CSV File Imports
You can import a CSV (or TXT or XYZ) file or a KML points file
into a Points database.
- Select the file when you open a database and it will automatically be converted to a DBF file. The field
types will match the data, and the length will be set to include all the
data. If you want to be safe, you should put in dummy records with
lengths that are sufficient to handle any edits you might want to make
later.
Rules for data
format and field labels.
- A GIS point database must have
fields LAT and LONG.
- Insure that the CSV file does not have blank lines, or extra columns at
the end, which are probably the result of edits in Excel that leave hidden
features in some cells. You can see them if you open the CSV file in
Notepad, Wordpad, or a similar text editor (commas at the end of the lines are one way
these will show up).
Set up a table with the
rules for CSV import.
For a KML file, the
feature NAME will go into a NAME field.
Verify the CSV Import.
Other CSV problems.
Problems with CSV import
If the CSV file is too large:
- The program loads the entire CSV file into
memory, and then if it is small enough, it will load the entire
data set into a string grid. This loading does a lot of
error checking. If the program suspects the file will be
too large to load into the string grid, it will ask if you want
to try anyway.
- If you file is extremely well
behaved (no missing data cells), you do not have
to load it into the string grid, and the import
should work.
- You can try to load the string
grid. Exactly what size will cause
problems depends on a lot of factors.
- Split the input file with
the Edit, ASCII split file option on the
data
manipulation form, and then recombine the files after you import the parts.
Last revision 1/29/2017