Csv with ; as delimiter

rbuser

Hi,

It seems that newer versions of MS Excel (Dutch) only open *.csv files
correct if the delimiter is ';' instead of a comma. This is currently not
easy.

A few remarks:

Selecting ftCustom as delimiter in the object inspector and opening the
Print to File Setup dialog and closing it with [OK] resets the delimiter to
ftComma because ftCustom is not an option in the combobox.

Looking at the source: Selecting Tab as delimiter with a Tab in a
sourcefield, the Tab character will not be escaped like with ftComma.
ftComma and ftTab can be handled in the same way I think. To take it one
step further the delimiter should be made custom from the Print to File
Setup. So ftDelimiter with tab, comma or ';' etc as delimiter. If one wants
to get more exotic ftCustom and OnSaveText can stil be used.

When using ftCustom and OnSaveText via RAP, how can I delimit using ';'. I
saw demo\dm105 but Sender is not available in RAP.

Using D2007, RB11.08

Kind regards,
Jeroen R?ttink

nicocizik

Hi Jeroen,

We were not aware of the change in Excel to only support semicolon separated
values. We will see about adding a new delimiter type to the Text Device
for a later release of ReportBuilder.

The ftCustom setting is not meant to be used with the Print To File dialog
and therefore should not be. It is meant to give the developer full control
over the delimiter and formatting of text manually before it is written to
file.

I will look into having a tab delimited file act the same as a comma however
we generally only adjust the comma delimited option to conform with CSV
standards.

Instead of typecasting the Sender, try using Report.FileDevice.


Have you taken a look at the new features of RB 12? This includes native
Excel export which would remove the need to export to CSV completely as well
as any of the formatting issues associated with it.

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Hi Nico,

separated
Can also be OS or region related. Not sure here but you can test it easily.
I tested with Excel2007 (NL) + Vista (US).

control
Are you sure here? You still have to select the fields you want to output
there.
Also OnSaveText() is even called when eg. ftComma is used.

well
I know and will upgrade at some point. Also the output has to be *.csv not
native *.xls

Regards,
Jeroen.

nicocizik

Hi Jeroen,


Since ftCustom is not a native file type option of the Print To File dialog,
it should not be used with it. Once you close the dialog, the delimiter
type will be reset to the value that is set in the dialog. It may be
possible to create a custom dialog that adds this feature.

Using the Print To File dialog is not the only way to determine which text
objects are saved to file. You can manually set the Save property of each
component/band in code or using the Object Inspector if needed.

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com