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Database Import Facility
Version 1.5
May 12, 1990
Copyright(c) 1990
by
John L. Dove III
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
1. What is it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Let's run it! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
a. Database Import Facility Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . 1
b. Input Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
c. Output Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
d. Database Fields Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
e. Main Work Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
(1) Output Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
(2) Cut and Snip Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
(a) Buffer Pop-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
(b) Field/Records Pop-up . . . . . . . . . . . 4
(c) Mark Block Pop-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
(d) Help Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
(e) Quit Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. What keys do I use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
a. Cursor movement keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
b. Buffer keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
c. Fields/Records Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
d. Marking Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
e. Help Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
f. Quit Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. CardWare, or How do I register? . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
L I S T O F F I G U R E S
Figure 1 - Input Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Figure 2 - Choose File Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 3 - Output Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 4 - Append/Overwrite Existing File . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 5 - Database Fields Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 6 - Database Fields/Cut & Snip Area . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 7 - Buffer Pop-Up Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure 8 - Fields/Records Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 9 - Mark Block Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 10 - Help Pop-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 11 - Quit Pop-Up (Before all input loaded) . . . . . . . 6
Figure 12 - All Records Loaded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 13 - Quit after all Records Loaded . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 14 - Input Line Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Database Import Facility
by John L. Dove III
Version 1.5
May 12, 1990
1. What is it?
Database Import Facility is a utility to take unstructured
ASCII information and simply and easily get it into a comma-
delimited format for easy import into word processors or database
managements systems. It uses the keyboard to highlight blocks of
characters and place the blocks into user-specified fields. You
monitor your progress with a Field view which shows the contents of
each field as you go. When you have a complete record entered, you
can then save it to disk with each field surrounded by double
quotes and separated by commas.
2. Let's run it!
a. Database Import Facility Syntax
Run Database Import Facility by typing the following at
the command line:
C:\DIMPORT [Infile] [OutFile][<-'] ( Just type the
underlined part )
where
[Infile] is an optional input filename
[Outfile] is an optional output filename, and
[<-'] is the [Enter] or [Return] key.
NOTE: If you don't enter a filename, you will be asked for the
filenames at the beginning.
b. Input Filename
You will first be asked for the input file. You will now
see the prompt shown in Figure 1, asking you to either confirm the
name you placed on the command line, or to enter a new filename, if
you didn't enter one on the command line. Just type in the name of
the file from which you wish to get the raw ASCII lines to convert.
Use your [Left Arrow] and [Right Arrow] to move around the name to
correct it. The program will check for the existence of the file
and ask you to re-enter the name if it cannot find it.
+[ Loading Source Filename ]============[ Enter ? for Directory ]+
| Enter File containing source lines: ================ |
+================================================================+
Database Import Facility - Version 1.5 of May 12, 1990
Figure 1 - Input Filename
If you don't remember the filename, simply enter a question
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 2
mark (?) as the first character of the filename and you will see a
full-screen directory as shown in Figure 2. Use the arrow keys to
move the cursor to the input file of your choice and press [Enter].
Directories are shown with a backslash following the name. To move
to these other directories, simply place the cursor on the
directory name and press [Enter].
+[ Choose File ]=================================================+
| |
| ParentDir\ DISTRICT.LS1 VIRGINIA.LS1 WISCONSI.LS1 |
| A:\ DISTRICT.LS2 VIRGINIA.LS2 WISCONSI.LS2 |
| B:\ DISTRICT.LS3 VIRGINIA.LS3 WISCONSI.LS3 |
| C:\ MARYLAND.LS1 VIRGINIA.LS4 WISCONSI.LS4 |
| D:\ MARYLAND.LS2 VIRGINIA.LS5 WISCONSI.LS5 |
| E:\ ML-ALL WASHINGT.LS1 |
| F:\ ML-MISC WASHINGT.LS2 |
| |
| |
| |
+=[ Drive\Dir: C:\DIMPORT\*.* ]======[Pg: 1/ 1][File: 1/ 56]=+
+[ Loading Source Filename ]============[ Enter ? for Directory ]+
| Enter File containing source lines: ?================== |
+================================================================+
Database Import Facility - Version 1.5 of May 12, 1990
Figure 2 - Choose File Screen
c. Output Filename
If you don't specify an output filename, you'll see the
input filename with an extension of ".CDF" attached. This stands
for Comma-Delimited Format, a common input format for database
management systems and some word processor mail merge. If you wish
another extension, simply delete the extension and rename the
output filename. See Figure 3.
