Specification for uploading ASCII data into the
Product.dbf
Requirements:
Data in ASCII format
A layout of the ASCII data
FoxBASE, FoxPro or DBC.EXE (a foxprun utility)
Step 1 - print out the layout of the ASCII data. For the moment we will assume it
looks something like this
Item # 12
Description 25
Cost 10
Price 10
Step 2 - Print out the structure of the product.dbf.
At a dot prompt, in FoxBASE type:
use c:\business\product
list structure to print
Step 3 - Create a new database with the field headings from MicroBiz, in the order and
the size that match the ASCII txt file.
At the dot prompt type:
create newdbf <enter= (This will give you a screen to enter the field headings, field types and widths)
Things to watch while transferring Data:
a. Be sure that the field names you enter exactly match those in Product.dbf.
b. The field widths have to match those in the ASCII txt file.
c. The ORDER of the field names has to match the ASCII txt file also.
To save type: CTRL - W
Note: To modify the structure once you save it, type: USE then the DBF name (enter), then MODI STRU .
Step 4 - At the dot prompt type:
APPE from ASCII.TXT DELIM (use the name of the text file, instead of ASCII.TXT) the typical ASCII file looks like this.
"itemnumber", "description.......", etc (this is delimited format)
Some files look like this:
itemnumberdescriptioncostprice - (this is SDF format)
For SDF, type APPE from ASCII.TXT SDF <enter=
Step 5 - type BROWSE - check out the data and make sure it makes sense. If not, repeat the above steps until ready.
Step 6 - Once the data has been imported into the DBF format, it needs to be moved to Product.dbf .
USE C:\BUSINESS\PRODUCT.DBF
APPE from NEWDATA
QUIT - gets you out of FoxBASE.
Step 7 - the data is now in product.dbf, but you MUST go to the Maintenance section and Clean and Pack it. This will reindex the data.
DBC.EXE is a compressed licensed runtime version of FoxBASE that MicroBiz owns. Type DBC to decompress. (It is somewhere on your CD-ROM or the web site.) DOT.FOX is a compiled FoxBASE program that we wrote that emulates the famous dbase "dot" prompt. Type FOXPRUN DOT to activate!
Note - to upload Customer data.
Do above steps. Store the last used customer number in INVNUM.DBF.
Watch out for the justification of the customer number in CUST.DBF
Alternatives - We do data conversions at MicroBiz. About $90.00 per hour - minimum of 4 hours. Send us a data sample or fax us a file layout for us to do a quote. The inventory files of over 500,000 items have been converted.
For CUST.DBF - the procedure is the same, however other items must be addressed.
- The "justification" of the cust_num data MUST match what we do internally in the program.
- To view the data, add a customer and then go BROWSE the field to see how the customer number is formatted.
- After you have loaded all your customers and properly numbered them (remembering that the cust_num field is CHARACTER and not numeric ) you will need to Clean and Pack.
- The file INVNUM.DBF should automatically reset to the new last customer number during the clean and pack.
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