The file marking method is very simple and works quite well in most cases.
However, when you have a large number of files with similar table structures (but with different data) it may not be desirable to mark each text file. This is the case where you should consider the Recipe Method.
A Recipe File is a text file that contains saved table and column-parsing information. The recipe can later be applied to unmarked data files.
CREATING A RECIPE FILE
One simple way to create (or edit) a recipe is to use the Recipe Editor from the edit menu or a simple text editor such as Windows Notepad.
- Recipe File name: *.rcp where * is any legal file name
- Example Recipe file to illustrate file format
FILE CONTENTS COMMENT
[Header] ;Header Section ID
Product=TXL-B ;Do not change
FileType=RECIPE ;Do not change
FileFormat=1.1 ;Do not change
[Table 1] ;Table 1 Section ID
ReadStartLine=INCOME STATEMENT ;Find row containing "INCOME STATEMENT"
ReadStartLineOffset=0 ;table starts at the same row
ReadEndLine=BALANCE SHEET ;Find row containing "Balance Sheet"
ReadEndLineOffset=-1 ;table 1 ends one row before end key
Parsing=------------------ ==================== ;Column Template
WriteColumn=A ;Start column in Excel
[Table 2]
ReadStartLine= BALANCE SHEET
ReadStartLineOffset=0
ReadEndLine= END OF REPORT
ReadEndLineOffset=-1
Parsing=-------------- ===============
WriteColumn=A
The above Recipe file will work correctly for the example text below:
- Example Data (for the above recipe example):
INCOME STATEMENT
ACCOUNT First Second
Quarter Quarter
Revenues:
Sales Products $1,000 $1,000,000
Sales Services $1,000 $1,000,000
Sales Misc $1,000 $1,000,000
Expenses:
Payroll $300 $300
Travel Expenses $300 $300
Other $1,000 $1,000
BALANCE SHEET
Assets:
Account 1st Q 2nd Q
xxxxxx xx yyyyyy zzzzzz
xxxxx xxxx xxx yyyyyy zzzzzz
xxxxxxxxxx
END OF REPORT