodity labels:

Figure 23: Printable Format display – may need enlargement

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2.2.2.5. View Explanatory Notes
This link displays trade information on a country for a given year (e.g., local currency / USD conversion factor):

‘Free On
Board’

Figure 24: notes on Japan for 2004

‘All’ can be selected from Reporter (country) and Year combos; in this case, the resulting report looks like this:

Links to
other pages

Figure 25: trade notes for all countries and all years (first page bottom part)

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2.2.2.6. SDMX Download
The results of a query can be downloaded to the User’s station in SDMX format, provided the User doesn’t
download more than 1,000 records the same day.

The SDMX format is introduced in the Data Transfer Mechanism Manual; it is based on the XML 6 format and
adapted to statistical data description and transfer.

To illustrate this download operation, we can start from the following query results:

Figure 26: Basic Query results

Clicking ‘SDMX Download’ brings up the following warning message box:

Figure 27: file download warning message

Notice the constant filename. Clicking Save displays the usual ‘Save As’ interface that allows the User to
select the destination file (path and name)

6 Extensible Markup Language: a standard for designing and creating HTML documents

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Finally, the downloaded file is visible through Windows Explorer:

Figure 28: the downloaded SDMX file (highlighted) – the name was left unchanged

As stated before, this file has a XML-like structure; it can be read by Internet Explorer:

Figure 29: SDMX file contents (partial view)

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2.2.2.7. View Not Available Data
This function points out the data items that are not available (i.e., that haven’t been provided by the selected
country, or that have been rejected by UNSD…), for the selected year, classification and commodity. Most of
the time, the data will be available, and the following form will pop up:

Figure 30: not available data: none for this example

Another selection can show unavailable data for a specific year:

Figure 31: data from Albania unavailable in 2002 for the selected commodities

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2.2.3. Basic Selection
2.2.3.1. Outline
We already met this processor when navigating along the Shortcut Query links. Back to the Data Query &
Extraction links, we can directly select the Basic Selection entry:

Tab selection

List of filter values (empty

for the moment)

Filter list management

Figure 32: Basic Selection interface (Commodities tab)

The Basic Selection feature allows the User to select the commodities, classification, reporting Nations,
partner countries and year values. It also makes it possible to filter and sort the data as well as select the type
of trade flow required (tab Others).

Each tab relates to a selection parameter and has its list of selecting (or filter) values. A group of buttons
(tagged as ‘Filter list management’) makes it possible to add, remove and exclude filter values.

The classification has already been discussed. The examples below show the selection of other parameters
tab by tab. Once all the parameters are selected, clicking Submit Query displays the records retrieved –if there
are less than 1,000 of them; otherwise, only the number of records appears.

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2.2.3.2. Commodities
The Commodities tab interface is reproduced below:

Figure 33: selection of commodity “cars”

The Source combo makes it possible to select the data source from which records will be selected:

Figure 34: selecting the data selection source

These data selection sources are discussed in this paragraph, tagged with a ‘ ’ sign.

(Continued on the next page)

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‰ Commodities Search
This is the default value. It means that any available commodity can be selected. “cars” is entered in the
example above.

Clicking Search displays a tree view that allows the User to precisely select the commodities to retrieve (the
whole contents of the tree are in fact any car-related items):

Selection-resulting tree

Figure 35: commodity tree view (only root is expanded)

Nodes that can be expanded are flagged with a symbol.

(Continued on the next page)

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Notice that parent nodes can be selected as well as leaves, like in the example below:

Figure 36: commodity selection – a node (Motorcycles) and a leaf (type of vehicle) are selected

Finally, clicking Add displays the selection in the Selected Items (a filter list) frame:

Items finally selected

– this is a ‘OR’ list

Figure 37: commodity list populated after clicking Add

As mentioned above, the selection list management buttons (see fig. 32) allow the User to edit the selection
list. Items that must be individually removed must be highlighted with the mouse; multiple selection is possible
through the Shift and Crtl keys, like in a Windows list.

Ticking the ‘All commodities’ checkbox selects the whole commodity set; the selected items are ignored in this
case.

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Ticking ‘Include the children’ not only selects the checked nodes, but also their descendants in the tree; the
checked nodes are flagged with a ‘*’, like in the figure below:

Node and its

descendants selected

Figure 38: a node is selected with its descendants

One or more items can be excluded from the selection by clicking the Exclude button after ticking their nodes;
the excluded items are flagged with a minus sign:

Notice the signs

Selected

Excluded

Figure 39: a category of vehicles is excluded from the vehicle selection

Of course, exclusion only makes sense when applied to the descendants of an already selected node for
which the ‘Include the children’ option is set.

‘Remove All’ clears the Selected Items list.

‘Save Selection to Favorites’ is reserved to Registered (not Guests) Users. Refer to section 3. for details on
this function.

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‰ Special Items
This entry selects commodities according to their code structure, namely their number of digits:

Figure 40: selecting commodities by number of digits in code

The digit-number selection can be added to commodity type conditions. Remember that the query processor
makes the union (not the intersection) of selected commodities, like they appear, for instance, in fig. 37.

The TOTAL entry means the total of trade flows. This entry should not be confused with (All): (All) means all
the registered commodities (or countries, or years, depending on the current tab of the selection interface –
see fig. 32). 'TOTAL' returns one summarized record while (All) returns all the available items, with one record
per item.

When it comes to country selection, (All) should neither be confused with ‘World’. ‘World’ is a pre-aggregated
group of the countries that make up the world. (All) means all the partner countries. 'World' is similar to
'TOTAL'.

Note: when used by the Comtrade Explorer processor, TOTAL and (All) have other meanings. Refer to
Comtrade Explorer section.

‰ My Favorite Commodities / Commodity Groups

Guest Users cannot define their own favorite items. They can use the standard, built-in groups of commodities
and countries. There should be more of these groups in the near future. The picture below shows the standard
country groups every guest User can select when the Reporter or the Partners tab is up:

Figure 41: standard country groups (or trade agreements between countries)

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Whatever the selection is, clicking ‘Submit Query’ (fig. 32) displays the retrieved items, if any, also taking into
account the selections carried out in the other tabs. For instance, here are the results of selecting item 950100
from “cars” with classification HS2002:

Nb of records retrieved

Optional additional selection

Selection summary

Action links

Figure 42: results of a Basic Query operation

The interface above, and especially its action links, has already been discussed with the Shortcut Query
function, which in fact makes use of the Basic Query processor. Again, we notice that no Direct Download or
Save Query options are available. We can still refine the selection, for instance by selecting 2002 as year; we
just have to click the 2002 link. The results are now:

New nb of records

Figure 43: results of a Basic Query operation; extra selection by Year

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Another extra selection can be carried out, for instance from the partners. If we click on Partner World in fig.
42, we get a country-broken down report:

Figure 44: country-broken down report (first page partial view)

We notice that the records themselves are now displayed: this is because there are less than 1,000 of them.
In fact, this is more an aggregation than a filtering operation: retrieved records are aggregated by reporting
countries. A true filtering by partner can be achieved through the Partners tab interface

The Quick Filter combo can also be used to filter the selection. Refer to the Shortcut Query section for details
and examples.

The Sort Order combo gives the list of all parameter permutations and makes it possible to select the order
records will be displayed.

Back to fig. 32, we notice a ‘Go to Comtrade Explorer’ button. Clicking this button leads to the Comtrade
Explorer - snapshot display we already met in the Shortcut Query section, since Shortcut Query uses in fact
the Comtrade Explorer processor. This processor is discussed in its own section.

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2.2.3.3. Reporters
The same –but far simpler, because there is only one level of data– filter operation can be carried out to select
one or more reporting countries from the Reporters tab:

Figure 45: Reporters tab interface

The Reporters selection has already been discussed in the Quick Search section. Keeping the Commodities
selection of fig. 36, we can filter the query by two reporting countries:

Figure 46: two countries (Italy and Japan) selected in Reporters interface

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Again, clicking Submit Query displays the query summary and results:

Query summary

Figure 47: query results for Commodities and Reporters selection

The links in the Basic Query results interface have been described with the Shortcut Query form.

2.2.3.4. Partners
An additional selection can be performed through the Partners interface:

Figure 48: three partners selected

Reminder: a Partner is a country that carries out trade operations with a reporting country. The trade
operations are defined by the Trade Flow parameter: import, export, re-export. Of course, all the reporting
countries are also partners.

