Exporting to csv file

I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
those columns.

Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
to recognize all the cells, regardless?
--
Geri Smith

Put something in that last column.

Select the last column
edit|goto|special|select blanks
type
=""
hit ctrl-enter

Now you have something in those cells, so each line will get the commas.



Geri wrote:
>
> I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
> populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
> data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
> those columns.
>
> Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
> records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
> contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
> the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
> to recognize all the cells, regardless?
> --
> Geri Smith

--

Dave Peterson

So, if I'm importing this into a database I then have to contend with Nulls?

I know this worked before without having to go through populating blank
fields .... any idea what changed? -- or is this a bug? That was the beauty
of Excel - you could get a "clean" .csv file but I guess all good things must
pass at some time.

thanks,

Geri Smith


"Dave Peterson" wrote:

> Put something in that last column.
>
> Select the last column
> edit|goto|special|select blanks
> type
> =""
> hit ctrl-enter
>
> Now you have something in those cells, so each line will get the commas.
>
>
>
> Geri wrote:
> >
> > I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
> > populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
> > data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
> > those columns.
> >
> > Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
> > records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
> > contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
> > the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
> > to recognize all the cells, regardless?
> > --
> > Geri Smith
>
> --
>
> Dave Peterson
>

I'm not sure what you mean by "contend with nulls". And I'm not sure what you
want.

This KB article describes what's happening--it goes back to Excel 5.0, so it's
pretty old.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=77295
Column Delimiters Missing in Spreadsheet Saved as Text

Geri wrote:
>
> So, if I'm importing this into a database I then have to contend with Nulls?
>
> I know this worked before without having to go through populating blank
> fields .... any idea what changed? -- or is this a bug? That was the beauty
> of Excel - you could get a "clean" .csv file but I guess all good things must
> pass at some time.
>
> thanks,
>
> Geri Smith
>
> "Dave Peterson" wrote:
>
> > Put something in that last column.
> >
> > Select the last column
> > edit|goto|special|select blanks
> > type
> > =""
> > hit ctrl-enter
> >
> > Now you have something in those cells, so each line will get the commas.
> >
> >
> >
> > Geri wrote:
> > >
> > > I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
> > > populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
> > > data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
> > > those columns.
> > >
> > > Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
> > > records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
> > > contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
> > > the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
> > > to recognize all the cells, regardless?
> > > --
> > > Geri Smith
> >
> > --
> >
> > Dave Peterson
> >

--

Dave Peterson

If I put something in the last field when there is nothing there now that
becomes a value --- that value can be " ". I'm sending this over to a
database for import .... I need to keep the data as clean as possible - this
is going over to the mainframe.

Of course, one answer would be for them to manipulate the data by deleting
the last field but that would mean opening it in Excel again and trying to
re-save it as a .csv file which wouldn't work.

I know this worked before without something in the last column because I've
done it - which is why I'm so frustrated with this new "function".

thanks for your help ....
--
Geri Smith


"Dave Peterson" wrote:

> I'm not sure what you mean by "contend with nulls". And I'm not sure what you
> want.
>
> This KB article describes what's happening--it goes back to Excel 5.0, so it's
> pretty old.
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=77295
> Column Delimiters Missing in Spreadsheet Saved as Text
>
> Geri wrote:
> >
> > So, if I'm importing this into a database I then have to contend with Nulls?
> >
> > I know this worked before without having to go through populating blank
> > fields .... any idea what changed? -- or is this a bug? That was the beauty
> > of Excel - you could get a "clean" .csv file but I guess all good things must
> > pass at some time.
> >
> > thanks,
> >
> > Geri Smith
> >
> > "Dave Peterson" wrote:
> >
> > > Put something in that last column.
> > >
> > > Select the last column
> > > edit|goto|special|select blanks
> > > type
> > > =""
> > > hit ctrl-enter
> > >
> > > Now you have something in those cells, so each line will get the commas.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Geri wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
> > > > populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
> > > > data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
> > > > those columns.
> > > >
> > > > Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
> > > > records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
> > > > contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
> > > > the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
> > > > to recognize all the cells, regardless?
> > > > --
> > > > Geri Smith
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > Dave Peterson
> > >
>
> --
>
> Dave Peterson
>

Instead of using " " (a space character), what happens if you use a formula that
evaluates to ""? (I used ="" in my first suggestion.)



Geri wrote:
>
> If I put something in the last field when there is nothing there now that
> becomes a value --- that value can be " ". I'm sending this over to a
> database for import .... I need to keep the data as clean as possible - this
> is going over to the mainframe.
>
> Of course, one answer would be for them to manipulate the data by deleting
> the last field but that would mean opening it in Excel again and trying to
> re-save it as a .csv file which wouldn't work.
>
> I know this worked before without something in the last column because I've
> done it - which is why I'm so frustrated with this new "function".
>
> thanks for your help ....
> --
> Geri Smith
>
> "Dave Peterson" wrote:
>
> > I'm not sure what you mean by "contend with nulls". And I'm not sure what you
> > want.
> >
> > This KB article describes what's happening--it goes back to Excel 5.0, so it's
> > pretty old.
> >
> > http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=77295
> > Column Delimiters Missing in Spreadsheet Saved as Text
> >
> > Geri wrote:
> > >
> > > So, if I'm importing this into a database I then have to contend with Nulls?
> > >
> > > I know this worked before without having to go through populating blank
> > > fields .... any idea what changed? -- or is this a bug? That was the beauty
> > > of Excel - you could get a "clean" .csv file but I guess all good things must
> > > pass at some time.
> > >
> > > thanks,
> > >
> > > Geri Smith
> > >
> > > "Dave Peterson" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Put something in that last column.
> > > >
> > > > Select the last column
> > > > edit|goto|special|select blanks
> > > > type
> > > > =""
> > > > hit ctrl-enter
> > > >
> > > > Now you have something in those cells, so each line will get the commas.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Geri wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I have a spreadsheet that's 625 rows x 11 columns the first 4 columns are
> > > > > populated in all rows. The problem is that the remaining 7 columns have no
> > > > > data in them but need to be imported by another program showing a "null" in
> > > > > those columns.
> > > > >
> > > > > Try as I might, Excel will only put commas at the ends of the first 16
> > > > > records after which it ceases to do this. We get the message that Excel "may
> > > > > contain features that are not compatible with CSV". When the file gets to
> > > > > the other end, needless to say, it's pretty much useless. How do I get Excel
> > > > > to recognize all the cells, regardless?
> > > > > --
> > > > > Geri Smith
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > > Dave Peterson
> > > >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Dave Peterson
> >

--

Dave Peterson