+[ Loading Source Filename ]============[ Enter ? for Directory ]+
| Enter Comma Delimited Filename: ML-ALL.CDF===== |
+================================================================+
Database Import Facility - Version 1.5 of May 12, 1990
Figure 3 - Output Filename
If you enter a filename which already exists, the program will
ask if you want to Overwrite the existing file (i.e., to delete it
and all information it contains) or to Append to it (i.e., add new
information to the end of the file). See Figure 4. This is
useful if you have to stop in the middle of a conversion effort.
Just re-start in the Append mode to continue (more on this later).
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 3
+[ Loading Output Filename ]============[ Enter ? for Directory ]+
| [O]verwrite/[A]ppend ML-ALL.CDF? ([O]/[A]/[N]o/[Q]uit) <N> |
+================================================================+
Database Import Facility - Version 1.5 of May 12, 1990
Figure 4 - Append/Overwrite Existing File
d. Database Fields Filename.
When you have completed converting all your input files
into CDF files, you will import your CDF files into a database
management program with the fieldnames identical to those you used
to save you data. You must create a list of these field names and
save the list to a file. The default filename Database Import
Facility seeks is DBFIELDS.IN. See Figure 5.
+[ Loading DB Fields File ]=============[ Enter ? for Directory ]+
| Enter Database Fields Filename: DBFIELDS.IN==== |
+================================================================+
Database Import Facility - Version 1.5 of May 12, 1990
Figure 5 - Database Fields Filename
You may accept this filename by pressing [Enter] or directly type
the name of your database fields filename or enter a [?] and select
from a directory.
e. Main Work Screen
(1) Output Fields
You'll need a file on disk called DBFIELDS.IN which
contains all the fields you want to capture. Database Import
Facility loads this file and displays the fields at the top of the
screen, as shown in Figure 6. At the right of each fields will be
shown about 20 characters of the value you enter in this field. If
you edit the field, you'll get to edit the full value.
+[ Database Import Facility ]====[ Output Fields ]====[ Ver 1.5 ]+
| 1 First Na 11 Cat 21 VolCat |
| 2 Mid Name 12 MilCat 22 PatCat |
| 3 Last Nam 13 RecNo 23 Occupa |
/\/\/\ /\/\/\
+[ Copyright (c) 1990 by J. L. Dove III. All rights reserved. ]=+
+[ Loading Fields ]===========================[[<][>][Home][End]]+
|H. E. Wilson |
+================================================================+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 6 - Database Fields/Cut & Snip Area
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 4
(2) Cut and Snip Area
At the bottom on the screen, you'll find the work
area where you'll see the lines of text from your source file (See
Figure 6). Here you will mark blocks of characters to transfer
into the Output fields above. Below the Box, you'll find the Menu
Bar which can be activated by pressing the letter of the selection.
When you press [B], for example, you'll get a pop-up menu with
additional choices as shown in Figure 7.
These pop-up menus serve two purposes:
1. Choose a letter and perform the function, and,
2. The pop-up menu shows the synonym key you can use to
access the function directly.
(a) Buffer Pop-up
Figure 7. These commands address the input buffer
of ASCII lines. You have the option of pressing [S] to show the
list of lines currently in the input buffer, [F] to find a string
in the input file, [E] to edit the current line shown in the input
buffer window, [T] to move back to the top of the input file, [N]
to bring the Next line into the Cut and Snip area or [P] to move
back to the Previous line in. Database Import Facility knows if
you have a Next line ready or not, and retrieves another line into
the buffer as you need it. Notice the single keys [F9], [AltF],
[AltT], [PgDn], and [PgUp] can be used to perform these functions
without using the pop-up menus.
