Creating Databases – Importing a Delimited ASCII Text ... - LexisNexis

Creating Databases – Importing a Delimited ASCII Text (DAT) File 4
4 Click OK.
5 When prompted, choose a file name and directory (choose to store your database locally or on a
network drive).
NOTE – You must have full access to the directory.
6 Click Open to save the database and begin creating and customizing your fields.
Configuring Fields for Your Data
Selecting the Blank database template creates an empty database containing no fields and is best to use
when you are creating a custom structure for a delimited ASCII text (.DAT) file.
Plan your database structure
Open your DAT file with a text editor.
Note the following:
• Delimiters used in the file (Text qualifier, field, and new line delimiters)
• Field Headers (the first line will usually contain the field headers)
• Type, format, and length of data
• Date fields are 8 digits max, may be in any order with slashes, or in the universal “true date” format
without slashes
• Field(s) database users need to search and sort
• Field (if any) to be linked to an image
• OCR content (if any) to be imported
Tip - While you have the DAT file open, scroll to the bottom of the file, and ensure that the last record
(the last line) has a new line delimiter (create by pressing Enter on your keyboard) at the end of the
record. Without the final return, the last record will not be imported into your database.
Immediately upon creating a blank database the New field dialog will open prompting you to begin
creating and configuring your fields.
1 Type the name of your first field in the Name field (see figure 3).
NOTE – Field names do not need to match field headers specified in the DAT file. They may be up
to 12 characters long and entered in upper or lower case letters. All characters will all be converted to
upper case by the system. They must begin with a letter and may contain only alphanumeric
characters and the underscore.
2 Select the field type in the Type drop-down, and select the appropriate attributes for the field.
Types and Attributes - To successfully import your DAT file, you must create fields to match the
data type and size of your data. Refer to Tables 1 and 2 below for information about Field Types and
Attributes.
Field Order - Create your fields in the order in which you will want to view them in Table and
Browse views. Use the Insert and Delete (Similar functions to Paste and Cut respectively in MS
Office products) buttons to arrange fields into the desired order as necessary.
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