Hi,
I need to find a way to load csv files with variable column widths as right now, I'm tearing my hair out (and I don't have much left!)
Here's what happens:
I run the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard; I point it to a csv file; I ask it to suggest column types, I go all the way to finish & then it complains that it can't load the file without truncating a field - but IT suggested the length of the field in the first place!
So, I drop the table, go back to the beginning, fix the offending row, and try again. Sometimes I can go through this loop a dozen times trying to get the right sizes.
Is there an option I'm missing - like read the WHOLE file before suggesting a size? Or perhaps even an external program or script which could scan the data & tell me which sizes to set?
Less optimal would be some way to give me some whacking great size (like 5000) as the size of the field & then I can work out something better once I get the data into SQL.
I know I could turn off the error messages & just let the truncation happen... but I *need* the data in SQL.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
(Nearly Bald) Robert