Subject: Exporting leading zero fields in csv. I have been exporting from MV to CSV for years and one of my pet peeves is that leading zero fields, like customer numbers, product codes and zip codes lose their leading zeros when the csv is opened in Excel.
I will save everyone the trouble with prior suggestions by illustrating what hasn't worked yet. I've tried exporting as simple HTML but null cells don't get the proper frames. I've tried prepending a single quote but the single quote appears as data in Excel. I've also tried pre/append a single space but it still loses the leading zeros. I've noticed that when manually entering a value in Excel with a leading single quote, it retains the leading zeros. But when the CSV cell is "'07748" it keeps '07748. I know that the user can re-format the cell to be zip code or custom but that gives the impression that the main system can only do part of the job. I also know that if the user is in Excel, they can import the TXT file and follow the import wizard to change the column's style to TEXT and not GENERAL. Again, this puts the burden on the users. HTML retains the value and the missing frames on null cells is okay but the users are used to clicking on the filename in Windows Explorer and HTML 'opens with' Internet Explorer. Great for viewing but not useful if they desire any data manipulation in excel. I am not versed in java or perl but if they can accomplish the job then maybe I'll learn them. I don't mind having the difficult part be on my side (MV) as long as the users get their simplicity. Thanks in advance Mark Johnson ------- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