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The new query gives the following results:

Figure 49: query results for Commodities, Reporters and Partners selection (partial view)
We notice that this time, the retrieved records are also displayed. This is because there aren’t too many of
them.
2.2.3.5. Years
One or more years can be selected through the Years tab:

Figure 50: additional selection by year

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The query results are now:

Figure 51: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners and Years (full view)

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2.2.3.6. Others
Finally, the Others interface makes it possible to select the Trade Flow type, to filter according to the Trade
Value and to define the retrieved items sort order, like exemplified below:

Only Trade Values >=

1,000,000 will be kept

Sum up records with same

selection values except
Quantity Unit codes

Figure 52: the Others selection interface – notice the aggregation option

The final query results are:

Sorted by…

Figure 53: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners, Years, Trade Flow and Trade Value (full view)

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The User can choose to aggregate the retrieved records according to the Quantity Unit code. In the examples
above, codes 5 (number of items) and 8 (weight in kilograms) are present. If several retrieved records have
the same selection record values except the Quantity Unit code, their Trade parameters (value and quantity)
will be added and only one record will appear.

2.2.3.7. A Useful Capability: the Intra Trade Query

To end the Basic Query section, the intra trade query is a good example of what a powerful query engine can
do with grouped entities. It consists in extracting and summarizing all the trade flows within the same group of
countries (for instance, the fifteen-nation Europe). This is achieved by selecting this country group as Partner
and Reporter.

The selection settings and the query results are reproduced below:

‘Ignored for
Aggregation’

Figure 54: an intra trade query – Transport Equipment within Europe for 2003 - 2004

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2.2.4. Comtrade Explorer
2.2.4.1. Outline and Examples
The next entry in the Data Query & Extraction links is Comtrade Explorer. People familiar with Internet search
engines (such as Google) will easily use this processor. In addition, some of its interfaces have already been
described when discussing the Shortcut Query function.

When clicking the Comtrade Explorer entry, the following interface pops up:

Figure 55: Comtrade Explorer initial interface

The User can enter any word that defines a commodity, a county or a year. For instance:

Figure 56: example of search string

Clicking Search displays the following global results:

Figure 57: Comtrade Explorer – global results for the query

(Continued on the next page)

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Selecting an entry and clicking View Description displays detailed information on the product:

Links

Figure 58: detailed information about an entry

Notice that the parents and children (no child here) of the Product are also displayed; the code of the selected
product appears in red.

The ‘Input keywords’ textbox can be used to run another independent query –it doesn’t filter the current query
results.
2.2.4.2. Snapshot
Clicking the Snapshot link for an entry provides a summary report with graphic information on the selected
item. Comtrade Explorer is the query processor used:

Selection reminder

Figure 59: results of snapshot function: upper part of Comtrade Explorer interface – see lower part below

Keywords TOTAL and All in figs 58 and 59 have already been explained in the Basic Selection section. But
their meanings are different here because of the snapshot report type:
– If All is selected as partner, it will be considered as single entity World
– If All is selected as commodity, it will be considered as single entity TOTAL
– For years and reporters, All means ‘all available data’ -refer to Data Availability.

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The lower part of the Snapshot report is reproduced below:

Percentage
repartition
by country

Figure 60: Comtrade Explorer (lower part) – summary graphic report

(Continued on the next page)

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The Quick Filter combo has been introduced in the Quick Search function. It makes it possible to filter the
current selection, like in the example below:

Figure 61: filtering list – entries beginning with ‘Fr’

If we select ‘France (Partner Name)’ and click Apply, we get the following report:

Selection reminder:
France added as Partner

Figure 62: Comtrade Explorer (upper part) – selection filtered by Partner

Note: if Quick Filter is used for a criterion that is already set (value ≠ ‘All’ in query summary), the Quick Filter
value replaces the already set value; in this case, Quick Filter redefines the query rather than filters it.

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For instance, if we enter ‘Gold’ in the Quick Filter box:

Figure 63: Quick Filter selection

Then if we select ‘Gold compounds’ and click Apply, we get the following selection summary:

New commodity replaces

the previous one

Figure 64: new selection through Quick Filter

2.2.4.3. Data Availability

Back to fig. 58, if we click the Data Availability link for commodity 870210, we get the following report:

Summary of
reported data

Details by
country

Figure 65: data availability report for selected commodity (partial view)

This interface is addressed in the Data Availability / Commodities section later in this document.

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2.2.5. Express Selection
The last entry in the query processor list is Express Selection. The User interface of this processor is in a way
a simplified summary of query processor interfaces we already met, especially the Basic Selection (or Basic
Query) processor, with meta-language capabilities to describe the selection criteria.

There are two tabs in this interface:

Meta-language
capabilities

Links

Figure 66: Express Selection – Basic Items tab

Notice the Save and Lookup links that make it possible to save the codes entered and retrieve them from a list
(‘Favorites’). The interface used by Lookup has been introduced in section Quick Search.

Reminder: saving a selection or a report is reserved to registered Users (unavailable to free Users, also called
“Guests”). Refer to section 3. for information on registered Users and Favorites.

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The Advanced Items frame allows Users to filter the available data according to Trade Values, to define a sort
sequence and to set an aggregation option on Quantity units:

Figure 67: Express Selection – Advanced Items tab

This interface has already been discussed in the Basic Query section, form Others.

(Continued on the next page)

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Finally, clicking Submit Query displays the resulting Basic Query report:

List of actions
Several pages to display

Figure 68: Express Selection report (partial view)

Refer to the Basic Query and Shortcut Query sections for details, especially on the list of actions that is tagged
above. Note that the commodity codes and quantity units used are described by a ‘tooltip’ text.

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Clicking View Graph displays summary information about the most important export Partners:

Figure 69: Express Selection – top export Partners

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2.3. Data Availability

While the data Query section explains how to retrieve information on commodities (e.g., quantities in terms of
trade value, mass or number of items exported), the Data Availability section deals with the amount of data
records collected for a given selection, whatever type they are.

Several interfaces provide the User with data availability results, for instance the already discussed Comtrade
Explorer.

The Data Availability functions are activated through the links below:

Figure 70: Data availability function in the main interface

2.3.1. Interactive
The Interactive interface is reproduced below, with a selection already carried out:

Number of records collected for the selected classification

Trade value for the selection

Figure 71: Data Availability Interactive interface – selection in effect

The comments in the form itself explain the role of each field. The values between parentheses are the
number of records collected for the selected classification.

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Clicking ‘Go to Comtrade Explorer’ brings up the usual reporting interface (see above) with a graph display:

Figure 72: Comtrade Explorer for Interactive interface

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2.3.2. In Graph
The ‘In Graph’ interface is reproduced below, with a selection already carried out:

Year range
Filter part

Region

Real
value

Figure 73: ‘In Graph’ results

The filter part of the interface makes it possible to select the reporting country, commodity codes and years.
Two bars at the top and bottom of the filter area allow the User to select a year range and a geographic entity
(e.g., European Union), instead of a country and one or more years. The Lookup links brings an already met
interface that makes it possible to select commodities by their names instead of their codes, or to select
standard Favorites.

In this interface, the results are contained in the same form as the filter values, and displayed as a bar chart.
All the classification types are used and appear with different colors. Moving the mouse cursor over a bar
displays the real number of data records, like exemplified above.

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Double-clicking a bar (here, the first one) details the data records selected in the familiar Basic Query report
form:

Several pages

Figure 74: the data records selected from the In Graph interface (partial)

Refer to fig. 44 in the Basic Selection section for comments on this report.

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2.3.3. Reporters
This function allows Users to filter the data records by Reporters (i.e. statistics provider countries) and year.
The commodity classification is also used.

The Reporters interface – with country names beginning by Z – is reproduced below:

Country selection –
first letter

Figure 75: Reporter countries by year and classification codes

As usual, clicking an underlined year displays detailed information on the data records provided this year. The
Basic Query processor is used.

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Clicking View Description under a country name brings up information data on the selected country with links
to other reporting interfaces, some of which we already met:

Links to reporting
interfaces

Figure 76: Reporter interface – information on country

2.3.4. Commodities
This processor makes it possible to filter the provided data records by Commodities. Commodities are
selected from a tree-structured list we already described in the Basic Selection section:

Figure 77: commodity selection – food is the main selection – two items selected

Once the nodes or leaves are selected, clicking Add stores them in the Selected Items frame.

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Clicking Continue displays the query results:

Two food
items selected

Figure 78: commodities – report for two selected items – Data Availability

Clicking View description brings up the Commodity List interface; clicking Snapshot leads to the Comtrade
Explorer Snapshot form.

