OK, I see that Excel in various versions (2000, xp) is stupid when it
imports .csv and .xml in certain ways. Specifically, a string of '01503'
comes in as numeric data of 1503 in both formats, notwithstanding that in
both files they appear as '01503'. However, if the csv file has a .txt
extension, it will first require that you specify certain import
instructions, such as delimiter, data type, etc, and then it will import it
correctly!

Here's my question: how can I automate this process, so that it can be
imported correctly without having to 'trick' Excel (and, by the way, an xml
version does not give me any 'trick the system' opportunity).

Thanks for any help,

Bernie Yaeger