Import from a delimited text file

This macro imports data from a delimited text file to a worksheet range:

Sub ImportRangeFromDelimitedText(SourceFile As String, SepChar As String, _
    TargetWB As String, TargetWS As String, TargetAddress As String)
' Imports the data separated by SepChar in SourceFile to 
' Workbooks(TargetWB).Worksheets(TargetWS).Range(TargetAddress)
' Replaces existing data in Workbooks(TargetWB).Worksheets(TargetWS) 
' without prompting for confirmation
' Example:     
' ImportRangeFromDelimitedText "C:\FolderName\DelimitedText.txt", _
    ";", ThisWorkbook.Name, "ImportSheet", "A3"


Dim SC As String * 1, TargetCell As Range, TargetValues As Variant
Dim r As Long, fLen As Long
Dim fn As Integer, LineString As String
    ' validate the input data if necessary
    If Dir(SourceFile) = "" Then Exit Sub ' SourceFile doesn't exist
    If UCase(SepChar) = "TAB" Or UCase(SepChar) = "T" Then
        SC = Chr(9)
    Else
        SC = Left(SepChar, 1)
    End If
    
    ' perform import
    Workbooks(TargetWB).Activate
    Worksheets(TargetWS).Activate
    Set TargetCell = Range(TargetAddress).Cells(1, 1)
    On Error GoTo NotAbleToImport
    fn = FreeFile
    Open SourceFile For Input As #fn
    On Error GoTo 0
    fLen = LOF(fn)
    r = 0
    While Not EOF(fn)
        Line Input #fn, LineString
        If r Mod 100 = 0 Then
            Application.StatusBar = "Reading data from " & _
                SourceFile & " " & _
                Format(Seek(fn) / fLen, "0 %") & "..."
        End If
        TargetValues = ParseDelimitedString(LineString, SC) ' Excel 97 or older
        'TargetValues = Split(LineString, SC, -1, vbBinaryCompare) ' Excel 2000 or later
        UpdateCells TargetCell.Offset(r, 0), TargetValues
        r = r + 1
    Wend
    Close #fn
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
NotAbleToImport:
    
    ' clean up
    Set TargetCell = Nothing
    Application.StatusBar = False
End Sub

Function ParseDelimitedString(InputString As String, SC As String) As Variant
' returns a variant array containing each single item in 
' InputString separated by SC
' use the built-in Split function in Excel 2000 or later
Dim i As Integer, tString As String, tChar As String * 1
Dim sCount As Integer, ResultArray() As Variant
    tString = ""
    sCount = 0
    For i = 1 To Len(InputString)
        tChar = Mid$(InputString, i, 1)
        If tChar = SC Then
            sCount = sCount + 1
            ReDim Preserve ResultArray(1 To sCount)
            ResultArray(sCount) = tString
            tString = ""
        Else
            tString = tString & tChar
        End If
    Next i
    sCount = sCount + 1
    ReDim Preserve ResultArray(1 To sCount)
    ResultArray(sCount) = tString
    ParseDelimitedString = ResultArray
End Function

Sub UpdateCells(TargetRange As Range, TargetValues As Variant)
' Writes the content of the variable TargetValues to
' the active worksheet range starting at TargetRange
' Replaces existing data in TargetRange without prompting for confirmation
Dim r As Long, c As Long, i As Long
    If TypeName(ActiveSheet) <> "Worksheet" Then Exit Sub
    r = 1
    c = 1
    On Error Resume Next
    c = UBound(TargetValues, 2) - LBound(TargetValues, 2) + 1
    r = UBound(TargetValues, 1) - LBound(TargetValues, 1) + 1
    Range(TargetRange.Cells(1, 1), _
        TargetRange.Cells(1, 1).Offset(r - 1, c - 1)).Formula = TargetValues
    On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Document last updated 2006-08-28 15:58:23 Printerfriendly version

User comments:

Alex from Jersey City, NJ USA wrote (2006-08-28 18:29:38 CET):

Thank you.
I will give it a try. Great site and your work and effort is much appreciated.

Ole P. from Norway wrote (2006-08-28 15:54:04 CET):

Re: Getting part of the data from text file
If you want to read a known count of lines from the start or within a text file, use a variable to store the line count you have read:
E.g.:
Set coll = New Collection
i = 0
Do While Not EOF(fn) And i < 10
Line Input #fn, coll.Add(strLine) ' add line to a collection
i = i + 1
Loop

If you want to retrieve the last lines of a text file you need to determine the line count of the file.
You do this by reading all the lines from the file and count each line.
E.g.:
lngLineCount = 0
Do While Not EOF(fn)
Line Input #fn, strLine
lngLineCount = lngLineCount + 1 ' count line
Loop

With this information you can now get the information you want in several ways:
E.g. retrieving the last 10 lines:
Set coll = New Collection
i = 0
Do While Not EOF(fn)
Line Input #fn, strLine
i = i + 1
If i >= lngLineCount - 9 Then
coll.Add(strLine)
End If
Loop

You can also use array variables if you don't like using a collection variable, more information can be found here.

Alex from Jersey City, NJ USA wrote (2006-08-28 05:54:27 CET):

Getting part of the data from text file
The source code above dumps all the data in excel. Is it possible to have the code to modified to get a X amount of rows of data from the top or bottom of the file?

Appreciate your feedback. Great site.