Category : Lotus and other Spreadsheets
Archive   : LTSTIPS2.ZIP
Filename : DELIMIT.123

Delimiting Data
(PC Magazine Vol 3 No 18 Sept 18, 1984 User-to-User)

A limitation of Lotus 123 is its lack of a routine for generating
a .PRN file that delimits data so that it can be fully used by other
programs such as BASIC serial I/O routines. The following routine will
overcome this problem.
*While in 123, duplicate the information to be transferred to an
available space.
*Insert a column between each data field and place a comma in the
column.
*Insert columns before and after each character field and place
quotation marks in the columns.
*For the columns created above, reduce the width to 1 column with
the /Worksheet Column-Width Set 1 command.
*A short cut for separating character fields is to place all
three of the characters (",") in one comumn and reduce the width to 3.
*Use the Print File command to create a separate output file that
contains the meaningful data in standard format.
This technique could get tiresome, however, if one need to repeat
the procedure often for different sets of data, especially if the
particular spreadsheet has many columns. Use of the /Worksheet Insert
Column command can be time-consuming is a large loaded spreadsheet. In
this case, go to an available space, duplicate the column headings of
the database and perform the column insertions as described. Using the
/Data Query commands, designate the database as Input range, the top
line (column-headings) of your newly created column-inserted range as
Output, and one empty cell above a second (everyting) as Criterion.
Then Extract. You cannot "preload" those skinny columns with commas or
quotes because they will be wiped out by the Extract command. However,
if you put a comma into a cell, you can then /Copy that cell into a
whole column at a time.