ACC2000: Cannot Import YYMMDD Dates in Fixed-Width Text Files

ID: Q209716

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

Microsoft Access will not import fixed-width text files if there is a Date field in the text file that is formatted as YYMMDD.


CAUSE

Microsoft Access does not recognize the YYMMDD Date format in text files.


RESOLUTION

One workaround is to format the date as MMDDYY.

Another workaround is to import the YYMMDD field as a six-character Text field. Next, create a new field in the table called, for example, NewDate, with a data type of Date/Time. Then run an update query to derive the NewDate field from the OldDate field as follows. 


   Query: ReformatDate
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   Field Name: NewDate
   Update to: Mid([OldDate],3,2) & "/" & Right([OldDate],2) &_
                  "/" & Left([OldDate],2)
If the Text field that contains the date has embedded slashes (/), such as 1/5/94, then the starting value in the Mid() function must be 4 rather than 3. In the example above, you would change the Mid() function to look as follows: 

   Mid([Olddate],4,2)


MORE INFORMATION

When you import a fixed-width text file with a Date field that is formatted as YYMMDD, Microsoft Access generates an Import Errors log table, but does not import the data for the Date field. If you try to import the text file as delimited, the data is imported, but Microsoft Access changes the format from Date to Number or Text, depending upon the date delimiter.

Additional query words: convert year month day prb 


Keywords          : kb3rdparty kbdta IsmTxtfx 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 13, 1999