DMM: Fixed Length Fields in Text Files Imported as Single Field

• Microsoft Direct Mail Manager for Windows

SYMPTOMS

If you import a text file containing fixed-length fields as your address list in Microsoft Direct Mail Manager, only the first field in the text file will appear in Microsoft Direct Mail Manager. The rest of the fields will be lost.

CAUSE

Microsoft Direct Mail Manager only supports comma or tab delimited information when it is in text file format. Text files containing fixed length fields will be incorrectly imported into Microsoft Direct Mail Manager.

WORKAROUND

TO work around this problem, you can convert the fixed-length fields to delimited fields. To do this, use the Import Wizard in Microsoft Excel to read the data and then save it as comma delimited vales. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Excel.

2. On the File Menu, click Open.

3. Change the Files Of Type to All Files (*.*).

4. Locate the text file you want to convert and open the file.

5. In Step 1 of the Text Import wizard, choose Fixed Width.

6. Click Finish to complete the steps in the wizard.

   The data should now be correctly aligned inside the spreadsheet cells of Microsoft Excel.

7. On the File menu, click Save As.

8. For Save As Type, choose CSV (comma delimited) (*.csv).

9. Save the file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For example, a fixed length text file would look like this:

   Name           Address        City           State          Zip
   Jane Doe       100 Main St    Anytown        ST             12345-6789

However, comma-delimited or tab-delimited text files will be read correctly. In this example, it would look like this:

   Name, Address, City, State, Zip
   Jane Doe, 100 Main St, Anytown, ST, 12345-6789