Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- transformations:importtext [2018/08/15 08:18] – dmitry
+++ transformations:importtext [2023/10/11 20:48] (current) – [Remarks] craigt
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-===== Import from delimited text file =====
+{{ transformations:ImportDelimitedTextAction.png}}
+======IMPORT DELIMITED TEXT FILE======
+Category: Import / File\\
+\\
+=====Description=====
 This action loads data from one or multiple delimited text files.
-The number of columns in the resulting dataset is defined by the 1st row of imported data.
+The number of columns in the resulting dataset is defined by the first row of imported data.\\
-**Options**
+\\
+=====Use cases=====
+Use the //Import from a delimited text file// action when you have a plain text, structured, data file with fields that are separated by a delimiting character.  In the case of a file having //no// embedded delimiters, all values are imported into a single field.\\
-//Encoding// - ASCII, ANSI (with code page), and other types of encoding. If you're not sure what to chose, try UTF-8 as it's the most common Unicode encoding.
+\\
+=====Action settings=====
+^ Setting  ^ Description  ^
+|Load file<sup>*</sup>| Fully-qualified file name of the dataset (includes relative or absolute path).  |
+|Encoding|ASCII, ANSI (with code page), and other types of encoding. If you're not sure what to choose, try UTF-8 as it's the most common Unicode encoding.|
+|Separator|The delimiter character that separates one value from another. For instance, for CSV files it should be a comma.\\ A custom separator consisting of up to 8 characters can also be specified.  If //No separator// is selected, all values are imported into a single field.|
+|Decimal|When a text value looks like a number, EasyMorph converts it into a number. The decimal character specifies whether such numbers should have a comma or a dot as the decimal separator.|
+|Thousand|When a text value looks like a number, EasyMorph converts it into a number. Select the separator used to define the thousands places within the value.  Options:  //Default//, //Comma//, //Point// or //Space//.|
+|Skip first lines<sup>*</sup>|This option specifies how many lines to skip from the beginning of a file. It can be helpful in cases where first rows\\ contain some metadata (file header) and actual tabular data starts only after that metadata. This setting can be specified using a parameter as well.|
+|Columns don't have headers|Check this if data doesn't have column headers.|
-//Separator// - the delimiter character that separates one value from another. For instance, for CSV files it should be comma. A custom separator consisting of up to 8 characters can also be specified.
+<sup>*</sup> Setting can be specified using a [[:parameters|parameter]].
-//Decimal// - when a text value looks like a number, EasyMorph converts it into a number. The decimal character specifies whether such numbers should have comma or dot as decimal separator.
+\\
+====Advanced options====
+^ Setting  ^ Description  ^
+|Show parsing errors|Check this to add a column that contains parsing errors (if any) for each line. It can help detect rows that have too few values, or too many values.|
+|Ignore quoting|By default, values wrapped in double quotes can contain the separator character and line breaks. Check this option if wrapping double quotes should be treated as regular characters.|
+|Maximum number of lines to load<sup>*</sup>|Limits the number of rows loaded from the file. This setting is applied after //Skip first lines//. Use "0" to load all rows.|
+<sup>*</sup> Setting can be specified using a [[:parameters|parameter]].\\
-//Skip first lines// - this option specifies how many lines to skip from the beginning of a file. It can be helpful in case when first rows contain some metadata (file header) and actual tabular data starts only after that metadata. This setting can be specified using a parameter as well.
+\\
+=====Remarks=====
+Preview the raw and imported versions of the dataset using the //Show preview// button at the top of the action settings window.\\
-//Columns don't have headers// - check this if data doesn't have column headers.
+This action can import multiple files.  See [[import:fileimportmodes|Importing Multiple Files]] for more information.\\
-**Advanced options**
+**Import 2 to 3 times faster (experimental feature).**  To enable this feature, check //on// the "Twice faster CSV import" option in Application Settings (in the About toolbar).
-//Show parsing errors// - check this to add a column that contains parsing errors (if any) for each line. It can help detect rows that have too few values, or too many values.
+\\
+=====Examples=====
+**Input:**
+<code>
+...
+Data to import
+---
+|12|3.5|red|265
+|47|4.55|teal|354
+|4|8.1|burgundy|380
+</code>
-//Ignore quoting// - by default, values wrapped in double quotes can contain the separator character and line breaks. Check this option if wrapping double quotes should be treated as regular characters.
+The input text has the following properties:
+  * pipe-delimited .txt
+  * starts with 3 rows of metadata
+  * has no header rows
+\\
+**Action parameters:**
+>  Separator is Pipe
+>  Skip the 3 first lines
+>  Columns don't have headers (checked)
-//Maximum number of lines to load// - limits the number of rows loaded from the file. This setting is applied after //Skip first lines//. Use 0 to load all rows.
+\\
+**Result table:**
+|  1|  12|  3.5|red|  265|
+|  2|  47|  4.55|teal|  354|
+|  3|  4|  8.1|burgundy|  380|
+\\
+====Community examples====
+  * [[https://community.easymorph.com/t//1538/2|Suffix with comma between last name and suffix causing rows to shift]] ([[https://community.easymorph.com/uploads/short-url/5wpGSARRp4GlknxWvCz6DpmyBNV.morph|Project]]; Module: //Main//; Group: //Tab 1//; Table: //data.csv//;\\ Action position: //1//)
+  * [[https://community.easymorph.com/t//1972/2|Read Data with two line header]] ([[https://community.easymorph.com/uploads/short-url/4YFQxslIv3pmgtF2eRywf4wpcFQ.morph|Project]]; Module: //Main//; Group: //Tab 1//; Table: //Read, Mark groups//; Action position: //1//)
+  * [[https://community.easymorph.com/t//2454/4|.txt to .csv - Multiple Line & Character Length HELP!
+]] ([[https://community.easymorph.com/uploads/short-url/m3PqCDwhBrNEG2xW23QqEvl8RbX.morph|Project]]; Module: //Main//; Group: //Group 1//; Table: //SAMPLE.txt//; Action position: //1//)
+  * [[https://community.easymorph.com/t//1800/4|Download multiple files from HTTPS and copy to folder, preserving file names]] ([[https://community.easymorph.com/uploads/short-url/pQyGPi01bpxaWBHR6LdGlGMyRbH.morph|Project]]; Module: //Main//; Group: //Tab 1//; Table: //Table 1//; Action position: //2//)
+\\
+=====Shortcuts=====
+Fast ways to create the action:
+  * Press the "Add data" menu button. Pick "Import file" or "Import multiple files".
+  * Drag a text file into the application window. Supported file extensions: csv, psv, tsv.
+  * Drag a folder with text files into the application window.
+\\
+=====See also=====
+  * [[transformations:importfixedwidthtext|Import fixed width text file]]
+  * [[transformations:importplaintext|Import plain text]]
+  * [[transformations:filesplitter|Split delimited text file]]
+  * [[transformations:splitdelimitedtext|Split delimited text into columns]]
+  * [[transformations:subfield|Split delimited text into rows]]