Importing Data

You can import data from another file using the Import External Data button.  A window pops up to have you enter the source file information.  Once you complete the entries, and press the Continue With Data Import button, the data in the other file will be merged into your currently open file.

File Type

Select the type of file you are importing.

ASCII

These files are strips of data, which are not encoded.  Each record takes up one line in the file, followed by a carriage return and line feed symbol pair.  Most software programs will export data in ASCII format.  There are two types:

•SDF - Each field takes up a specific amount of space.  The receiving data file must match the structure ( field sizes ) exactly or the data will not be imported correctly.

•Delimited - Each field has delimiters which mark the beginning and end of the field.  The standard delimiters are quotation marks, and fields are separated by commas.

DBF

These files are already in the industry standard format.  However, to import data from a DBF file, the field names must match.  In every field that matches, the data will be imported, and the ones that do not match are ignored.

Selecting the file

The easiest way to select the file is to use the explorer option, and look for the file on the system.  You will find the button for this to the right of the blank set for the file name.  Using standard windows exploring methods, find the file which will be the source of your imported data.