The psql help for copy (version=7.3.2 and several others) appears incorrect (or perhaps the command parser is at fault - in any case the help doesn't match reality):
steve=# \h copy Command: COPY Description: copy data between files and tables Syntax: COPY table [ ( column [, ...] ) ] FROM { 'filename' | stdin } [ [ WITH ] [ BINARY ] [ OIDS ] [ DELIMITER [ AS ] 'delimiter' ] [ NULL [ AS ] 'null string' ] ] ... I interpret this as meaning that you can optionally specify a delimiter, null etc. and if you do then you can optionally include the "with" and the "as" for readability. While I can omit the "as" I cannot omit the "with": Works with both: steve=# \copy foo from 'footest' with delimiter as ',' \. Works with "with" only: steve=# \copy foo from 'footest' with delimiter ',' \. Does not work without "with" steve=# \copy foo from 'footest' delimiter ',' \copy: parse error at 'delimiter' steve=# \copy foo from 'footest' delimiter as ',' \copy: parse error at 'delimiter' As such it seems that the help should be: COPY table [ ( column [, ...] ) ] FROM { 'filename' | stdin } [ WITH [ BINARY ] [ OIDS ] [ DELIMITER [ AS ] 'delimiter' ] [ NULL [ AS ] 'null string' ] ] ... Cheers, Steve ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs/FAQ.html