Business Intelligence Data Converter

📖 Overview

The Business Intelligence Data Converter transforms any Apify dataset into normalized, analysis‑ready tables. Instead of wide JSON exports with nested objects, this Actor produces clean rows that BI tools like Excel, Power BI, or Tableau can easily process.

---

✨ Features

• Universal normalization → Specify the nested field (e.g. shop, offers, prices) and the Actor will break it into rows.
• BI‑friendly output → One row per nested entry with clear columns for the key and its value.
• Flexible schema → Works with any dataset structure, no coding required.
• Export options → Use Apify’s Dataset tab to download results in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
• Advanced Options → Extra controls to make your dataset cleaner and more BI‑ready: filter columns, rename them, and decide how missing values should look.

---

⚙️ How It Works

1. Provide the dataset ID from your Apify scraper run.
2. Enter the nested field name that contains the object you want normalized.
3. (Optional) Expand Advanced Options to refine the output:
   • Keep or remove specific columns.
   • Rename columns to shorter, dashboard‑friendly names.
   • Choose how missing values should be displayed.
4. Run the Actor — it will:
   • Load your dataset.
   • Extract each key–value pair from the nested field.
   • Apply your Advanced Options.
   • Output normalized rows into the default dataset.

---

What is a Dataset ID?

A dataset ID is the unique identifier for the results of any Apify scraper run. It looks like a short string of letters and numbers, for example: 7rcBChBZCGq3nAmai. You’ll need this ID to tell the Actor which dataset to process.

There are two simple ways to find it:

1. From the Export button after a run

   • When your scraper Actor finishes, click the Export button.
   • At the top of the export dialog you’ll see a title like:
     Export dataset 7rcBChBZCGq3nAmai
   • The part after “Export dataset” (7rcBChBZCGq3nAmai) is your dataset ID.
   • Right next to it is a copy icon — click it to copy the ID and paste it into this Actor’s Dataset ID input field.

2. From the Storage → Datasets section

   • In Apify Console, go to Storage → Datasets.
   • Select the dataset created by your scraper run.
   • The dataset ID is shown at the top of the dataset detail page and also in the dataset URL.

---

What is a Nested Field?

A nested field is a property inside your dataset that contains multiple values grouped together as an object or dictionary.

• Example: In a product dataset, the field shop might contain { "Amazon": 699, "Ao": 699, "Argos": 749 }.
• Instead of keeping this as one wide JSON object, the Actor will break it into rows:
  • One row for Amazon with its price.
  • One row for Ao with its price.
  • One row for Argos with its price.

This makes the data easy to analyze in BI tools like Excel, Power BI, or Tableau.

---

🧩 Example

Input dataset (raw)

{
  "category": "TVs",
  "currency": "GBP",
  "ean": "8806095989594",
  "name": "Samsung QE43QN90F",
  "shop": {
    "Amazon": 699,
    "Ao": 699,
    "Argos": 749
  }
}

Output dataset (normalized)

category	currency	ean	name	shop	price
TVs	GBP	8806095989594	Samsung QE43QN90F	Amazon	699
TVs	GBP	8806095989594	Samsung QE43QN90F	Ao	699
TVs	GBP	8806095989594	Samsung QE43QN90F	Argos	749

---

⚙️ Advanced Options Explained

• Flatten all nested objects → If ON, the Actor will recursively flatten every nested object/array into columns. If OFF, only one level is flattened.
• Columns to keep → Enter a comma‑separated list of column names you want to keep. Example: website, price, brand. All other columns will be dropped.
• Columns to remove → Enter a comma‑separated list of column names you want to remove. Example: image, url. Those columns will be excluded from the output.
• Column renaming → Provide mappings in the format oldKey:newKey. Example:
  offers_value/productTitle:title
offers_value/price:price_eur

This shortens long technical names into clean BI‑friendly ones.

• Null/empty handling → Choose how missing values should appear in your dataset:
• null → true null values (best for databases).
• "" → empty string (best for Excel formulas).
• N/A → default text marker.
• Unknown → custom label for blanks.

