Steps to convert an ASCII file

Let’s do a conversion right now with the installed sample file!

This Help file window is probably covering up the main window of Convert2MS. Resize and move the windows so you see most of each simultaneously.

In the Convert2MS window, click on the Menu File > Open.

You should see a file called “msft.csv” – it lives in the directory where you installed Convert2MS. Select it. This will load the main window with some data and spawn the Conversion Settings dialog. Position the dialog so it looks like the picture below.

Notice above that the first few lines are displayed in the main window as a reminder of the data. The Conversion Settings dialog is show below as a set up for the conversion. Let's go through each section...

In the Initial File Supported Fields section we have identified which fields we have and in which columns they appear. We do not have Time, Open int, Name and Symbol in this case.

Click on the checkboxes in the actual Conversion Settings dialog (and adjust the number if necessary) so it matches the picture above.

In the Initial File Detail settings we indicate that this file is delimited by tabs. The date format is very important and where the majority of user mistakes are made. Our format is DD-MMM-YY. (JAN will automatically be converted to 01) If our file had dates like “12/24/99” then would have specified format MM/DD/YY. Again, if our file had dates like “2000.01.04” then would have specified format YYYY.MM.DD. There are some formats in the combo box that you can choose from – but you are able to enter any format you want. Our first line in the file is textual and not a quote so the box marked Skip Rows is checked and the value set to 1 (just one row of text in this case). The last thing to notice is Convert2MS normally expects files where the oldest quote is first. This file is not like that so the Reverse File Order check is made.

Click on the controls in the actual Conversion Settings dialog so it matches the picture above.

The Output File Path section specifies the destination folder – take the default (recommended for this Tutorial), type in a value or use the Browse button to find an existing folder.

Last you enter two strings - one for symbol and one for name. For this Tutorial we don’t select any check box. (A new record to the Master file will be added)

Adjust the actual Conversion Settings dialog so it matches the picture above.

Click “Convert” and you're done!

If you did everything right, a message box appears that says ‘Conversion completed Successfully’.

The program created 3 files: F1.DAT, MASTER and EMASTER. Use a quote reader of your choice and validate that you have quotes for Microsoft from 29-Jan-99 to 1-May-01. No Y2K problems either!

Now you see how powerful Convert2MS really is - it can accommodate practically any file format.