importing delimited in VB, ACCESS or EXCEL

[Tim]

TLT,

I also use the DRF Formulator CSV extracts. I wouldn’t waste any time trying to write a custom extract program. IMHO it's easier to use the Formulator’s “Export DRF Race Card” function. The extract procedure supports extracting around 50 race cards at a time. (At some point above that there seems to be a buffer or variable size limitation)

As for loading the data into Access, why are you bothering with VB, Why not write the import procedure in Access.

What version of Access are you using?

Tim

[thelyingthief]

tim:

access 2002. automated procedures for reading the files have to be done in vba, don't they? i dont know a lot about macro building, but to my understanding, they won't let me do the kind of looping through many files and assigning them to their proper db. is this correct?

also, im lucky to get five or six cards simultaneously exported using formulator.

[sjk]

TLT,

I don't know any way to change the names of files imported by a macro in Access. If renaming the files is part of the process anyway you could use a fixed set of names: T1, T2, ... for your files and set up the macro to import files of those names. You might need to have different macros according to the number of files you need to import.

[Tim]

TLT,

A Guess with your DRF Extract limitations: Are you leaving the folder names (either the dates or tracks) selected when trying to export a group of race cards? Do you have at least 256Meg of memory?

Macros: Don’t use them, they are more trouble than they are worth. It’s just as easy to learn how to write code as it is to learn how to write macros.

If you want, I can email you a small (760K) MDB that is set up to import Formulator CSV extracts. Then you can see how it works.

Tim

[sjk]

Alternate point of view on Access macros:

I can't imagine anything could be as easy to learn. I have found them to be capable of whatever I needed them to do.

[thelyingthief]

Tim:

Is the coding visible in the mdb? Can I view the module through my VBA IDE? If so, by all means. You can leave me a private message, and I will respond so that you'll have my email address.

Sjk.

I wrote a VBScript that renames the files and moves them to a folder I use as a depository for Import. If you have a macro that will move a file into its proper target, I would like to see it. I can edit my script to sequester files of a specific type (by TrackName, etc.), and use your macro. Could you recommend a book that will instruct me on designing macros?

To both:

I don't know if either of you use DRF files, but they parse into 7 seperate files which I import into tables named after each of the files. From these tables I construct a db that is normalized and keyed. So, whatever method I use to automate import, I would like to continue this strategy if possible.

TLT

[thelyingthief]

Tim:

I forgot to respond to your questions. I have a gig of ram, and no, I dont leave the folder selected. I think part of the problem has been my export to subfolders I added to the export folder path created by formulator. After writing my script I now export everything into Export and from thence into an Import folder, and I can export more files than before. It also seems that I have to select multiple files in a certain order, especially if exporting more than one track name, as I do.

TLT

[Marc At DRF]

We're looking at Formulator 4.1 enhancements right now, plausibly for a Spring '05 release. One item on the list is making our export files easier to work with, or in any other way improving them.

If you have any improvements in mind, please drop me a note at mattenb@drf.com, and I'll see what we can do to make it easier for you guys to work with these files.

[rrbauer]

Marc @ DRF wrote:

If you have any improvements in mind, please drop me a note at mattenb@drf.com, and I'll see what we can do to make it easier for you guys to work with these files.

Comment:
One request, Marc: If it works, don't fix it!

[Marc At DRF]

two comments in response:

1) There were some issues with our export files pointed out here, and we did just fix them, I believe. Thanks for the heads-up.

2) We can't leave well enough alone. In a conference call yesterday to discuss Formulator 4.1 it was agreed the top priority was making the export files easier to use, easier than anything out there. We'll see if we deliver but that's the idea.

[rrbauer]

Marc @ DRF wrote:

In a conference call yesterday to discuss Formulator 4.1 it was agreed the top priority was making the export files easier to use, easier than anything out there. We'll see if we deliver but that's the idea.

Question: How many customers participated in the conference call?

[Marc At DRF]

Richard,

Zero customers participated in the conference call.

Instead, I continue to consult with a team of beta-testers to ask them how we can improve this product, and I forward these suggestions to our development team. Without the contributions of these testers, it would be difficult to understand how to better Formulator.

[Tom]

Wonder if these beta testers also suggested removing the staples for Sim Weekly, so that it fall apart easily. That was a huge improvement in the product.

[Thomason]

Jeff P,

On October 25, you made several posts about VB code, including one about using VB to read a past performance file. The snippet you provided worked great. In a subsequent post, you said:

"I used VB to generate an HTML Report to present the data. I use this report for my handicapping on a daily basis."

How do you do that?

[Jeff P]

Thomason,

I'm going out with some friends for a few hours.

I'll post some code samples sometime before this time tomorrow.