On step 2 of the File Import Wizard, you need to determine whether your text file format is delimited or fixed-width.
A delimited file uses special characters – most commonly tabs, commas or spaces – to mark where one field ends and the next begins. In addition, this type of file often uses another type of character, such as quotation marks ("), to mark text fields in the file, while numeric fields simply contain a numeric value. An example of a file that uses commas to separate fields and double quotes to qualify text follows:
"H-68MR Length","3/20/00 1:07","131005","Fred",0.4565,0.4711
"H-68MR Length","7/20/00 13:09","131005","Anita",0.4654,0.4439
"H-68MR Length","10/20/00 17:11","131006","Michael",0.45,0.48
In a fixed width file, a data field is padded with spaces or other characters to give it a uniform length in the row. In the resulting text file, a particular field is placed in exactly the same position in each row. An example of a fixed width file follows:
H-68MR Length 3/20/00 1:07 131005 Fred 0.4565 0.4711
H-68MR Length 7/20/00 13:09 131005 Anita 0.4654 0.4439
H-68MR Length 10/20/00 17:11 131006 Michael 0.45 0.48