Microsoft KB Archive/124889

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

MXL5: "Unsupported Decimal Format" Adding FoxPro Table
Last reviewed: September 12, 1996

Article ID: Q124889

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Query for the Macintosh, version 1.0

SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Query, when you add a numeric field from a FoxPro table to a query, you may receive the following error message

Unsupported decimal format and the field may not be added to the query.

CAUSE
This problem occurs if the field that you are adding to the query is a Numeric or Float data type, and one of the values in the field that you are adding contains 20 characters.

This problem occurs because the FoxPro ODBC driver limits precision of a Numeric data type value in a table to 19, even though Microsoft FoxPro supports Numeric data type values with a precision of up to 20.

The FoxPro driver does not support exponential notation. Because FoxPro stores Numeric data type values with a precision of 20 in exponential format, the FoxPro driver cannot read these values.

Note that if you add a field that contains a Numeric or Float data type value of precision 20 to a query in Microsoft Query for Windows, you do not receive this error message.

WORKAROUNDS
To avoid receiving this error message when you add a field with a Numeric data type from a FoxPro table to a query, make sure the values in the Numeric field are less than 20 characters long.

Note that you can also add a criteria to your query so that only records with a Numeric data type field value of less than 20 characters are added to your query. For example, the following criteria returns only records where the field Numeric value is less than 20 characters long:

Criteria Field: Numeric Value:         <=9999999999999999999

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION
Note that if you create a new FoxPro table using the New Table Definition dialog box in Microsoft Query, and you add a field of Numeric data type with a Length value greater than 19, you receive the following error message:

Maximum length for type NUMERIC is 19