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Help with Excel single column import

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    Help with Excel single column import

    I need to import data from an Excel spreadsheet on a weekly basis. I only need the first column of the SS. I have tried: saving as Excel 4.0, saving as a .dbf file, importing into a new table, appending to an existing table, all to no avail. Attached is a ZIP file containing my database and the SS file. The SS file is: Dynasis Pickup 122206.xls. The data I need is the Serial Numbers from the first column. I need this data imported into the "inventory" table of my database into the iad_serial_num column - with the autoincrement counter being updated automagically....

    Any help will be greatly appreciated.

    #2
    Re: Help with Excel single column import

    As you probably now realize, importing text files into Alpha is not for beginners. You need to perform an "operation".

    Bill Belanger

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      #3
      Re: Help with Excel single column import

      I performed several "operations" - trying both import and append. No luck. One of the problems with A5 is the documentation - it is poor at best. No index, no contents, very poor examples and explanations - especially for those of us coming from an MSAccess world. So much for being 5 times faster and simpler.......

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Help with Excel single column import

        Originally posted by gmcfad View Post
        I need to import data from an Excel spreadsheet on a weekly basis. I only need the first column of the SS. I have tried: saving as Excel 4.0, saving as a .dbf file, importing into a new table, appending to an existing table, all to no avail. Attached is a ZIP file containing my database and the SS file. The SS file is: Dynasis Pickup 122206.xls. The data I need is the Serial Numbers from the first column. I need this data imported into the "inventory" table of my database into the iad_serial_num column - with the autoincrement counter being updated automagically....

        Any help will be greatly appreciated.
        Speaking of unclear documentation.... I suppose the autoincrement counter would have to be updated automagically since there is no autoimcrement rule defined for the inventory table.

        The excel file in the attachment is a version 7 file so it cannot be imported as is. As far as the file saved as "Dynasis Pickup - 122206.dbf", this name does not comply with Alpha's naming conventions.

        Table and Field Names

        Alpha Five recommends that table names, field names, and paths to your files start with a letter (A-Z or a-z) and be composed of letters, numbers (0-9), and underscore (_) characters. Do not use tilde "~" characters.
        Having instituted an autoincrement rule for the prikey field in the inventory table, renamed the "Dynasis Pickup - 122206.dbf" to something without spaces and dashes, I was easily able to append the records from the dynpic122206.dbf to the inventory.dbf and the autoincrement rule was enforced.
        Last edited by Stan Mathews; 01-07-2007, 08:43 PM.
        There can be only one.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Help with Excel single column import

          oops -sorry about the attempt at humor (automagically). I had saved the SS in V4 format earlier - thats where the imported .dbf files came from. I was not aware that the table naming restrictions were so strict. (I had used these same files in Access with no problems) I also had created an autoincrement field in a test version of the inventory table - (inventory_test) which didn't work - so I didn't include it in the zip file. What I didn't do was to rename the .db file. Thanks for your help.

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            #6
            Re: Help with Excel single column import

            Originally posted by gmcfad View Post
            ...No index, no contents, very poor examples and explanations - especially for those of us coming from an MSAccess world. So much for being 5 times faster and simpler.......
            There are some good database examples that come along with the Alpha 5 download (Look at Contact Manager and the Alpha Sports). The entire process in Alpha 5 is different than Access, so you are going to have to rethink how to approach things. It takes some time, but if you work with Action Scripts, that will help you along. I, too, struggled in the beginning, having come over from Access, but have been able to overcome the learning curve.

            Pete Schuder
            "Ollie, remember how dumb I used to be? Well, I'm much better now."

            Pete

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