PRB: IMPORT FROM DIF or SYLK "Feature Not Available" Error

• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5, and 2.5a
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5 and 2.5a

SYMPTOMS

When the IMPORT FROM command is used to import data from a .DIF or SYLK file, a "Feature not available" error occurs.

CAUSE

Some copies of the "Commands & Functions" manual for FoxPro version 2.0 incorrectly state that the IMPORT FROM command can import data from .DIF and SYLK files. This feature was not implemented in FoxPro because these file formats allow variable-length columns (vectors), which complicates determining an appropriate length for a field.

RESOLUTION

Use the APPEND FROM command to retrieve data from a file in either the .DIF or SYLK format. The following steps illustrate how to import data from a .DIF file (called MYDATA.DIF) into FoxPro:

1. Create a new database in FoxPro and define the appropriate structure to receive the imported data.

2. Issue the following command in the Command window:

         APPEND FROM mydata.dif TYPE DIF
   

   Note that this method adds one record that contains the names of the field names to the database. This record must be deleted.