Variable length of columns in text file

malin666 · Post by **malin666** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:20 am

Hi,
I have a text file where are variable length columns.

for example

first two characters is id
next 10 characters is name
next 20 characters is address
etc

How to import such data in to the table definitions?
I see there only option of fixed width columns and delimited ones?

None of them is correct in my case

Any help would be much appreciated.
Marcin

DSguru2B · Post by **DSguru2B** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:23 am

open the file in a notepad, what delimitter do you see? do you even see any delimiter?

seanc217 · Post by **seanc217** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:26 am

Is the ID field actually the length of the variable data?
I have files that do this.

malin666 · Post by **malin666** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:27 am

DSguru2B wrote:open the file in a notepad, what delimitter do you see? do you even see any delimiter?

No, it is not a delimited file.

As I said from the specification I know that
first 2 characters is id, next 10 name, etc...

Best regards

chulett · Post by **chulett** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:45 am

Then it is a 'fixed width' file and should be imported as one.

DSguru2B · Post by **DSguru2B** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:47 am

then your file is of fixed width format.
do this, while importing the meta data, choose the fixed width option and in the columns, specify the column name and in the length specify the ( for ID specify 2, for name specify 10 and so on...).
this should work, provided your file is truely fixed width.
when i say truely fixed width, i mean, even if the name is of length 5, the rest of the remaining 5 positions should be empty spaces)