Import External File Tutorial
This
tutorial discusses importing an Excel spreadsheet into CAPITAL Office.
It is assumed that your spreadsheet has a consistent row/column structure. Only spreadsheets with a consistent structure can be imported into CAPITAL using it's External File Import facilities.
Definitions
A 'record' in CAPITAL represents one consistent chunk of information, such as a customer, a supplier or a stock item.
A 'field' in CAPITAL represents one unit of information related to a record. A field might hold a customer phone number or name, a product code, or a supplier account code.
When importing spreadsheets it is important that your spreadsheet is set-up so that each row represents all the information needed to create one record in CAPITAL. Each column on your spreadsheet will represent a separate field of information within the record.
Working With Excel
1. Start your Excel program and load in the spreadsheet you wish to import into CAPITAL.
2. Remember: If you do not have a consistent row/column structure, with one row representing one entire record, and each column holding a separate field of information, you will not be able to import your spreadsheet into CAPITAL. For example, if you want to import customer details and you have two rows of information for each customer's address, then you must reorganise your spreadsheet to hold all address (and other information) within a single row. If you do not do this first, you will be unable to import your spreadsheet.
3. Ensure that you do not have any gaps (empty columns) on your spreadsheet. If you do, delete them.
4. From the Excel main menu select File|Save As...
5. Next to 'Save as type' select Text (Tab delimited) from the drop-down list of choices.
6. Carefully note where you are saving this file. You will need to find it again in step 16. Press the Save button to save your spreadsheet.
7. Excel may display a warning message informing you that the selected file type does not support multiple workbooks, or a similar message. Press OK to skip over this message.
8. Select File|Close to close your spreadsheet.
9. Excel may warn you that the currently open spreadsheet is not in 'Excel format'. Press No in order to avoid saving your changes again.
You
must close your saved file before you can import it into CAPITAL. Excel keeps the file open and unavailable
for other applications to access, unless you close it in Excel first.
10. For reference purposes, you will find it useful to reload your original spreadsheet. Do this by repeating step 1.
Working With CAPITAL
11. Start CAPITAL.
12. From the main menu select Special|Installation Workshop
13. From the Installation Workshop menu select Transfer|Import External File and then the type of file you wish to import. For example, supplier accounts.
14. CAPITAL may warn you that the CAPITAL Office main application is open. Press OK to skip over the warning message.
15. CAPITAL may ask if you wish to close the CAPITAL Office main application. Press Yes so that you may continue with the import.
16. The following screen will appear:
Press the look-up button next to Import File and locate the tab delimited text file you have just saved from Excel in step 6. This file will be located in the same directory where you specified that Excel should save it, and it will have the file extension .TXT
17. Once you located it, highlight it with your mouse and press the Open button.
18. Now Tab to the Delimiter field and 009 in here. (009 = the tab character in ASCII code.)
19. Press OK.
20. You are now presented with the CAPITAL Import External File screen. (A sample file to be imported is included in the screen example but this will look different on your system.)
21. Your next job is to assign each of these columns (now presented down the screen as a list) to a field in CAPITAL. To do this press the Assign button.
22. Select Into Field and from the presented list, assign the field in CAPITAL that you wish to import the column from your spreadsheet.
23. Then press OK.
24. If you make a mistake and wish to start over, select the field assignment you wish to clear and press the Clear button. Then repeat steps 21-23.
25. Repeat steps 21-24 until you have 'mapped' all your columns to your CAPITAL fields.
You
do not have to 'map' all columns to all CAPITAL fields. You can skip the fields you do not to import.
26. To check that you have done the 'mapping' correctly, press the Preview button. Repeat steps 21-24 until you are sure your mapping is correct.
If the 'mapping' appears to be correct, you can save your work so that you don't have to redo the mapping
if you want to import more data later. In order to do this, press the Fields button and select Save a
Field List from the pop-up menu. Then enter a file name you can remember. The next time you return to
this screen while working with the same data file, you will be able to press the Fields button and select
Open a Field List to recover your mappings.
27. Press the Import button to import your data.
____________________________
Related Topics:
 |