Custom Import Setup Dialog

This dialog is used to setup your custom import parameters. You get to this dialog from the Import Data dialog. When you select Custom Import from the file type list, the Setup button will become available. By pressing this button, you will be put into the Custom Import Setup dialog.

This dialog lets you define how a data file that you want to import is laid out. For example, you may have a data file that looks like this:

AGGIE###19980214##67.4

BERNY###19971213##56.3

(For clarity, the pound signs represent spaces.) You first must determine which "columns" contain what data. In this example, we see the following:

Columns 1 through 8 contain the barn name.

Columns 9 through 16 contain the birthday in the form YYYYMMDD.

Columns 18 through 22 contain the milk weight for the last test.

Armed with this information, you can now set up your custom import.

Description for this Custom Import

Type in the name you want to assign to this custom import. This is actually the name that will appear in the file type list in the Import Data dialog.

 

Skip Lines

If you want DairyLive to ignore some lines at the beginning of the file, type in the number of lines you want skipped. For example, your data file may contain column titles in the first row.

 

Go through the File X Times

Sometimes DairyLive must go through a file multiple times in order to import all of the information. Normally, however, once is adequate.

 

Prompt for File with this Pattern

Files usually have an extension. This is the name of the file that appears after the period, such as .TXT. For example, if you want to be able to import files that end in .TXT, type *.TXT for the pattern.

 

Fields

These are the fields that will be imported. To add a new field, select a field name, provide the "From Col" and "To Col" values, and press the Add button.

 

Format for Date Fields

If any of your fields will be date fields, chose the format your dates are in.

Comma Delimited File

Check this box if the file format uses a comma-delimited scheme.  In this format, commas separate the fields in each record.  When this is checked, the From and To column fields will become disabled as they do not apply.

If you are importing a comma delimited file, you must define each field, even the ones that are not being imported, and they must appear in the order that you specify.  For example, if the first field contains a serial number which you don't want to import, select (Skip Field) in the Field list and click on the Add button.

 

Up, Down, Delete

Use these buttons to adjust the position of the items in the Fields list.

 

See Also

Import Data Dialog