(Continued on the next page)

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Again, clicking a highlighted year leads to the Basic Query reporting form:

Several pages
in this report

Figure 79: report on specific year for selected commodities – Data Availability

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2.3.5. Year
The Year processor makes it possible to get data availability information by year and country, as illustrated
below:

Year range
selection

Figure 80: Year reporting for Data Availability

The following points should be noted:

• Clicking View Snapshot displays the already met Comtrade Explorer snapshot.
• Clicking an underlined country brings up a Basic Query report.
• Moving the mouse cursor over a country displays the number of records collected for the current
selection.

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2.3.6. By Date of Loading
The ‘By Date of Loading’ entry makes it possible to get data availability information by record upload date, as
illustrated below:

Filter section

Figure 81: selection by record upload date – Data Availability – ‘one month ago’

In this example, the only filter parameter is the upload date, and it is set to ‘1 month ago’. The picture below
shows the possible values:

Figure 82: possible values for date selection

As usual, clicking an underlined country allows Users to get trade details on it.

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2.4. Metadata & Reference
This section deals with the contents of the statistical database reference tables. Theses tables contain the
names and descriptions of commodities and countries and their associated codes. The Database
Dissemination Model document gives concrete details on these topics.

The Metadata 7 & Reference links are as follows:

Figure 83: the Metadata & Reference links

2.4.1. Commodity List

Clicking the ‘Commodity list’ entry displays the list of all the registered commodities, nodes or leaves, sorted
according to their classification code. The classification can be changed. The picture below is the top part of
this list:

Figure 84: commodity list for classification HS1996 (partial view)

7 A metadata item describes a data item

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Clicking a node commodity code expands it to its lower level, and so on, until a leaf code is reached, as
illustrated below:

Figure 85: expanding the 02 node and its descendant(s)

Data Availability and Snapshot links have already been described.

2.4.2. Country List

‘Country list’ is the second entry in the Metadata & Reference menu:

Country first letter

or keyword filter

Links

Figure 86: Country list – all countries selected (partial view)

We see the ISO country codes and data collection year range for each country. A country selection can be
achieved through a first-letter list.

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The first three links have already been described with the Query processor they use. The ITC 8 Country Profile
entry is particularly interesting:

Figure 87: ITC country information (Bahrain selected here)

The links in this interface display economic data in PDF (Adobe) or Excel format; for instance:

Figure 88: ITC country information for Bahrain - National Import Profile selected (partial view)

We won’t discuss this ITC interface to any longer extent, for it is not directly related to the Joint System
application.

8 International Trade Centre

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The last link in the Country list is Trade Compilation. Clicking it in a country record (see fig. 86) brings up the
following interface:

Answers to
UN questions

Figure 89: Trade Compilation for Azerbaijan (partial view)

This form is essentially a country report on national compilation and reporting practices in international
merchandise trade statistics. It lists the answers to a series of 156 questions sent to countries, asking them:
• what they include in trade statistics (e.g., postal items, products mined from the seabed…),
• which trade system they use (general, special),
• which classification system they use (e.g., SITC, HS),
• what sources they use (e.g., customs declarations),
• how quickly they report their data, …

For 52 of the 156 questions there is a UN recommendation on what countries should do.

When an answer doesn’t comply with the corresponding UN recommendation (if any), it appears in red and is
flagged with a question mark (?), like entry 10. above. A non-complying answer can be YES or NO. Complying
answers appear in blue. Answers to questions that haven’t a UN recommendation appear in grey.

The Trade compilation form also includes links to publications, explanatory texts and specific statistical
reports. These topics are considered beyond the scope of this Manual.

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2.4.3. Explanatory Notes
Clicking this entry brings up the following form:

Country first letter or

keyword filter – see previous

Figure 90: Explanatory Notes – all countries selected (partial view)

The View Description link gives the same results as the Country list entry –for the associated country only.
Clicking a year in a country entry brings up the already met detailed report:

Cost
Insurance
and Freight

Free On
Board

Figure 91: detailed Explanatory Note for Azerbaijan

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2.4.4. Glossary
This menu entry displays a general glossary of terms used in the Joint System application. The picture below
reproduces the first entries in this glossary:

Figure 92: general application glossary (partial view)

(Continued on the next page)

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An interesting entry in this glossary is the list of quantity codes:

Figure 93: list of quantity codes in the glossary

We met these codes in a variety of reports.

As usual, a first-letter selection can be carried out.

2.5. Subscription
Guest Users can become Registered Users and gain full access to Comtrade by paying an annual fee. The
Subscription menu in the main interface is reproduced below:

Figure 94: Subscription menu

These three entries are discussed below.

2.5.1. “Why Subscribing?”

As already mentioned, connecting as Guest (i.e., with no ID, password or recorded address) doesn’t provide
the User with full Joint System application services.

The following paragraph is reproduced from the “Why subscribing?” entry display:

Figure 95: “Why Subscribing?”

This is why subscribing to an individual or site license and becoming a registered User may be interesting to
most trade Statisticians.

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2.5.2. Subscription Prices
The Subscription Prices link sets out the subscription options and fees in a form that is reproduced below.
This form is copied from the online Help (for information only):

User license

Site license

One-month free site license

On-line subscription

Download Word
subscription document

Figure 96: Subscription options and fees (partial view)

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2.5.3. Order Form
Finally, a registration form is provided by clicking the Order Form entry. This form is reproduced below:

Figure 97: Order Form (partial view)

Notice that the Subscription Price form has Online and Word download subscription links.

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2.6. Support
The Support menu includes the following entries:

Figure 98: Support menu

These entries provide online Help and remote communication with UNSD. Since they are by nature strongly
User-oriented, we won’t describe them but briefly. For some entries, we just reproduce the form they display.

2.6.1. Service Message

Clicking this entry displays the latest Joint System Application informative messages, for instance the latest
data upload operations:

Figure 99: Service Message display (partial view)

Notice that, for each data upload entry, a link provides data availability by date of loading. The ‘What’s New’
link in the main interface displays the same kind of information in an abbreviated format.

(Continued on the next page)

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Messages can also relate to new Comtrade references, like in the two entries below:

Figure 100: other Service Message entries

Clicking the RSS button at the right of the entry displays the same information as fig. 99, but in RSS format:

Figure 101: Service Message display – RSS format (partial view)

2.6.2. Comtrade SDMX

This is just a link to an explanatory text about the SDMX format and capabilities, with links to related sites and
capabilities to download SDMX keys.

The Data Transfer Mechanism document gives a few details about SDMX and its usage by the Joint System
Application.

2.6.3. Comtrade RSS

RSS stands for ‘Rich Site Summary’. It is a new, XML-format way to publish information on line. This label has
already been met beside some of the Joint System Application links; see for instance fig. 1., a global view of
the main interface. Registered Users can get Upload news via RSS.

Clicking this entry loads introductory pages to RSS with definitions, links to related sites and links to published
papers.

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2.6.4. Comtrade Features
This function provides a valuable global introduction to the Joint System Application.

Clicking this link displays the following multi-tab form:

Figure 102: Comtrade Features – Data tab

Users should have a look at each tab.

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2.6.5. Help Index
The Help Index page is reproduced below:

Figure 103: Help Index menu in the main interface

(Continued on the next page)

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• First Time User is an introduction to Comtrade and provides beginners with useful query scenarios.
The First Time User page is reproduced below:

Figure 104: query scenarios in Help menu (partial view)

The ‘First Time User’ link is also present on the top right part of the main interface (fig. 1):

Figure 105: Direct access to First Time User Help

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• Basic Selection and Express Selection introduce the already discussed query processors.
• Limitations defines the already mentioned Comtrade limits and requirements.
• Tips provides the User with the usual –and useful– advice. The Tips page is reproduced below:

Figure 106: Tips form in Help menu

2.6.6. Questions and Answers

This page contains the usual FAQ sequence and their answers. A part of it is included below:

Figure 107: frequently asked questions and their answers (partial view) – some may be outdated

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2.6.7. Contact Us
Comtrade Users can send their feedback (issues, suggestions…) to UNSD developers and administrators
through the following form:

Figure 108: feedback form

Fields 3 to 5 are required.

The Feedback category can be selected from a combo:

Figure 109: Feedback category selection

Clicking Continue sends the form to the people concerned.

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2.7. Links
Connections to related sites are possible through the Links menu:

Figure 110: links to related sites

ECLAC and SDMX have already been mentioned in the Support section.