+[ Buffer ]==================+
| [S]how Buffer Lines F9 |
| [F]ind a record AltF |
| [T]op of Input File AltT |
| [E]dit Input Line ShftF7 |
+[ L| [N]ext Buffer Line PgDn |============[[<][>][Home][End]]+
|H. | [P]revious Line PgUp | |
+===|============================+===============================+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 7 - Buffer Pop-Up Menu
(b) Field/Records Pop-up
Figure 8. This Pop-Up menu collects together the
commands for manipulating individual fields and whole records. You
have the option of pressing [S] to Store a marked block in an
output field, [P] to strip periods from a marked block and then
store to a field (useful for converting N.Y. to NY, for example),
[D] to delete the current value of a field, [E] to edit the values
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 5
currently stored in the fields, [W] to write the collected fields
out to the output file, [C] to choose which fields are to be
carried forward when the record is saved to disk, [L] to list the
first five fields of the records which have already been written
out to disk (useful if you've forgotten what the last record you
wrote). Notice that all the functions have single keys which
perform the function without the need for this Pop-up Menu.
+[ Fields/Records ]===============+
| [S]tore Block in Field F2/Enter |
| [P]eriod delete and Store . |
| [D]elete One Field Del |
| [E]dit One Field F7 |
| [W]rite fields to Disk F8 |
+[ Loading Fields| [C]arry forward (set) AltC |][Home][End]]+
|H. E Wilson | [L]ist written records F6 | |
+================|=================================+=============+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 8 - Fields/Records Pop-Up
(c) Mark Block Pop-up
Figure 9. This Pop-up Menu contains the commands
for highlighting blocks for transfer to fields. You can press [B]
to mark the beginning of a block, [E] to mark the end of a block,
[N] to move the highlight to the Next block of characters, [X] to
extend the highlight to the next block, [P] to highlight the
previous collection of characters and [U] to remove the highlight.
You'll find that the single key functions will be much easier to
use as you get more experienced with the facility.
+[ Mark Blocks ]===================+
| [B]egin Hilite Block F3 |
| [E]nd Hilite Block F4 |
| [N]ext Block Hilite + |
| e[X]tend Hilite next Block Shft+ |
+[ Loading Fields ]===========| [P]revious Block Hilite - |
|H. E. Wilson | [U]n-Hilite Block F5 |
+=============================|==================================+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 9 - Mark Block Pop-Up
(d) Help Pop-Up
Figure 10. This provides immediate assistance
about Database Import Facility. In a way, each individual Pop-Up
Menu is a Help screen providing instant key equivalences. Press
any key to get the next page of help.
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 6
+[ Database Import Facility ]====[ Output Fields ]====[ Ver 1.5 ]+
|╒[ Database Import Facility Help ]=============================+|
||What does Database Import Facility do? ||
|| DB Import Facility takes an unstructured collection of ASCII||
|| assists you in taking each line, highlighting blocks of ||
|| putting them in your "fields" for saving to a Comma Delimi ||
|| can be directly imported into just about any database. ||
/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\
/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\
+| Press any key for next Help Screen... |+
|| ||
++==============================================================++
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 10 - Help Pop-Up
(e) Quit Pop-Up
When you choose to Quit, Database Import
Facility checks to see if all input records have been loaded. If
not, you're asked if you really want to quit with more records to
process, as shown in Figure 11. If all records have been loaded,
you are simply asked if confirm that your want to quit.
+[ Load +[ Confirm ]=============================================+
| | Not all Incoming records loaded. Quit anyway? (Y/N) <N>|
+=======+==============================================|=========+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 11 - Quit Pop-Up (Before all input loaded)
Notice that you will be notified when all lines have been loaded by
a message at the bottom of the bottom box. Figure 12.
