Problem Importing Data Using Wizard

[Carroll]

I have a text file with contents that look like this: 02/06/2006
16.02.00
This is the date and time. I want this data imported into one cell and
treated as a text string. When I use DATA-->Import External
Data-->Import Data, select the text file and the required wizard
entries, every time it adds a column to the left of the column I'm
working with, and inserts the data in this column to the left of the
cell where I want it. Does anyone understand what's going on?

Thanks,
Carroll Rinehart

[Suzette]

When you get to where the columns are decided, is there an extra column
line? You can choose to have it skip that column then it won't create it.
"Carroll" <carroll.rinehart@ssa.gov> wrote in message
news:1141156143.978434.301240@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
>I have a text file with contents that look like this: 02/06/2006
> 16.02.00
> This is the date and time. I want this data imported into one cell and
> treated as a text string. When I use DATA-->Import External
> Data-->Import Data, select the text file and the required wizard
> entries, every time it adds a column to the left of the column I'm
> working with, and inserts the data in this column to the left of the
> cell where I want it. Does anyone understand what's going on?
>
> Thanks,
> Carroll Rinehart
>

[Carroll]

Thanks Suzette, but no, there is only the one column of data that I'm
bringing in. Yes, you're right, you can skip columns of data to
import.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Carroll

[Pete_UK]

If you are using the Wizard, can't you just select this column to be
imported as Text in the 3rd panel of the dialogue box? Are you saying
that you do this and then Excel splits it into 2 columns?

Pete

[Carroll]

By the way, I forgot to mention that I'm using Excel 2003. I'm only
bringing in one column of data from the text file. Excel is not
splitting up the data. It throws it all into the same cell, like I want
it to.

The data is supposed to go into cell A56 (first column) of my sheet.
That's the last thing the wizard wants to know before I press the OK
button. But rather than put the data into that cell, it inserts a new
column A (now the cell where I need the data is cell B56), and it
enters the data into the new cell A56, just to the left where the data
should be. Plus of course, this throws all my links off because the
other data I'm using is now in the wrong column!

I'm out of ideas as to why this is happening, but if I can't get this
to work, I do have some VBA that I think will do the job.

Thanks,
Carroll Rinehart

[Pete_UK]

I don't know why it is doing this as it isn't something I have tried to
do. However, why don't you import it into a new file, and then just
copy the data from that file to where you want it to go? You don't need
to save the new file if it isn't needed for anything else.

Pete

[Carroll]

Pete,

Thanks for your ideas.

I'm trying to automate this as much as possible. I want to have it
down so I just click on a button or something similar, and it does
everything else. This is for a monthly report at work, and I'm trying
to get past the cut/paste/manual operation to something that does most
of it for me.

Carroll
Baltimore, MD

[Pete_UK]

OK, Carroll, I understand. You did mention using macros earlier, so you
could do it once manually and record a macro while you do so,
particularly if you always want the data to go into A56. In future
months you could just re-run the macro with a combination key-press to
automate the task for you.

Hope this helps.

Pete

[Carroll]

Thanks Pete.