WITS is an economic data compilation Comtrade is part of, as illustrated below:

Figure 111: WITS home page (partial view)

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3. The Main Interface (Registered User)

3.1. Overview
In section 2., we described the Web Browser Client functions a Guest (i.e., non registered) User can run, and
their inherent limitations. These limitations are summarized here (some of them have already been
mentioned):

Figure 112: Guest User limitations – copied from the on-line Help

Notes on fig. 112:

1. “cannot download data” means in fact “no direct data download”. Remember that SDMX downloading
is possible for a Guest User up to 1,000 records a day.
2. “cannot set an alert notification for batch processing”: in fact, Guest Users cannot submit a batch
query.

All these limitations are cancelled when connecting as a Registered (or Subscriber) User. There are two ways
to do so:
• by providing a known User ID and its associated password (Individual license);
• by connecting from a registered IP address (Site license).

Section 2.5 explains how to get registered for an annual fee. How a User ID / password or a registered IP
address and other User features can be defined is explained in the Database Administrator Client Manual –a
document intended for Comtrade Administrators.

In section 3 of this document, only the functions and capabilities a Guest User isn’t allowed to use will be
discussed. This section will focus on the following Registered User capabilities:
• Download statistical data;
• Create and manage Sub Users (reserved to Master Users);
• Save the definitions of queries to use them later;
• Submit batch queries;
• Define and restore a User’s working environment through the ‘My Comtrade’ menu.

In addition, Registered Users automatically get upload news (new available datasets, data availability by date)
through the RSS capability; provided they have downloaded an RSS ‘feed reader’ from the Web (e.g., from
Google. Visit, for instance, www.feedreader.com).

For each IP address access (or site license) that is granted, there is an associated Master User. This Master
User, in addition to connecting through the IP address, has to provide a registered User ID / password pair.
The Master User has special privileges among the site Users, such as creating global favorites that can be
shared. They can also create and manage sub Users.

Master Users and the associated topics are discussed in the IP Authentication section.

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3.2. The Two Authentication Modes
As mentioned above, there are two ways to log in so as to access the totality of Comtrade capabilities:
• as a registered User, by providing a Comtrade-registered User ID and the associated password;
• from a registered Site. In this case, the site IP address 9 must be registered within Comtrade.

These two authentication modes are not totally equivalent: they imply some differences in the way the
Application behaves. Due to the fact that a site license (registered IP address) is granted to several Users
(typically, the employees of a company), individual features such as environment personalization cannot be
granted, unless Comtrade knows the email address of each User. This point is developed later in this section.

We will first discuss the registered User environment then describe the IP address mode specificities.

3.3. User ID – Password Authentication (Individual License)

3.3.1. Connection – Home Page

Back to the initial Web Browser Client Interface (fig. 1), we can use the Comtrade Access fields (possibly after
clicking the Log Off link) to connect as an individually registered User, via an ID and a password, and get a full
access to the Application.

In the example below, a registered User ID and its associated password have been entered:

Blurred User ID

Figure 113: Comtrade Access interface – logging in as Registered User

Note: the User ID (labeled ‘Name’) in the picture above is blurred for confidentiality reasons; it appears clearly
in the real interface.

If the ‘Remember me’ box is ticked, the entered User ID will be memorized and displayed in a list each time its
first letter is typed in the textbox. The User can then select the proper User ID instead of typing it in its whole.

Finally, entering the User ID and the User email address, then clicking Recover will send an email with the
User ID and the password to the provided address. This is a way to recover a forgotten password.

9 This will be the IP address of the Web access provider (often called ‘router’), not the local network address of
the connecting station.

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Clicking Login brings up the Registered User main interface:

‘My
Comtrade’

Connected
User’s Name

Figure 114: Registered User main interface – Shortcut Query and Trade in graph are examples

As already stated, only the functions and capabilities a guest User isn’t allowed to use will be discussed here.
An example of such functions is the ‘My Comtrade’ menu and its entries.

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3.3.2. ‘My Comtrade’ Menu
We see that one of the differences with the Guest interface is the presence of an extra menu in the list of links
at the left of the main interface:

Figure 115: ‘My Comtrade’ menu

The entries in this menu are discussed in the rest of this section. For consistency purposes, topics related to
query saving/loading, data downloading and batch processing are fully described in the ‘Additional
Capabilities’ section.
3.3.2.1. Account Info
Clicking the Account Info link displays the following form:

Connected User’s name and ID

– blurred in this document only

Edit User
Information

Links to
Favorites

Account
expiration date

Figure 116: Account Information form

This page displays the connected User’s personal data: ID, name, email… It also gives information on their
‘Favorites’, front page, group and so on. Front pages and groups are discussed later. Also notice the account
expiration date: each registered User account is defined for a certain time period by the Comtrade
Administrator.

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The links in the three panes of the form give details as to Favorites or make it possible to change the User and
Activities settings. These actions are described below, tagged with a ‘ ’ symbol.

‰ User Information – Edit (see fig. 116)

Clicking this link displays the following interface, in which the User’s features can be edited and saved (by
clicking Update):

Figure 117: User Information update interface

‰ ‘Activities Information’ - Favorites

Clicking one of the ‘Favorites’ links (e.g., Commodities) displays the multi-tab Favorites interface. This
interface is fully described in the Favorites section.

‰ Change your password

The ‘Change your password’ function works like the usual Windows interface. A Comtrade password must be
at least 8 characters long.

3.3.2.2. Favorites – Commodities

Favorites are pre-selected lists of items (e.g., commodities) that each User can define. Clicking the Favorites
link in ‘My Comtrade’ displays the following page:

Display
options

Alphabetical selection
Name of by first letter of Name
the favorite

Figure 118: favorites display/update interface – Commodities selected - one favorite recorded

This form shows the current User’s favorites by categories (Commodities, Reporters, Partners,…) and makes
it possible to add new favorites or remove existing ones for each category. Changing the contents of an
existing Favorite is also possible. In the example above, Commodities is selected and only one commodity set
is registered as Favorite.

Common Global Favorites exist for any registered User. These global favorites are defined within Comtrade.
The links in this form –and a few others– are discussed below. They are tagged with a ‘ ’ symbol.

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We can display a detailed list of Favorites, with its name and the codes it contains, by selecting the ‘Detail
View’ display option:

Links

Figure 119: favorite commodities – detailed view

Description of the links:

‰ Data Availability has already been discussed in section 2.

‰ View Snapshot apparently wasn’t implemented at the time this document was drawn up.

‰ Edit brings up more details about the selected Favorite entry:

Figure 120: details about ‘Textile products’ Favorite

(Continued on the next page)

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The Codes list displays the codes of the commodities the Favorite is made of. These codes can represent
elementary or generic (i.e., with sub-codes) items. The Name and Codes fields can be updated. For instance:

Name and Codes

Fields updated

Figure 121: Name and Codes fields of a commodity set – updates have been carried out

Clicking Update records the new definitions and leads back to the interface in fig. 118. Cancel has the same
effect but doesn’t record the updates.

‰ Delete removes the associated Favorite entry.

‰ Insert New allows the User to include a new Favorite in their list:

Figure 122: the Insert New Favorite interface – nothing added yet

The User enters the Name of the new Favorite and the item codes it will contain. These codes can be keyed
in, like in the example below:

Figure 123: keying in the Name and Codes for a new Favorite

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The User can also click the Lookup link (in red in fig. 122) to access the global Code storage in Comtrade and
get a complete and friendly interface:

Figure 124: Lookup interface (item search / selection)

The following points stand out:

1. This interface has already been discussed at the beginning of this document.
2. The selected Items list is populated with the codes we previously typed in.
3. The Select Source combo, described in the guest User section, makes it possible to select from the
whole item storage or a subset (including the current User’s Favorites):

Figure 125: source selection for the item codes

Finally, back to the Insert interface in fig. 122, clicking Insert shows the newly added entry:

Figure 126: User-created Favorite entry

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‰ ‘View pre-defined set of…’ brings up a list of already defined category (here, Commodities)
sets that can be selected as favorites by any registered Users (this is why they are called
‘global’ in this document):

Figure 127: global pre-defined favorites – Commodities selected (partial view)

Again we get a multi-tab interface that makes it possible to select Favorite sets in each category; here we
keep using Commodities. An example of pre-defined Country Groups is given later in this document.

Notice that the original Favorite entry, “Textile products; Section XI (HS1996)” has probably been obtained
from the global Favorite list. This entry has been changed to “Textile products bis; Section XI (HS1996)”. Had
it been saved with its original name, it would have remained local to the current User: global pre-defined items
cannot be changed by Users.

