Instructions for Saving/Using ASCII files
- Click on the file you wish to view/save/import into a spreadsheet. (The
ASCII file will open up onto your screen but will be difficult to read.)
- To save the file, so that it may be viewed in a spreadsheet program such
as Lotus or Excel, click on it to open it.
- Go to the top menu and select "File" under which choose "Save As". This
will allow you to save the file to any drive/file/etc. you wish. When saving
the file, make sure you save the file as a Text File (*.txt) under the option
"Save as type:"
- Once you have saved the ASCII file, you may open it by first launching your
spreadsheet software.
- When the program is open, go to "File" and choose "Open". Make sure when
the "open file" screen comes up that you select "all files" at the bottom
where you can choose "file type".
- Select the ASCII file and click "Open".
- A screen will appear, on the first screen select "Delimited".
- On the second screen select "Comma", and then select "Finish" on that same
page.
- Your ASCII file should now be open into the spreadsheet. You may have to
manipulate the column widths, etc. to have the file in the format you desire.
This should work for all ASCII files and for most spreadsheet software. If
you do incur any problems, please feel free to contact The Commodity Flow
Survey Branch at (301) 763-2108.
