Microsoft KB Archive/76988

= Works: Importing External Database File Formats =

Article ID: 76988

Article Last Modified on 11/16/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Works 2.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works 3.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works 4.5 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works 4.5a
 * Microsoft Works 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works 4.0a

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This article was previously published under Q76988



SUMMARY
Microsoft Works for Windows imports dBase (*.DBF) files with field names and records intact.

Each version of Works for Windows will import previous versions of Works for Windows, Works for DOS (*.WDB) or the same version of Works for the Macintosh. For example, Works for Windows 3.0 will import Works for Windows 2.0 and any Works for DOS (*.WDB) files and Works for Macintosh 3.0 (*.DB) files.

If a database file


 * can be viewed in a text editor or the Works for Windows Word Processor


 * was saved from the original database as fields separated by commas or tabs, with records separated by carriage returns

then with a little editing, Works for Windows will recognize the database file format.



MORE INFORMATION
Database files use a delimiter to identify each field in a record as well as the records themselves. The Works for Windows Database will recognize a comma or tab character as a delimiter. If the file has both commas and tabs, only the tabs will be used as a delimiter.

If the database file uses spaces as a delimiter, do the following:


 * 1) Load the file into the Works for Windows Word Processor.
 * 2) From the Select menu, click Replace.
 * 3) In the Find What box, enter ^w (white space character).
 * 4) In the Replace box, enter ^t (tab character).

If a character other then a comma, space, or tab is used as a field delimiter in a database file, the Windows WIN.INI file can be edited so that Works for Windows will recognize the character as a delimiter. By default, the comma is the list separator. The list separator can be changed by editing the [intl] section of the WIN.INI file. Under this section, edit the line

sList=,

to include the character the file is delimited by.

NOTE: This entry is case sensitive.

Examples
sList=|

sList=/

sList=(any single character)

If the sList= line is changed to load an unsupported database file, it should be changed back to a comma after all files are updated to Works for Windows format. If the sList= line is not returned to the default (comma), this will affect formulas in Works for Windows and possibly other Windows applications. Any changes made to an .INI file will not be recognized by Windows until Windows is restarted.

