XL98: Macro to Append Text from One Text File to Another

ID: Q193664

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

The "More Information" section of this article contains a sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro that you can use to append the contents of one text file to another.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

   http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

In the following macro examples takes the data from one text file, Source, and append it to the data in the Destination text file.

To set up the example, use a text editor such as SimpleText to create the following text files.

The Destination file should contain the following information:

   Name,Address,City,State,ZIP Code
   John Smith,1 Main St.,Seattle,WA,12345
   Jane Doe,2 East Rd,Charlotte,NC,52631
   Tom Jones,3 West Cir.,Tuscon,AZ,36258

The Source file should contain the following information:

   Bill Adams,6 Elm Ln.,Seattle,WA,85692
   Sue Thompson,33 Maple Ct.,Las Colinas,TX,58692
   Jerry Brown,32 Main Rd.,Tuscon,AZ,96524
   Pamela Smith,88 Rain Rd.,Charlotte,NC,89526

The following macro demonstrates how you can use the Open, Line Input, and Print statements to read data from one text file and append it to another.

   Sub AppendFiles()

      Dim SourceNum As Integer
      Dim DestNum As Integer
      Dim Temp As String

      ' If an error occurs, close the files and end the macro.
      On Error GoTo ErrHandler

      ' Open the destination text file.
      DestNum = FreeFile()
      Open "Destination" For Append As DestNum

      ' Open the source text file.
      SourceNum = FreeFile()
      Open "Source" For Input As SourceNum

      ' Include the following line if the first line of the source
      ' file is a header row that you do now want to append to the
      ' destination file:
      ' Line Input #SourceNum, Temp

      ' Read each line of the source file and append it to the
      ' destination file.
      Do While Not EOF(SourceNum)
         Line Input #SourceNum, Temp
         Print #DestNum, Temp
      Loop

   CloseFiles:

      ' Close the destination file and the source file.
      Close #DestNum
      Close #SourceNum
      Exit Sub

   ErrHandler:
      MsgBox "Error # " & Err & ": " & Error(Err)
      Resume CloseFiles

   End Sub

After you run either macro, Destination should resemble the following:

   Last Name, First Name, Address, City, State, Zip Code
   John,Smith,1 Main St.,Seattle,WA,12345
   Jane,Doe,2 East Rd,Charlotte,NC,52631
   Tom,Jones,3 West Cir.,Tuscon,AZ,36258
   Bill,Adams,6 Elm Ln.,Seattle,WA,85692
   Sue,Thompson,33 Maple Ct.,Las Colinas,TX,58692
   Jerry,Brown,32 Main Rd.,Tuscon,AZ,96524
   Pamela,Smith,88 Rain Rd.,Charlotte,NC,89526

REFERENCES

For more information about working with text files in Visual Basic, from the Visual Basic Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "writing data," click Search, and then click to view "Writing Data to Files."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q176476
   TITLE     : OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions

Additional query words: XL98

Keywords          : kbdta kbdtacode xlvbahowto 
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999