╒[ Loading Fields ]===========================[[<][>][Home][End]]+
|Washington, D.C. 20003-4320 |
╘====[ All records loaded. Use [Q]uit when all written out ]====+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 12 - All Records Loaded
After all records have been loaded, when you choose Quit, you will
get the standard Quit Confirm message, shown in Figure 13.
+[ Loading Fields ]=======================+[ Confirm ]=====+End]]+
|Washington, D.C. 20003-4320 | Quit (Y/N) <N> | |
+====[ All records loaded. Use [Q]uit whe+================+=====+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 13 - Quit after all Records Loaded
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 7
3. What keys do I use?
The following keys are active in Database Import Facility:
a. Cursor movement keys
(1) [<]/[>] Move cursor one column to the left or
right. If the cursor is in a Highlight, it
will drag the highlight with it as it moves.
(2) [Ctl][<]/[Ctl][>] Move the cursor one word at a
time. If the cursor is in a Highlight, it will
drag the Highlight to the next word.
(3) [Home]/[End] These keys move the cursor to the
Beginning or End of the line, respectively.
This is useful to highlight the whole line.
The first block is always highlighted; pressing
[End] moves the highlight over the complete
line.
b. Buffer keys
(1) [F9] Show current Buffer. This shows the current
buffer of 20 lines from the input file. You
may scroll up and down this display and select
a line to go directly to a line. This is
useful if you are not exactly sure where you
are. See Figure 14.
+[ Database Import Facility ]====[ Output Fields ]====[ Ver 1.5 ]+
| 1 ╒[ Lines in Buffer ]=====[ [Esc][<-'][Home][End][^][v] ]+ |
| 2 | | |
| 3 | Fred W. Williams, MD | |
| 4 | 231 N. Alabama Avenue | |
| 5 | Washington, D.C. 20002 | |
| 6 | John Mark Anthony, M.D., G.P. | |
| 7 | 213 Pennsylvania Ave, SE | |
| 8 | Suite 310 | |
| 9 | Washington, D.C. 20003-4332 | |
|10 | Peter Baskins, PhD | |
╘===| 210 7th Ave |====+
| Washington, D.C. 20003-2112 |
|-> Alexandra R. Simpson |
| |
+=======================================================+
+[ Loading Fields ]===========================[[<][>][Home][End]]+
|Washington, D.C. 20003-4320 |
+====[ All records loaded. Use [Q]uit when all written out ]====+
[B]uffer [F]ields [M]ark [H]elp [Q]uit
Figure 14 - Input Line Buffer
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 8
Use the [Up Arrow], [Down Arrow], [Home], [End] to move the cursor
to the buffer line you wish to selection. Press [Enter] to select
and place this line into the Cut and Snip area for parsing. If you
press [Esc], the Cut and Snip area will contain the same line as
when you brought up the line buffer.
(2) [AltF] Find a string in the input file. You will be
asked to enter the string to search for. The
program will begin with the current record and
search through the rest of the file for the
string. The search is case-insensitive (i.e.,
you may enter any combination of capital and
lower case letters and it will match any
combination of characters in the file).
(3) [AltT] Return to the Top of the input file. This is
a useful command when you have searched for a
string and reached the end of the file with no
success. Use this command to start over at the
beginning of the file with the next search.
(4) [Shift-F7] Edit the current input buffer line.
Press this to directly edit the input buffer
line showing in the Cut and Snip window. The
changed line can now be stored in any field.
(5) [PgDn] Get next line from buffer. When at the
bottom of the buffer, a new line is then read
into the buffer from the source file.
(6) [PgUp] Get previous line from the buffer. This is
useful you have to capture information you
missed. If you lose your place in the buffer,
use [F9] to find it.
c. Fields/Records Keys
(1) [F2]/[Enter] This stores a highlighted (marked)
block of characters in one of the Output fields
shown on the top of the screen. This is one of
the most common actions you'll take, so the
default is the [Enter] key.
