Importing data from text files

How do you use txt or csv (comma separated values) files to transfer data from another application into Prism?

Rather than copying and pasting via the clipboard, you can also transfer data from Excel or other applications to Prism using text files. This is most useful if you need to move data from Excel running on one computer to Prism running on another.

To create a text file from an Excel spreadsheet:

Go to the worksheet (tab) you want to export, then pull down Excel's File menu and choose Save as. Select either Text (tab delimited) or CSV (comma delimited) format.

We suggest using txt files, rather than CSV files since data may contain commas that can confuse the import process.

To import a TXT or CSV file into Prism:

Start from a data table and move insertion point to the cell of the data table that will become the upper-left corner of the imported data. Click on the Import button on the Prism toolbar.

Prism will show you the Import and Paste Special dialog, which will let you choose whether to embed or link to the original file (Windows only), and also will let you filter and rearrange the data as you bring it into Prism.

You can't open a text file directly from Prism's Welcome dialog or with the File Open command. To import a file, you must first start a new Prism project (or open an existing one), position the insertion point, and then choose the Import command.