ADO Schema.ini

Schema.ini

Schema.ini files provide schema information about the records in a text file. This, by the way, is optional only when using a delimited file; if you have a fixed-length text file, you must use a Schema.ini file.

Important: Schema.ini must be in the same folder as your text file.

Each Schema.ini entry specifies one of five characteristics of the table:

• The text file name
• The file format
• The field names, widths, and types
• The character set
• Special data type conversions

Text file name

The first entry in Schema.ini is always the name of the text source file enclosed in square brackets. A Separator.ini can hold information for many files:

[File_1.txt]
Format=CSVDelimited
[File_2.txt]
Format=TabDelimited

File format

The Format option in Schema.ini specifies the format of the text file. You can use any single character as a delimiter in the file except the double quotation mark ("). The Format setting in Schema.ini overrides the setting in the Windows Registry, file by file. The list of valid values can be found here. The following table lists the valid values for the Format option.

Format specifier	Table format	Schema.ini Format statement
Tab Delimited	Fields in the file are delimited by tabs	Format=TabDelimited
CSV Delimited	Fields in the file are delimited by commas (comma-separated values)	Format=CSVDelimited
Custom Delimited	Fields in the file are delimited by any character you choose. All except the double quotation marks (") are allowed, including blank	Format=Delimited(custom character) or with no delimiter specified: Format=Delimited( )
Fixed Length	Fields in the file are of a fixed length	Format=FixedLength

Fields

You can specify field names in a character-delimited text file in two ways:

• Include the field names in the first row of the table and set ColNameHeader to True
• Specify each column by number and designate the column name and data type
  

Note: You must specify each column by number and designate the column name, data type, and width for fixed-length files.

The ColNameHeader setting in Schema.ini overrides the FirstRowHasNames setting in the Windows Registry, file by file.

The data types of the fields can also be determined. Use the MaxScanRows option to indicate how many rows should be scanned when determining the column types. If you set MaxScanRows to 0, the whole file is scanned. The MaxScanRows setting in Schema.ini overrides the setting in the Windows Registry, file by file.

You can specify fields by column number, column name, data type and width.

Parameter	Description
Coln	The literal string value "Col" plus the number of the column starting with 1
ColumnName	The text name of the column. If the column name contains embedded spaces, you must enclose it in double quotation marks
type	Data types are as follows (Microsoft Jet data types): Bit Byte Short Long Currency Single Double DateTime Text Memo
Width	The literal string value "Width". Indicates that the following number designates the width of the column
#	The integer value that designates the width of the column (required if Width is specified)

Example:

Col1=CustomerNumber Text Width 10
Col2=CustomerName Text Width 30

Character Set

You can select from two character sets: ANSI and OEM. The CharacterSet setting in Schema.ini overrides the setting in the Windows Registry, file by file.
Example:

CharacterSet=ANSI

Conversions and Data Type Formats

The Schema.ini file contains several options that you can use to specify how data is converted or displayed. The following table lists each of these options.

Option	Description
DateTimeFormat	Can be set to a format string that indicates dates and times. You should specify this entry if all date/time fields in the import/export are handled with the same format. All Microsoft Jet formats except A.M. and P.M. are supported. If there is no format string, the Windows Control Panel short date picture and time options are used.
DecimalSymbol	Can be set to any single character that is used to separate the integer from the fractional part of a number.
NumberDigits	Indicates the number of decimal digits in the fractional portion of a number.
NumberLeadingZeros	Specifies whether a decimal value less than 1 and more than –1 should contain leading zeros; this value can be either False (no leading zeros) or True.
CurrencySymbol	Indicates the currency symbol that can be used for currency values in the text file. Examples include the dollar sign ($) and Dm.
CurrencyPosFormat	Can be set to any of the following values: Currency symbol prefix with no separation ($1) Currency symbol suffix with no separation (1$) Currency symbol prefix with one character separation ($ 1) Currency symbol suffix with one character separation (1 $)
CurrencyDigits	Specifies the number of digits used for the fractional part of a currency amount.
CurrencyNegFormat	Can be one of the following values: ($1) –$1 $–1 $1– (1$) –1$ 1–$ 1$– –1 $ –$ 1 1 $– $ 1– $ –1 1– $ ($ 1) (1 $) This example shows the dollar sign, but you should replace it with the appropriate CurrencySymbol value in the actual program.
CurrencyThousandSymbol	Indicates the single-character symbol that can be used for separating currency values in the text file by thousands.
CurrencyDecimalSymbol	Can be set to any single character that is used to separate the whole from the fractional part of a currency amount.

Example:

DecimalSymbol=.
NumberLeadingZeros=False

External links

• Schema.ini File (Text File Driver)