(2) [.] (Period key). This works just like the [F2]
key, except that all periods are removed before
the block is stored. This is specifically for
removing the periods from an old-fashioned
State abbreviation (e.g., N.Y. becomes NY).
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 9
NOTE: When storing a marked block to a field, Data
Import File checks to see if there's anything there
already. If so you are asked:
Field is not empty. [O]verwrite/[A]ppend/[S]paceAppend/[N]o <N>
If you choose [O]verwrite, the marked block will replace
the current value in the field.
If you choose [A]ppend, the marked block will be added to
the end of the field.
If you choose [S]paceAppend, a space will be added to the
existing field, and the marked block will then be
appended. You may also press the [SpaceBar] to
SpaceAppend the marked block.
If you choose [N]o, nothing will be done.
SPECIAL FEATURES with the Store keys. When you Store
block in a field, several things happen. The highlight
is advanced to the next block, the field pointer is
advanced so that the next Store command will
automatically default to the next field. This is useful
when storing City, followed by State, followed by Zip.
This is the normal sequence, so the keystrokes would be
to press [Enter] to store the City, enter the field
number and press [Enter]. After it's stored, the
highlight moves to the State. Just press [Enter] twice
(or press [.] and then [Enter]) and the State
abbreviation will be stored in the State field. Press
[Enter] twice more and the Zip Code will be stored.
(3) [Del] Delete the value in a chosen field.
(4) [F7] Edit a field of your choice. You'll get a
larger window, to see the total field for
editing purposes.
SPECIAL FEATURES with Del and Edit keys. If you find you
have to Delete or Edit a field, do so immediately after
you store it in the field. This will allow you to take
advantage of the feature which keeps the most recent
Field number for Delete or Edit. Simply pressing [Del]
and [Enter] will kill the most recently filled field.
Similarly for Edit.
(5) [F8] Write the current collection of fields to disk
under the Output filename. As an aid to
continued actions, the fields are blanked after
they have been written to disk. For fields
which are Carried Forward, the fields are not
cleared.
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 10
(6) [AltC] Mark fields to carry forward from record to
record. If you are processing records with
numerous identical fields, choose [AltC] to
mark the repeating fields. Marked fields are
shown with their field numbers highlighted in
the Fields Window.
(7) [F6] Show a list of all records written to disk so
far. Just the first five fields of each
written record are shown; the last 20 records
written are shown.
d. Marking Blocks
(1) [F3] Mark (or highlight) the beginning of a block
(2) [F4] Mark the end of a block
(3) [+] Highlight the next block of characters. Blocks
of characters are separated by spaces and/or
punctuation marks.
(4) [Shf][+] [Shift] and the [Grey Plus] sign, will
move to the next block, dragging the highlight
along with it. This is useful for highlighting
names like "New York" or "Salt Lake City."
(5) [-] Highlight the previous block. This is useful
if you find you forgot to save one of the
previous blocks.
(6) [F5] Un-highlight or un-mark the block.
e. Help Keys
(1) [F1] This provides several pages of explanation for
the program as well as help with useful keys.
Note that the Menu Bars also provide key help,
since every selection has its function key
equivalent.
f. Quit Key
(1) [Q] This key exits Database Import Facility, asking
you to confirm that your really want to quit. As mentioned before,
if you have not loaded all the source lines, you will be advised
and asked if you really want to quit.
DATABASE IMPORT FACILITY Page 11
4. CardWare, or How do I register?
This software is copyrighted by John L. Dove III and all
rights have been reserved. It is being distributed under the new
concept of Cardware: If you use the software, you must register it
by sending, as a minimum, one Postcard to me at this address:
John L. Dove III
P.O. Box 15413
Arlington, VA 22215-0413
Please indicate your name and address and the version you are
currently using. If you do not wish to register, please remove the
software from your system. In any event, please pass the complete
file (including this DOCumentation file) on to your friends. (If
you feel you must provide a donation, it will be gratefully
accepted.)