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To add a pre-defined entry to our current collection of favorites, we click the ‘Copy to…’ link for item ‘Ores and
metals’. We get the following confirmation message above the list of pre-defined commodities:

Figure 128: new favorite included

There are also an alphabetical selection (Favorite name’s first letter) and a detailed format for this pre-defined
favorite list. Selecting ‘Detail View’ changes the display to:

Figure 129: detailed list of pre-defined favorites (partial view)

Clicking ‘here’ in fig. 128 leads back to the initial Favorites interface, with the new entry added –to compare
with fig. 118:

Links

New favorite

Figure 130: new commodity favorite added

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The links in this form are the same as those already met:
‰ Clicking Delete deletes the associated entry.
‰ Clicking Edit provides details on the entry, in a form similar to fig. 120.

3.3.2.3. Favorites – Reporters/Partners/Year

The previous section is about Commodities: how to include them in Favorite lists. Other tabs in the main
Favorite interface make it possible to carry out the same operations for other item categories: Reporters,
Partners, Year, Country Groups and Commodity Groups, depending on the selected tab.

Comtrade behaves exactly the same for Commodity, Reporters, Partners and Years, with the exception that
Years have no codes (they are selected directly by their four-digit value) and no global pre-selected values
(although the ‘View pre-defined…’ link is still present).

As an example, the Reporters and Years interfaces are reproduced below:

Figure 131: the Favorites interface – Reporters selected – two favorites recorded

Figure 132: the Favorites interface – Reporters selected – no favorites recorded

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3.3.2.4. Favorites – Country Groups / Commodity Groups
These two categories of Favorites deserve more explanation. The initial interfaces are identical to the ones
already discussed, with the exception of a warning message that is commented later in this section:

Warning message

Country group
already defined

Figure 133: the Favorites interface – Country Groups selected – one ‘favorite’ recorded

Countries can be grouped within Comtrade. A country group is considered as an entity with its name (North
Africa in the example above). There is a pre-defined set of country groups that appears when clicking ‘View
pre-defined…’:

Figure 134: pre-defined country groups (partial view)

This interface has already been described (Commodity tab). The ‘Copy to favorite’ link allows the User to add
each group to their Favorite list.

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Back to fig. 133, if we select the Detail View or click Edit, the six countries that make up the North Africa group
are listed:

‘+’ signs: an aggregate

rather than a list
Figure 135: list of countries in North Africa group

Notice the ‘+’ signs that separate the country codes instead of the usual commas. This means that the six
countries are considered as an aggregate: they make up a single entity.

We can now submit this country group as reporter in a query. For instance:

Figure 136: a query that uses country group North Africa

We notice that there is only one row returned, not six, while the group is made of six countries. The collected
values for the six countries have been aggregated.

The same operations can be carried out for Commodity Groups: once several commodities make up a group,
using the group name in a query aggregates the commodity associated values.

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3.3.2.5. Predefined Favorites
This entry is a link to the already discussed ‘Pre-Defined Favorites’ interface, as reproduced in fig. 127. Again,
clicking “Copy to…” adds the corresponding pre-defined set to the User’s Favorite collection.

3.3.2.6. Download History

Clicking this entry summarizes the data download operations the current User carried out:

Figure 137: Download History – two downloads carried out

For each operation, the usual selection criteria are present. Clicking one of them displays its definition and
expands it if it’s a node in a tree structure (e.g., a class of commodities). For instance, if ‘95’ in the first History
entry is clicked, the familiar Commodity List with its links is displayed:

Figure 138: Commodity List from Download History

Clicking a Load link displays the corresponding query in an Express Selection form, from which the query can
be run again. This feature is fully described in the ‘Additional Capabilities’ section.

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3.3.2.7. Saved Queries
Clicking this entry displays a summary of query definitions the current User saved. Reminder: registered
Users can save the queries they run in order, for instance, to run them again later. Saved queries can also be
run automatically as the data they deal with changes. Again, this is discussed in the ‘Additional Capabilities’
section.

The picture below shows the currently saved queries:

Display options

Filter by first
letter of
query name
Links

Figure 139: currently saved queries (list view)

Notice the three links associated with each query entry. Delete deletes the associated query. Load and Edit
are discussed later in this section. Delete simply deletes the saved query.

As usual, a Detail View option with a query parameter summary is available:

Figure 140: first saved query (detailed view)

How a query can be saved and what can be done with saved queries is discussed in the ‘Additional
Capabilities’ section.

Also refer to this section for the meaning of ‘Notification Enabled’, ‘Auto Batch Enabled’ and ‘Update Type’,
and the description of Load, Edit and Delete links.

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3.3.2.8. Customize FrontPage
Clicking this entry makes it possible to set the front (or welcome, or home) page layout options. These options
are the exemplified processors, columns and headings that show in the initial page.

Figure 141: Customize FrontPage interface

Clicking the Update button saves the current setting.

(Continued on the next page)

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For instance, the settings in fig. 141 generate the following welcome page when linking to Comtrade:

Figure 142: an example of parametered welcome page (partial view)

The selected processors: Shortcut Query, First Time User and Trade In Graphs are present and exemplified
with data. The User is advised to try other settings (e.g., the Default setting) and compare their results.

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3.3.2.9. Customize Download Format
This entry makes it possible to define the format of data to be directly downloaded. This point is discussed in
the Data Download section of Additional Capabilities.

3.3.2.10.Batch Monitor
Clicking this entry displays the status of the current batch tasks (aka jobs) the User initiated, as exemplified
below:

Click to get
Job results

Figure 143: User’s current batch tasks (partial view)

Two jobs are displayed here (there are four of them in all) One is still running, the other is completed. Notice
the submission, start and completion dates. Entries of completed jobs remain 48 hours before being deleted.

How to submit batch queries is discussed in the next section.

As usual, clicking a link displays the related data (definition, availability, etc. For instance:

Figure 144: list of commodities used by a job

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The ‘Get It’ link of a completed job (fig. 143) is the most interesting: it allows the User to download the file that
contains the results of the submitted query. The common download interface is used:

Figure 145: file download interface

Notice the file format (.zip). This file can be saved as usual or directly opened with WinZip, like illustrated
below:

Job results
filename

Figure 146: opening a batch results file with WinZip

The file has now the CSV 10 format; it can be opened, for instance, by Notepad or Excel:

Figure 147: contents of the job results file – the first line is made of column names

We can check that these results match the query definition in fig 141. Again, the file can be saved –
presumably with a more convenient name.

10 Comma Separated Values: a plain text file that can be opened by Notepad or Excel.

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3.3.3. Additional Capabilities
3.3.3.1. Reminder
We already noticed (e.g., in fig. 42) that the list of actions that follow a query result doesn’t include a data
download option when we connect as guest User. If we run the query of fig. 42 again as a registered User,
we get the following form:

Nb of records retrieved

Selection summary

Action links

Figure 148: query used in fig. 39 run in registered User context

If we compare this form with fig. 42, the following points stand out (from top to bottom):
1. The number of records retrieved is greater: this is because the second query was run a few weeks
after the first one;
2. The action list includes three additional links:
• Direct Downloading
• Save Queries
• Batch Submission.

To follow the ‘My Comtrade’ menu order in the main interface, we already got onto these three topics. They
will now be discussed in detail in this separate section. This layout seems more consistent and will probably
be clearer to non-technical Users: they will tackle the matters in two steps, a quick look followed by an in-
depth study.

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3.3.3.2. Direct Downloading
This function allows a registered User to copy the data extracted by a query to a local, CSV format file.
Reminder: non-registered Users can download statistic data in SDMX format only. See the corresponding
section.

Consider the following Basic Query results:

Action
links

Figure 149: basic query results (cars and related commodities exported from Russia to Afghanistan

If we select the Download action, we get the usual file download form:

Figure 150: file download form

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We can save the file to disk or directly open it; in this case, Excel is used by default 11:

Figure 151: query data results downloaded and displayed by Excel (may need enlargement)

This CSV data display has already been commented. Remember that the first line is the column (or field)
header.
‰ Data Downloading Customization
This is an entry in ‘My Comtrade’ menu. But it obviously has to be discussed with the download function. The
common field (or column) selection form is used:

Selected
fields

Available
fields

Figure 152: Download format definition – a few columns selected

The way to select fields has been explained earlier in this document; in fact, this is a common Windows item
selection list: selection from Available frame to Selected frame is achieved via the Add and Remove buttons
once available columns are highlighted. As usual, no selection means ‘all possible fields selected’. Multi-
selection is possible through the Shift and Crtl keys. Notice that the selected fields stay in the Available field
list.

