How to export CSV : odd solution

[Steve Tyron]

I appreciate the help from the several people who offered info.

I posted this reply but it looks like it ended up going to David Groover 
only:

Strange to say, following the recommended export wizard method (which is 
what I was already trying, without success), I tried yet again and my 
text paragraph was chopped into individual sections after every 
punctuating comma.

While David Groover's method still looks inviting to try, I saw in it a 
variation that I had thought about:  I simply replaced each comma in my 
original text with the "œ" character. Not likely to be used in the text 
so a safe thing to use as a search-and-replace marker. I then exported 
my text (500 records) and imported it into a different database. Ran a 
search-replace to swap "œ" with real commas once again, and Presto!

It's fun to use Panorama, and I really appreciate that I could re-join 
the list to ask a question, then find that within minutes I had several 
offers of help. I still don't know why my text isn't being automatically 
enclosed in quotes, but I can complete my job and now I say thanks for 
the help.

Steve



Barry Kahn wrote:
> It'll add a step, but you could temporarily change all the commas in 
> the field with the paragraph of description to some symbol that's not 
> used in the database at all--*,%,#, at --or whatever. Then use the wizard 
> to export it as comma delimited, open it up with a text editor (I 
> usually use Tex-Edit) and search and replace the symbol with commas. 
>
> bk
>
>
> On Feb 6, 2008, at 11:15 AM, Steve Tyron wrote:
>
>> Barry, let me clarify. I have used the export wizard with commas as the 
>> delimiter, but here's what happens:
>>
>> I have a chunk of information that holds a paragraph of description. If 
>> the first sentence says, "We bought apples, bananas, and cherries", the 
>> commas in that sentence become delimiters and apples, bananas, and 
>> cherries are separated in the exported text.  I thought I had read that 
>> info within quotes would be somehow held as a unit; that didn't work for 
>> me. So when I have NO option  other than CSV, and I MUST export a block 
>> of text with commas used as punctuation, what do I do?
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>>
>> Barry Kahn wrote:
>>> The text export wizard allows you to select tab or comma as the 
>>> delimiter. There are fancier ways that I'm just learning to use, but 
>>> the wizard makes it very easy.
>>>
>>> bk
>>>
>>>
>>> On Feb 6, 2008, at 10:51 AM, Steve Tyron wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have never cared for CSV text, preferring tab-sep text instead. I 
>>>> must
>>>> have missed some detail because I never learned how to export CSV text
>>>> when some of the information requires a comma? I have tried replacing
>>>> existing commas with a strange character (œ), then ding a find/replace
>>>> after the data is in its new location, but that just seems tedious!
>>>>
>>>> I have to upload a CSV file to an online shopping cart; I have no 
>>>> choice
>>>> but CSV. What is my method?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>> Barry Kahn
>>> Caravan Beads, Inc.
>>> 915 Forest Ave
>>> Portland ME 04103
>>> 800-230-8941
>>> fax: 207-874-2664
>>> www.caravanbeads.net
>>> barryk at caravanbeads.net <mailto:barryk at caravanbeads.net>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
> Barry Kahn
> Caravan Beads, Inc.
> 915 Forest Ave
> Portland ME 04103
> 800-230-8941
> fax: 207-874-2664
> www.caravanbeads.net
> barryk at caravanbeads.net <mailto:barryk at caravanbeads.net>
>
>
>
>
>
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