Data in narrow columns truncated when saving as DBF
I have a requirement to save some data in an Excel file in DBF format which
Excel can do. However I noticed that if the columns in Excel are not wide enough, the data in the columns is truncated when I re-open the DBF file in Excel. It's also truncated when I open the DBF file with this other 3rd party application. Please note that the amount of text in each column is not that much -- maybe 15-25 characters. I have to re-type the data, expand the columns to be wider than the actual data (so the data is completely visible and then some), then re-save the file in DBF format. Does anyone know why Excel truncates the data when the columns aren't wide enough?? This seems ridiculous that Excel would do that. Also, is there any setting or option in Excel to prevent this from happening? Thank you, Ben |
Just a guess he when I create a table in Access I can specify field
width for my entries. Is it possible the field width in your DBF file is set to some default value that is comparitively low? I just tested this by saving some Excel text as a DBF (DBase IV format). The only database program I have on this computer is Access, so I opened the DBF file using Access and found the file width to be 9 characters- but I couldn't alter the field width because Access had attached the data rather than import it. Do you have software that can alter the field width? |
Dave O wrote:
Just a guess he when I create a table in Access I can specify field width for my entries. Is it possible the field width in your DBF file is set to some default value that is comparitively low? I just tested this by saving some Excel text as a DBF (DBase IV format). The only database program I have on this computer is Access, so I opened the DBF file using Access and found the file width to be 9 characters- but I couldn't alter the field width because Access had attached the data rather than import it. Do you have software that can alter the field width? Hello Dave, Thanks for testing that out. I do have Access although I generally don't use it. I was able to create a new database in Access, import the Excel file into Access and then Export the data from Access to a DBF file. Also, since I imported the data (rather than "attach" it), Access allowed me to alter the field lengths although it wasn't necessary since when I import the data, Access must automatically detect the longest field of data and set the field length to that value. In short, your idea of using Access got me on the right track! Thanks again, Ben |
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