<p class="Head1"><help:help-id value="HID_TAB_PAG_TEXT"/><help:key-word value="databases; in text format" tag="kw66165_2"/><help:link Id="66165">Text</help:link></p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible">Here you can define special settings for importing a database in text format.</help:help-text></p>
<p class="Paragraph">In text format databases, data is stored as unformatted ASCII files. In text format, every data record has its own row. The data fields are divided by separators, and text in the data fields is usually in quotation marks.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">The text format lets you import the contents of the database into other applications and other platforms. There is almost always a text export filter.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">You can use <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Calc to <help:link Id="66165" Eid="ttbearbeiten" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">edit</help:link> ASCII files or text format databases.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Mark this box if the first line of the file contains the field names.</help:help-text> These are then interpreted as column headers for the database table.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Enter here the separator used in the file. This separator delimits the single datafields from each other. </help:help-text>. You can choose among a semicolon (;), comma (,), colon (:), tab, space, or another character, which you can enter in the respective combo box.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Enter here the character to identify a text field in the database.</help:help-text> This must be different from the field separator. If, for example, you define a quotation mark as a text separator, it cannot be defined as a field separator as well.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Enter here the normally used separator for decimal numbers.</help:help-text> The most common separators are a period (0.5) or a comma (0,5), depending on <text:s text:c="" xmlns:text="http://openoffice.org/2000/text"/>regional settings.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Enter here the separator for thousands</help:help-text> The most common separators, are a period (1.000) or a comma (1,000), depending on regional settings.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:help-text value="visible" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Use this Combo box to select an extension for the text files.</help:help-text> The extension selected also partly defines the default settings in the other combo boxes. The *.csv extension means that the character set is set to system and the field delimiter to comma (,). The *.txt or *.sdf extension causes the field delimiter to be set to semicolon (;), and for *.sdf the character set is in addition changed to "IBMPC (850) / DOS".</p>
<p class="Head2"><a name="ttbearbeiten"/><help:key-word value="Editing a text format database table" tag="kw66165_4" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/><help:key-word value="Database, editing text format table" tag="kw66165_3" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/><help:key-word value="Edit a database table in text format" tag="kw66165_1" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>Edit a database table in text format</p>
<p class="Paragraph">You cannot directly edit a text format database table imported into <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Base. However, you can import the table into <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Calc, edit it there and then save it as a text format database table with a new name.</p>
<ol class="L1">
<li class="">
<p class="P2">Create a new <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Calc table document.</p>
</li>
<li class="">
<p class="P2">Open the data source view, e.g. by pressing the (F4) key.</p>
</li>
<li class="">
<p class="P2">Display the table you want in the data source view.</p>
</li>
<li class="">
<p class="P2">In the data source view click the column and row header field at top left, in order to check the entire table. <text:s text:c="" xmlns:text="http://openoffice.org/2000/text"/>Do not release the mouse key, but drag the table without dropping it to the empty table in the workspace. Release the mouse key over field A1.</p>
</li>
<li class="">
<p class="P2">Now you can edit the contents of the table.</p>
</li>
<li class="">
<p class="P2">Save the table with the <span class="T1"><text:s text:c="" xmlns:text="http://openoffice.org/2000/text"/>File - Save as</span> command and under <span class="T1">File type</span> select the "Text CSV" filter.</p>
