Configuring the Text File Connection

The Text file connection information provides the functionality to retrieve the names of the available source data items from a .csv data source file. The .csv file must have a valid header line. Be sure that the Microsoft Office 2007 Data Connectivity components (Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 Provider) are installed on the BI Gateway data adapter computer to connect to or retrieve the schema depending on the Operating System. The Microsoft Office 2016 data connectivity components are generally installed with Microsoft Office 2016, but can also be installed separately using the installation program available at:

• For a 32 -bit system, click the link to download.

• For a 64-bit system, click the link to download.

You must provide the .csv directory name to configure the connection information for the .csv data source file.

A schema.ini file can be used to specify how the text is formatted. The delimiter character specified in this file can be different from the default decimal symbol of the operating system. For example, on a US-English operating system, the default decimal symbol is a dot (.). On French and German operating systems, among others, the default decimal separator is a comma (,). Therefore, on such a system, using a format such as .csv and Delimited (,) in the schema.ini file requires a different decimal separator to be specified. You can do this by adding an entry "DecimalSymbol" to the schema.ini file. The format of this schema.ini file is documented at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms709353(VS.85).aspx

For example:

Format=CSVDelimited

DecimalSymbol=,

For more information about the schema.ini file, see the Microsoft Office documentation for the Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 Provider.

To configure the Text File connection

1. In the Data Adapter Type box, select Text File.

2. In the Data Source Configuration section, do the following:

   

   1. In the Data Source time zone list, click the time zone of the database that the external data source system is referencing.

      The default time zone is the time zone of your computer. You can select the (UTC) Coordinated Universal Time option if the external data source system being referenced uses UTC for its time fields.

      You can click the Automatically adjust time for Daylight Savings check box if the time zone that you select is affected by daylight saving time (DST). For more information about time zone handling, see Time Zone for a Data Source.

   2. In the Directory box, type the path to a folder containing text files. You can type the directory in UNC or local path format. The directory names should be without quotes, even if directory name contains spaces, and it must be valid from the system hosting the Data Adapter Services.

   3. In the Extended Properties box, type the extended properties for the .csv file.

3. Click Connect. If the connection succeeds, the Getting schema notification message appears. It can take few minutes to retrieve the schema from the data source. For more information about retrieving the schema, see Retrieve the schema.

4. Click Done and then click Save.