---

🧪 Practical Example

Raw (Wide) Data

→ This is how Apify scrapers often store results: one record with a big “box” of offers inside. It looks messy because all the offers are bundled together.

category	ean	lowestPrice	offers/0/currency	offers/0/marketplace	offers/0/price	offers/0/productTitle	offers/0/seller	offers/0/shipment	offers/1/currency	offers/1/marketplace	offers/1/price	offers/1/productTitle	offers/1/seller	offers/1/shipment	offers/2/currency	offers/2/marketplace	offers/2/price	offers/2/productTitle	offers/2/seller	offers/2/shipment	offers/3/currency	offers/3/marketplace	offers/3/price	offers/3/productTitle	offers/3/seller	offers/3/shipment	offers/4/currency	offers/4/marketplace	offers/4/price	offers/4/productTitle	offers/4/seller	offers/4/shipment	offers/5/currency	offers/5/marketplace	offers/5/price	offers/5/productTitle	offers/5/seller	offers/5/shipment
tv	8806097241423	259	€	/	259	Samsung Crystal UHD 43"	amazon	siehe Website	€	/	259.99	Samsung GU43U7099F 43" UHD	cyberport	6,99 €*	€	/	259.99	Samsung GU43U7099F 43" UHD	computeruniverse.net	6,99 €*	€	ebay.de	269	Samsung 43" UHD U7099F	samsung-deutschland	0,00 €*	€	/	269	Samsung 43" UHD U7099F	coolblue	0,00 €*	€	/	269	Samsung GU43U7099FU 43" UHD	otto	0,00 €*
tv	8806096456743	379	€	/	379	LG QNED AI 43QNED70	amazon	siehe Website	€	/	379	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43"	saturn online shop	0,00 €*	€	/	379	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43"	media markt online shop	0,00 €*	€	ebay.de	650	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43" LCD	ersazza	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	€	/	239	Hisense 43A6Q LED 43" UHD	saturn online shop	0,00 €*	€	/	239	Hisense 43A6Q LED 43" UHD	media markt online shop	0,00 €*	€	ebay.de	299.99	Hisense 43A6Q Smart 43" UHD	topelektrohaus	0,00 €*	€	ebay.de	349	Hisense 43A6Q 43" UHD WLAN	mercapool	0,00 €*	€	ebay.de	377.15	Hisense 43A6Q 43" UHD	katomixshop	10,98 €*

Normalized (BI‑Ready) Data

→ The Actor takes that box apart and lays each offer out as its own row. Now you can sort, filter, and analyze prices across sellers in Excel or BI dashboards without extra cleanup.

category	ean	lowestPrice	offers	currency	marketplace	price_eur	title	seller	shipment
tv	8806097241423	259	0	€	/	259	Samsung Crystal UHD 43"	amazon	siehe Website
tv	8806097241423	259	1	€	/	259.99	Samsung GU43U7099F 43" UHD	cyberport	6,99 €*
tv	8806097241423	259	2	€	/	259.99	Samsung GU43U7099F 43" UHD	computeruniverse.net	6,99 €*
tv	8806097241423	259	3	€	ebay.de	269	Samsung 43" UHD U7099F 2025	samsung-deutschland	0,00 €*
tv	8806097241423	259	4	€	/	269	Samsung 43" UHD U7099F 2025	coolblue	0,00 €*
tv	8806096456743	379	0	€	/	379	LG QNED AI 43QNED70	amazon	siehe Website
tv	8806096456743	379	1	€	/	379	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43"	saturn online shop	0,00 €*
tv	8806096456743	379	2	€	/	379	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43"	media markt online shop	0,00 €*
tv	8806096456743	379	3	€	ebay.de	650	LG 43QNED70A6A QNED 43" LCD	ersazza	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	0	€	/	239	Hisense 43A6Q LED 43" UHD	saturn online shop	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	1	€	/	239	Hisense 43A6Q LED 43" UHD	media markt online shop	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	2	€	ebay.de	299.99	Hisense 43A6Q Smart 43" UHD	topelektrohaus	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	3	€	ebay.de	349	Hisense 43A6Q 43" UHD WLAN	mercapool	0,00 €*
tv	6942351415628	239	4	€	ebay.de	377.15	Hisense 43A6Q 43" UHD	katomixshop	10,98 €*

---

📊 Use Cases

• Price comparison across multiple merchants.
• Market analysis with normalized product data.
• Dashboard integration for Power BI or Tableau.
• Data cleaning before exporting to external systems.