The order of the selected columns that will be used in the downloaded reports can also be changed through
the Up and Down buttons.

11 If no specific processor is associated with the CSV extension.

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Fig. 151 was obtained without any customization. We can exemplify the use of this customization function.
Consider the following field selection and order:

Figure 153: example of file download customization

The User must click Update for the options to be saved. Then, running the download operation again, the
following data is displayed:

Figure 154: the resulting data display

If we compare figures 151 and 154, the following points stand out:
1. in fig. 154, only the fields we selected are present;
2. in fig. 154, the field order follows the selection order;
3. the Commodity Code format is different; this is because option Excel Compatible Format was selected
for fig. 154. Setting this option ensures that the numeric values are considered as strings, not as
numbers, and therefore are left unchanged. For instance, Commodity Code “010111” will be left
unchanged, while it would be stored as number 10111 had the option not been set.

Clicking Back to Default restores the default download layout: all the fields available are displayed in the order
they are found.

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3.3.3.3. Query Saving
Let’s consider the basic query below and its results:

Action
links

Figure 155: another example of query

If we click Save Query in the list of action links, we get the following interface:

Figure 156: Save Query interface – query name has just been entered

The User enters the query name (as illustrated above) and clicks Add. A Save confirmation message box
pops up.

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Then, selecting Saved Queries in ‘My Comtrade’ brings up the following summary form:

Newly created and saved query Links to query processing

Figure 157: Saved Queries summary

The query we just saved appears now –there were none before. Fig. 139 is an example of three saved
queries. Saved queries can be called back (the link used is labeled ‘Load’) in the Basic Selection and Express
Selection interfaces to be run gain or modified, optionally under another name. Examples of such operations
are given in the rest of this section.

The already met Detail View button displays a thorough definition of the query.

Clicking Delete deletes the registered query. The Load and Edit links are discussed below, tagged with a ‘ ’
symbol.

(Continued on the next page)

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Load Saved Query
Clicking the Load link of a saved query brings up the Express Selection form, with its links and meta-language
capabilities:

Current
query Extra
pane

Figure 144: Express Selection – Registered User. Notice the additional ‘step 3’ pane

As a registered User, we notice an extra pane (labeled ‘Step 3’) at the bottom of the form. Its functions are
described below, prefixed with a ‘ ’ sign. These functions concern query saving operations and database
change notifications. They apply to the current (or loaded) query ―the one whose name appears in the Step 3
pane.

Database changes notifications are discussed in the next section.

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o Save Query: saves the loaded query, possibly with modified features, and/or under another
name, like in this example:

Figure 158: saving an already saved query with a different name

Back to the initial Saved Query form, we now have two entries:

Figure 159: same query saved with two different names

o Save As Default: there is a Default query in Comtrade that can be created and submitted
through the Basic or Express query processors. This query appears with name ‘_default’, for
instance in the Basic Selection interface:

Figure 160: the Default query – Basic query processor (partial view)

In this example, the initial ‘Hungary …’ query as been saved as Default query.

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Editing a Saved Query
The Edit link brings up a form that makes it possible to change the definition of the query:

Figure 161: the Saved Query Edit interface – query definition can be changed

The Lookup link has already been described; remember that it allows the User to select query parameters
through a friendly interface. Clicking Update saves the new definition and exits the Edit interface; Cancel exits
the interface without saving its data.

The actions below are not directly related to query saving. They are described here for consistency with the
interface layout (see fig. 144).
o Submit Query
See, for instance, fig. 32 and the comments that follow.

o Go to Comtrade Explorer
Clicking this button simply links to the already discussed Comtrade Explorer – Snapshot interface, with the
current query loaded.

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3.3.3.4. Batch Submission
How to monitor submitted batch queries has already been discussed and illustrated. To follow the layout of the
main interface, the way to submit batch jobs is now exposed here. See fig. 144 for references to the options
and buttons described below, prefixed with a ‘ ’ sign.

Submit to Batch Processing

Clicking this button submits the current (or loaded) query as a batch job for an asynchronous processing. This
means that the User gets control back immediately after the query submission. The query doesn’t need to be
a saved one –although it will often be. The User is warned about the possible excessive size of the query
results and has to confirm or cancel the batch submission. If it is confirmed, the following form appears:

Figure 162: batch submission of a query – the summarizing information can be used to run another query

The links in this form have already been described in other parts of this document. As clearly stated, the User
is informed of the job completion by an email. Of course, a proper mail address has to be present in the User’s
Account information.

To illustrate this process, we can submit the ‘Hungary950100’ saved query:

Batch actions
and options

Figure 163: submitting a query as a batch job

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The following informative pane pops up as the query is submitted (also see fig. 162 above):

Figure 164: a batch query has been submitted

Some time after, depending on what the submitted query had to do, the following email is received by the
sender:

Figure 165: email notification at the completion of a batch query

Notice the ‘From’ and ‘To’ fields, the query definition summary and the link to the .zip file that contains the
results. Clicking this link opens the file with WinZip, as illustrated in fig. 146.

The resulting CSV file can be locally saved and opened with Notepad or Excel. We can compare its contents
with those already downloaded in the Batch Monitor section (fig. 147).

The already discussed Batch Monitor form displays the status (Running or Completed) of current jobs initiated
by a User and makes it possible to download the data extracted by completed jobs without using a mail
notification.
Enable Notification (fig. 163)
This very interesting feature allows the User to be notified by an email when the data availability the
associated query refers to is modified in any way as to reporting Country, Classification or Year. In other
words, an email notification will be sent if there are changes in the high-level data that matches the selections.

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Enable AutoBatch (fig. 163)
Setting this option means that in addition to email notification, the Application will run the associated query
automatically in batch mode, with the already exposed monitoring capabilities, and according to the Update
Type option below. Of course, the query must be a saved one –it must still be known when data change
occurs.
Enabling AutoBatch automatically turns Enable Notification on.

Update Type (fig. 163)

There are two possible values: Incremental and Full.
• Incremental means that the Application will submit a batch for a new data item only.
• Full means that the system will submit a batch for the whole dataset defined by the query.

Example: Indonesia and Malaysia are defined as reporters in a query and new Indonesia data arrives; with
Incremental option set, the system will submit Indonesia data only, while Full option will submit Indonesia and
Malaysia data. Note that only Full option can be used with Country groups.
Update Type is ignored if AutoBatch is disabled.

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3.4. IP Address Authentication (Site License)
As usual, only the differences with the previous section (registered User connection) will be discussed here.

3.4.1. Connection – Home Page

Once an IP address, generally common to several Users 12 , is known from Comtrade as a registered IP
address associated with a site license, any User logging in from this address will be considered as an
Institutional User with enlarged access to Comtrade capabilities, without having to provide a User ID and the
associated password.

The welcome part of the main interface for an institutional-type connection is as follows:

Extra capability

To record the
email address

Figure 166: welcome box for a registered IP address connection – email address unknown

Compare this ‘Comtrade Access’ welcome box with the ones used for guest Users (fig. 1) and individually
registered Users (fig. 114). The ‘My Comtrade’ menu is also displayed in the institutional User main interface.

From the Application point of view, a connection to Comtrade takes place this way:
1. The User links to Comtrade Web site;
2. Comtrade compares the User’s IP address to list of registered IP addresses;
3. If it is found, the User become an IP (or Institutional) User;
4. If it isn’t found, the User is considered as Guest User;
5. If the User enters a registered ID and its associated password, he/she becomes an individual
Registered User. The IP address is ignored, except if the ID entered is the IP address Master User
ID: in this case, the User is considered as Master User. Master Users are discussed in their own
section.

12 Typically, the IP address of a Web router in an enterprise.

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3.4.2. Access Rights
3.4.2.1. Institutional Users
We‘ve just talked about Institutional Users (i.e., not individually-registered Users who log in from registered IP
addresses), stating that they had enlarged rights compared to guest Users. In fact, the only capability
institutional Users have besides Guest Users’ is the direct download function (up to 150,000) records.

However, as mentioned in fig. 166 above, an institutional User whose email address is known from Comtrade
will access all the personalization (or customization) capabilities (e.g., front page, download format, query
saving, etc). The email address is necessary because a site IP address doesn’t allow the Application to
differentiate between Users and therefore to record their individual profiles. Email recording is achieved
through the Account Info entry of ‘My Comtrade’.

IP Users with email addresses have in fact the same rights as individual (registered) Users, except that they
can’t log in from outside their IP addresses.

