Use the Define Text Format dialog box to define the format for columns in a selected file and specify the schema for each data table. The Define Text Format dialog box contains the following controls, among others:

Add

Adds a column using the values in the Data Type, Name, and Width fields.

Characters

ANSI or OEM. OEM specifies a non-ANSI character set and is the default if the format of the item selected in the Tables list has not been defined.

Column Name Header

Specifies whether the columns of the selected table's first row will be used as column names. Defaults to FALSE (cleared) if the format of the item selected in the Tables list has not been defined.

Columns

Lists the column names for each column in the table selected in the Tables list and reflects the order of the columns in the table.

Data Type

Can be BIT, BYTE, CHAR, CURRENCY, DATE, FLOAT, INTEGER, LONGCHAR, SHORT, or SINGLE. For date data types, use "dd-mmm-yy", "mm-dd-yy", "mmm-dd-yy", "yyyy-mm-dd", or "yyyy-mmm-dd". ("mm" denotes numbers for months; "mmm" denotes letters for months.)

Delimiter

The custom delimiter character to be used to separate columns. Must be only one character, and double quotation marks (") cannot be used. This option is enabled when Custom Delimited is selected from the Format box.

Format

Either delimited or fixed-length. If delimited, indicates the type of delimiter used: comma (CSV), tab, or special character (custom). Defaults to CSV Delimited if the format of the item selected in the Tables list has not been defined.

If Format is fixed-length and Column Name Header is selected, the first line must be comma delimited.

Guess

Click to generate the data type, name, and width values for the columns in the selected table by scanning the table's contents according to the Format list box selection. Enabled when the table format is delimited. Previously defined columns in the Columns list are cleared and replaced with new entries. If Column Name Header is not selected, column names are generated as "F1", "F2", and so on.

This functionality works only on columns that are less than 64,513 bytes.

Modify

Click to modify the selected column using the values in the Data Type, Name, and Width fields.

Name

The selected column's name. Use to specify a new column name for either an existing column or a new column.

If Column Name Header is selected, the displayed column name is ignored.

Remove

Deletes the selected column.

Rows to Scan

The number of rows that Setup or the driver will scan when setting the columns and column data types. This value defaults to 25 if the format of the item selected in the Tables list has not been defined, but can be any number from 1 to 32767.

Tables

Lists all files that match the list of extensions specified in the directory selected in the ODBC Text Setup dialog box.

When <default> is selected, the Columns list is disabled.

Width

Value can be changed for CHAR or LONGCHAR columns. For other data types, Width is disabled and no value is displayed. Defaults to 1 if the format of the item selected in the Tables list has not been defined.

See Also