Working with .DAT file extensions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joeb
  • Start date Start date
J

Joeb

I am working on an Access database in which I will need
to import about 15 files that have .DAT extensions. I
cannot import them directly to Access and I can't see a
quick way to change the file extensions to .TXT in
Explore. I would like to have a process that is as
automated as possible since I will be doing this weekly
and the number of files could expand substantially.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks...Joe
 
Well if you know what the file names will be (that is, if they will always
be the same) you can Rename them using Access:

Name "C:\test\OriginalFile.DAT" As "C:\test\OriginalFile.TXT"

or the FileCopy command to leave the original intact:

FileCopy "C:\test\OriginalFile.DAT" , "C:\test\OriginalFile.TXT"
 
Roger,

Thanks for the response. I appreciate your help.

I didn't fully understand the solution you described. I
assume that the commands you suggest are to be used
within a macro or module but I am not very familiar with
VBA as yet.

I decided to change my registry as was suggested by John
Nurick and it appears to have worked.

Thanks again for your help.
....Joe
-----Original Message-----
Well if you know what the file names will be (that is, if they will always
be the same) you can Rename them using Access:

Name "C:\test\OriginalFile.DAT" As "C:\test\OriginalFile.TXT"

or the FileCopy command to leave the original intact:
Click to expand...
FileCopy "C:\test\OriginalFile.DAT" , "C:\test\OriginalFil
e.TXT"
 
Hi John,

Thank you for the response. I adjusted the registry as
described and I can now import the DAT files.

I tried to be careful as you warned. It seems like every
issue I come to these newsgroups with, is, or can be
resolved by changing the registry. Is there a resource
available that describes the parts of the registry and
would help me understand what it does (and how.)

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks again.
....Joe
-----Original Message-----
Hi Joe,

This http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx? scid=kb;en-us;304206
shows how to change the extensions that Access will accept. The neatest
method is the last, editing the registry (provided
Click to expand...
you're careful said:
This http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx? scid=kb;EN-GB;306144
includes code that automatically makes a copy of the textfile with a
..txt extension and imports that.

I am working on an Access database in which I will need
to import about 15 files that have .DAT extensions. I
cannot import them directly to Access and I can't see a
quick way to change the file extensions to .TXT in
Explore. I would like to have a process that is as
automated as possible since I will be doing this weekly
and the number of files could expand substantially.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks...Joe
Click to expand...

--
John Nurick [Microsoft Access MVP]

Please respond in the newgroup and not by email.
.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Joe,

I'm sure there are various descriptions of the registry on the internet,
though I've never gone looking for one.

Hi John,

Thank you for the response. I adjusted the registry as
described and I can now import the DAT files.

I tried to be careful as you warned. It seems like every
issue I come to these newsgroups with, is, or can be
resolved by changing the registry. Is there a resource
available that describes the parts of the registry and
would help me understand what it does (and how.)

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks again.
...Joe
-----Original Message-----
Hi Joe,

This http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx? scid=kb;en-us;304206
shows how to change the extensions that Access will accept. The neatest
method is the last, editing the registry (provided
Click to expand...
you're careful said:
This http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx? scid=kb;EN-GB;306144
includes code that automatically makes a copy of the textfile with a
..txt extension and imports that.

I am working on an Access database in which I will need
to import about 15 files that have .DAT extensions. I
cannot import them directly to Access and I can't see a
quick way to change the file extensions to .TXT in
Explore. I would like to have a process that is as
automated as possible since I will be doing this weekly
and the number of files could expand substantially.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks...Joe
Click to expand...

--
John Nurick [Microsoft Access MVP]

Please respond in the newgroup and not by email.
.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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