3.4.2.2. Individually Registered Users

Users who log in from the IP address using their own ID / password pair (when they have one, of course) are
considered as individually registered Users (section 3.3 is dedicated to these Users) –except when the Master
User ID / password pair is used; in that case, they are Master Users.

3.4.2.3. Sub Users (link)

The sub User profile is discussed in the Master Users section.

3.4.2.4. To Sum it up
A table at the end of this document summarizes the different types (or profiles) of Comtrade Users and their
associated rights; this table is certainly clearer than text explanations.

3.4.3. Master Users

3.4.3.1. Definition
Each registered IP address (or site license, from a commercial point of view) has its own, unique privileged
User: the Master User. This Master User is identified by a specific ID / password pair, associated with the IP
address. Therefore, to log in as Master User, two conditions are required:
1. Connect from a registered IP address;
AND
2. Provide the associated ID / password pair.

Since Master Users have a recorded login ID and a password, they can connect to Comtrade like any
registered User, from any workstation; but they will get their specific privileges only when they log in from their
associated IP address.

The welcome frame for Master Users looks like this:

For instance:
“Hello Master
John Smith”

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Figure 167: Master User welcome frame

As usual, the User’s name is blurred in this document. It appears clearly in the real interface. The name / first
name information is part of the recorded User definition.

Master Users have all the privileges of individually registered Users. In addition, they can:
1. Create and manage sub Users;
2. Define the following shared entities:
o saved queries
o customized front page
o customized download format
These personalization features are visible from Users who connect through the Master User’s IP
address, except if they are sub Users –see below.

Since point 2. has already been discussed and has no specificities compared to registered Users features,
we’ll just address the sub User management here.

Note: like any individual accounts, Master User accounts have an expiration date defined by the Comtrade
Administrator.

3.4.3.2. Creating Sub Users

A Master User can create sub Users through the ‘Account Info’ entry in ‘My Comtrade’ menu. The Sub User
Management frame of Account Info is used:

Link to sub
User creation –
notice the limit

Figure 168: Sub User management frame – none for the moment

The limit to sub User creation is set at Comtrade Administrator level. Clicking Insert New brings up the
following form:

Figure 169: the sub User creation interface

The Master User enters the sub User’s features, like in the example below:

Figure 170: defining the sub User – notice the comment about download limit: 0 (or blank) means no limit

(Continued on the next page)

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With this version of Comtrade, only the Login ID is required. Clicking Insert saves the sub User definition and
links back to the initial Account Info form, with the created sub User present:

Another
sub User
No download can be
limit added

Figure 171: Sub User Management – one sub User present

The Edit and Delete links make it possible to change the sub User settings or delete it; in the latter case, a
confirmation message box pops up.

3.4.3.3. Sub Users Properties

Sub Users are related to the Master User who created them, and therefore to an IP address. In a way they
reproduce, within Comtrade, the hierarchical structure that exists in the entity (e.g., the company or
organization) from which they log in. The Master User will then be the person in charge of Comtrade activities
in this entity.

In fact, sub Users behave like individually registered Users (see section 3.3), except that their expiration date
is the related Master User’s expiration date. If this date is extended, the extension will be taken into account
for all the associated sub Users.

Compared to IP Users, sub Users have another restriction: they cannot use the shared favorites created by
their Master User, while IP Users can.

If we log in from the IP address we’ve been using so far, we will be considered as Master User or associated
sub User, depending on the latest connection performed. If we’re the Master User, clicking Log Off will bring
up the following sub User Access form:

Master User name (e.g.,

“John Smith”)

Figure 172: sub User connection form

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Appendix: User Types and Associated Rights ─ Summary

The table below summarizes the different User types (or profiles) in Comtrade and their corresponding rights:
User Guest Individually IP IP Sub User Master
Type Registered Address Address
without with email
Related
Rights
email
‘My No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Comtrade’
Menu
Submit No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Batch
Batch No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Notification
AutoBatch No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
function
Direct No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Downloading
View/Print Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data
Download No direct Set by UNSD Up to Unlimited Set by Set by
Limit download 150,000 13 Master User UNSD
capability
Sub User No No No No No Yes
Creation

Figure 173: summary of User types / related rights

13 Subject to checking

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FIGURES

Figure 1: Joint System main interface – connection as Guest – Shortcut Query and In Graph functions exemplified............... 4
Figure 2: Data Query & Extraction links .................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 3: Quick Search entries for first letter F.......................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 4: two-letter selection from the Quick Search list ........................................................................................................... 5
Figure 5: results of a Quick Search for France (upper part) ...................................................................................................... 6
Figure 6: Extra selection by commodity (first three letters are ‘pet’).......................................................................................... 7
Figure 7: results of selection by country (France) and commodity (gases except from petroleum) ........................................... 8
Figure 8: changing selection criteria in the Comtrade Explorer report....................................................................................... 8
Figure 9: country selection interface ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 10: adding a country to the current selection ................................................................................................................. 9
Figure 11: new selection (two countries) report....................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 12: Shortcut Query selection interface – here: cars exported from Japan in 2004 ....................................................... 11
Figure 13: search results for the selected data ....................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 14: direct selection of an item by clicking its code (here, 871130) ............................................................................... 12
Figure 15: description of the selected commodity and its ancestors ....................................................................................... 12
Figure 16: data availability by year for the selected commodity .............................................................................................. 13
Figure 17: data availability - trade details for year 2003 .......................................................................................................... 13
Figure 18: two items selected from the commodity list............................................................................................................ 14
Figure 19: detailed information on two commodities ............................................................................................................... 14
Figure 20: sort order selection ................................................................................................................................................ 14
Figure 21: getting the Express Selection interface from the Shortcut Query........................................................................... 15
Figure 22: detailed information on two commodities – graphical form..................................................................................... 16
Figure 23: Printable Format display – may need enlargement ................................................................................................ 16
Figure 24: notes on Japan for 2004 ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Figure 25: trade notes for all countries and all years (first page bottom part).......................................................................... 17
Figure 26: Basic Query results ................................................................................................................................................ 18
Figure 27: file download warning message ............................................................................................................................. 18
Figure 28: the downloaded SDMX file (highlighted) – the name was left unchanged.............................................................. 19
Figure 29: SDMX file contents (partial view) ........................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 30: not available data: none for this example............................................................................................................... 20
Figure 31: data from Albania unavailable in 2002 for the selected commodities..................................................................... 20
Figure 32: Basic Selection interface (Commodities tab).......................................................................................................... 21
Figure 33: selection of commodity “cars” ................................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 34: selecting the data selection source ........................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 35: commodity tree view (only root is expanded) ......................................................................................................... 23
Figure 36: commodity selection – a node (Motorcycles) and a leaf (type of vehicle) are selected .......................................... 24
Figure 37: commodity list populated after clicking Add ........................................................................................................... 24
Figure 38: a node is selected with its descendants ................................................................................................................. 25
Figure 39: a category of vehicles is excluded from the vehicle selection ................................................................................ 25
Figure 40: selecting commodities by number of digits in code ................................................................................................ 26
Figure 41: standard country groups (or trade agreements between countries) ....................................................................... 26
Figure 42: results of a Basic Query operation ......................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 43: results of a Basic Query operation; extra selection by Year ................................................................................... 27
Figure 44: country-broken down report (first page partial view)............................................................................................... 28
Figure 45: Reporters tab interface .......................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 46: two countries (Italy and Japan) selected in Reporters interface ............................................................................. 29
Figure 47: query results for Commodities and Reporters selection......................................................................................... 30
Figure 48: three partners selected .......................................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 49: query results for Commodities, Reporters and Partners selection (partial view) .................................................... 31
Figure 50: additional selection by year .................................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 51: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners and Years (full view).................................................................... 32
Figure 52: the Others selection interface – notice the aggregation option .............................................................................. 33
Figure 53: selection by Commodities, Reporters, Partners, Years, Trade Flow and Trade Value (full view)........................... 33
Figure 54: an intra trade query – Transport Equipment within Europe for 2003 - 2004 ........................................................... 34
Figure 55: Comtrade Explorer initial interface ......................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 56: example of search string ........................................................................................................................................ 35
Figure 57: Comtrade Explorer – global results for the query ................................................................................................... 35
Figure 58: detailed information about an entry ........................................................................................................................ 36
Figure 59: results of snapshot function: upper part of Comtrade Explorer interface – see lower part below ........................... 36
Figure 60: Comtrade Explorer (lower part) – summary graphic report .................................................................................... 37
Figure 61: filtering list – entries beginning with ‘Fr’.................................................................................................................. 38
Figure 62: Comtrade Explorer (upper part) – selection filtered by Partner .............................................................................. 38

