Microsoft KB Archive/149090

= ACC: How to Use Schema.ini for Accessing Text Data =

Article ID: 149090

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Access 95 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Access 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q149090



Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.



SUMMARY
This article show you how to use a Schema.ini file and Data Access Objects (DAO) to programmatically open or link to a text file. A Schema.ini file contains the specifics on how data is formatted in a particular text file and is used by the Text ISAM driver to read and manipulate data.

This article assumes that you are familiar with Visual Basic for Applications and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information about Visual Basic for Applications, please refer to your version of the "Building Applications with Microsoft Access" manual.



MORE INFORMATION
To create a Schema.ini file and a fixed-width text file that you can use in the Example sections later in the article, follow these steps:  Start a text editor, such as NotePad or WordPad.  In a new text file, type the following text and save the file as Contacts.txt:   First     NameLast NameHireDate Nancy    Davolio  10-22-91 Robert   King     10-23-91   In another new text file, type the following text and save the file as Schema.ini:   [Contacts.txt] ColNameHeader=True Format=FixedLength MaxScanRows=0 CharacterSet=OEM Col1="First Name" Char Width 10 Col2="Last Name" Char Width 9 Col3="HireDate" Date Width 8 

NOTE: Make sure both the Contacts.txt and Schema.ini files are stored in the same folder (directory), for example, C:\My Documents.

Example 1
To create a recordset that uses data from a text file (Contacts.txt), follow these steps:   Create a module and type the following line in the Declarations section if it is not already there: Option Explicit </li>  Type the following procedure: Function TestSchema Dim db As DATABASE, rs As Recordset Set db = OpenDatabase("c:\my documents", False, _  False,"TEXT;Database=c:\my documents;table=contacts.txt") Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("contacts.txt")

rs.MoveLast Debug.Print "Record count= " & rs.RecordCount rs.Close

End Function </li> To test this function, type the following line in the Debug window, and then press ENTER:

?TestSchema

Note that "Record count= 2" is displayed.</li></ol>

Example 2
To create a table linked to a text file (Contacts.txt), follow these steps:   Create a module and type the following line in the Declarations section if it is not already there: Option Explicit </li>  Type the following procedure: Function LinkSchema Dim db As DATABASE, tbl As TableDef Set db = CurrentDb Set tbl = db.CreateTableDef("Linked Text")

tbl.Connect = "Text;DATABASE=c:\my documents;TABLE=contacts.txt" tbl.SourceTableName = "contacts.txt" db.TableDefs.Append tbl db.TableDefs.Refresh End Function </li> To test this function, type the following line in the Debug window, and then press ENTER:

?LinkSchema

Note that linked table is added to the database.</li></ol>

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