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Figure 63: Quick Filter selection..............................................................................................................................................39
Figure 64: new selection through Quick Filter ......................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 65: data availability report for selected commodity (partial view) ................................................................................. 39
Figure 66: Express Selection – Basic Items tab ...................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 67: Express Selection – Advanced Items tab............................................................................................................... 41
Figure 68: Express Selection report (partial view) ................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 69: Express Selection – top export Partners ................................................................................................................ 43
Figure 70: Data availability function in the main interface ....................................................................................................... 44
Figure 71: Data Availability Interactive interface – selection in effect ...................................................................................... 44
Figure 72: Comtrade Explorer for Interactive interface............................................................................................................ 45
Figure 73: ‘In Graph’ results....................................................................................................................................................46
Figure 74: the data records selected from the In Graph interface (partial) .............................................................................. 47
Figure 75: Reporter countries by year and classification codes .............................................................................................. 48
Figure 76: Reporter interface – information on country ........................................................................................................... 49
Figure 77: commodity selection – food is the main selection – two items selected ................................................................. 49
Figure 78: commodities – report for two selected items – Data Availability............................................................................. 50
Figure 79: report on specific year for selected commodities – Data Availability ...................................................................... 51
Figure 80: Year reporting for Data Availability......................................................................................................................... 52
Figure 81: selection by record upload date – Data Availability – ‘one month ago’................................................................... 53
Figure 82: possible values for date selection .......................................................................................................................... 53
Figure 83: the Metadata & Reference links ............................................................................................................................. 54
Figure 84: commodity list for classification HS1996 (partial view) ........................................................................................... 54
Figure 85: expanding the 02 node and its descendant(s)........................................................................................................ 55
Figure 86: Country list – all countries selected (partial view)................................................................................................... 55
Figure 87: ITC country information (Bahrain selected here).................................................................................................... 56
Figure 88: ITC country information for Bahrain - National Import Profile selected (partial view) ............................................. 56
Figure 89: Trade Compilation for Azerbaijan (partial view)...................................................................................................... 57
Figure 90: Explanatory Notes – all countries selected (partial view) ....................................................................................... 58
Figure 91: detailed Explanatory Note for Azerbaijan ............................................................................................................... 58
Figure 92: general application glossary (partial view).............................................................................................................. 59
Figure 93: list of quantity codes in the glossary....................................................................................................................... 60
Figure 94: Subscription menu ................................................................................................................................................. 60
Figure 95: “Why Subscribing?”................................................................................................................................................ 60
Figure 96: Subscription options and fees (partial view) ........................................................................................................... 61
Figure 97: Order Form (partial view) .......................................................................................................................................62
Figure 98: Support menu ........................................................................................................................................................63
Figure 99: Service Message display (partial view) .................................................................................................................. 63
Figure 100: other Service Message entries............................................................................................................................. 64
Figure 101: Service Message display – RSS format (partial view) .......................................................................................... 64
Figure 102: Comtrade Features – Data tab............................................................................................................................. 65
Figure 103: Help Index menu in the main interface................................................................................................................. 66
Figure 104: query scenarios in Help menu (partial view)......................................................................................................... 67
Figure 105: Direct access to First Time User Help.................................................................................................................. 67
Figure 106: Tips form in Help menu ........................................................................................................................................ 68
Figure 107: frequently asked questions and their answers (partial view) – some may be outdated ........................................ 68
Figure 108: feedback form ......................................................................................................................................................69
Figure 109: Feedback category selection................................................................................................................................ 69
Figure 110: links to related sites..............................................................................................................................................70
Figure 111: WITS home page (partial view) ............................................................................................................................ 70
Figure 112: Guest User limitations – copied from the on-line Help ......................................................................................... 71
Figure 113: Comtrade Access interface – logging in as Registered User ............................................................................... 72
Figure 114: Registered User main interface – Shortcut Query and Trade in graph are examples .......................................... 73
Figure 115: ‘My Comtrade’ menu ............................................................................................................................................74
Figure 116: Account Information form ..................................................................................................................................... 74
Figure 117: User Information update interface ........................................................................................................................ 75
Figure 118: favorites display/update interface – Commodities selected - one favorite recorded ............................................. 75
Figure 119: favorite commodities – detailed view.................................................................................................................... 76
Figure 120: details about ‘Textile products’ Favorite ............................................................................................................... 76
Figure 121: Name and Codes fields of a commodity set – updates have been carried out..................................................... 77
Figure 122: the Insert New Favorite interface – nothing added yet ......................................................................................... 77
Figure 123: keying in the Name and Codes for a new Favorite............................................................................................... 77
Figure 124: Lookup interface (item search / selection)............................................................................................................ 78
Figure 125: source selection for the item codes...................................................................................................................... 78
Figure 126: User-created Favorite entry ................................................................................................................................. 78
Figure 127: global pre-defined favorites – Commodities selected (partial view)...................................................................... 79
Figure 128: new favorite included ........................................................................................................................................... 80
Figure 129: detailed list of pre-defined favorites (partial view) ................................................................................................ 80

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Figure 130: new commodity favorite added............................................................................................................................. 80
Figure 131: the Favorites interface – Reporters selected – two favorites recorded................................................................. 81
Figure 132: the Favorites interface – Reporters selected – no favorites recorded .................................................................. 81
Figure 133: the Favorites interface – Country Groups selected – one ‘favorite’ recorded ....................................................... 82
Figure 134: pre-defined country groups (partial view) ............................................................................................................. 82
Figure 135: list of countries in North Africa group ................................................................................................................... 83
Figure 136: a query that uses country group North Africa ....................................................................................................... 83
Figure 137: Download History – two downloads carried out.................................................................................................... 84
Figure 138: Commodity List from Download History ............................................................................................................... 84
Figure 139: currently saved queries (list view) ........................................................................................................................ 85
Figure 140: first saved query (detailed view)........................................................................................................................... 85
Figure 141: Customize FrontPage interface............................................................................................................................ 86
Figure 142: an example of parametered welcome page (partial view) .................................................................................... 87
Figure 143: User’s current batch tasks (partial view) .............................................................................................................. 88
Figure 144: list of commodities used by a job ......................................................................................................................... 88
Figure 145: file download interface ......................................................................................................................................... 89
Figure 146: opening a batch results file with WinZip ............................................................................................................... 89
Figure 147: contents of the job results file – the first line is made of column names............................................................... 89
Figure 148: query used in fig. 39 run in registered User context ............................................................................................. 90
Figure 149: basic query results (cars and related commodities exported from Russia to Afghanistan.................................... 91
Figure 150: file download form ................................................................................................................................................ 91
Figure 151: query data results downloaded and displayed by Excel (may need enlargement) ............................................... 92
Figure 152: Download format definition – a few columns selected.......................................................................................... 92
Figure 153: example of file download customization ............................................................................................................... 93
Figure 154: the resulting data display ..................................................................................................................................... 93
Figure 155: another example of query .................................................................................................................................... 94
Figure 156: Save Query interface – query name has just been entered ................................................................................. 94
Figure 157: Saved Queries summary...................................................................................................................................... 95
Figure 158: saving an already saved query with a different name........................................................................................... 97
Figure 159: same query saved with two different names ........................................................................................................ 97
Figure 160: the Default query – Basic query processor (partial view) ..................................................................................... 97
Figure 161: the Saved Query Edit interface – query definition can be changed...................................................................... 98
Figure 162: batch submission of a query – the summarizing information can be used to run another query .......................... 99
Figure 163: submitting a query as a batch job......................................................................................................................... 99
Figure 164: a batch query has been submitted ..................................................................................................................... 100
Figure 165: email notification at the completion of a batch query.......................................................................................... 100
Figure 166: welcome box for a registered IP address connection – email address unknown................................................ 102
Figure 167: Master User welcome frame .............................................................................................................................. 104
Figure 168: Sub User management frame – none for the moment ....................................................................................... 104
Figure 169: the sub User creation interface .......................................................................................................................... 104
Figure 170: defining the sub User – notice the comment about download limit: 0 (or blank) means no limit......................... 104
Figure 171: Sub User Management – one sub User present ................................................................................................ 105
Figure 172: sub User connection form .................................................................................................................................. 105
Figure 173: summary of User types / related rights............................................................................................................... 106

INFO³/OECD Ref: WBC_MUT001CEn.doc