Importing data from flat file to sql server

Import Flat File Wizard is a simple way to copy data from a flat file. The Import Flat File Wizard supports both comma-separated and fixed width format files. This overview describes the reasons for using this wizard, how to find this wizard, and a simple example to follow. For a user without specialized domain knowledge, importing data can often be a complex, error prone, and tedious task.

This wizard streamlines the import process as simple as selecting an input file and unique table name, and the PROSE framework handles the rest. PROSE analyzes data patterns in your input file to infer column names, types, delimiters, and more. This framework learns the structure of the file and does all of the hard work so users don't have to.

To further understand the user experience improvement of the Import Flat File Wizard, check out this video:. Make sure you are using the latest version. You can find the latest version here. For the purposes of this tutorial, feel free to use your own flat file. Otherwise, this tutorial is using the following CSV from Excel, which you are free to copy. If you use this CSV, title it example. The first page of the wizard is the welcome page. If you do not want to see this page again, feel free to click Do not show this starting page again.

On the Modify Columns page wizard analyze the data located in the. The names of the columns, data types, primary key for the table, etc. Once the settings on the Modify Column page are done, click the Next button.

The Summary page will appear:. This page shows the names of SQL Server, database and the name of the table where will data from the imported.

Click the Finish button to import data formImpotData. The last page of the Import Flat File wizard is the Results page. This page indicates whether the importing data from the flat file to a SQL Server table was successful or with errors:. Now, when check the AdwnetureWorks database, under the Tables folder, the ImportData table will appear:.

When importing data from the flat file to SQL Server database, make sure that you have adequate permissions, otherwise one of the following error message will appear:. Wizard Error creating table. Text qualifier Specify the text qualifier, if any, used by the file. For example, you can specify that text fields are enclosed in quotation marks. This property only applies to Delimited files. After you select a text qualifier, you can't re-select the None option. Type None to de-select the text qualifier.

Header row delimiter Select from the list of delimiters for header rows, or enter the delimiter text. Header rows to skip Specify the number of rows to skip at the top of the file, if any.

Column names in the first data row Specify whether the first row after any skipped rows contains column names. On the Columns page, verify the list of columns and the delimiters that the wizard has identified. The following screen shot shows the page when you've selected Delimited as the flat file format. Row delimiter Select from the list of available row delimiters, or enter the delimiter text. Column delimiter Select from the list of available column delimiters, or enter the delimiter text.

Preview rows View sample data in the flat file, divided into columns and rows by using the options selected. Refresh View the effect of changing the delimiters to skip by clicking Refresh.

This button only becomes visible after you have changed other connection options. The following screen shot shows the page when you've selected Fixed Width as the flat file format. Source data columns Adjust the width of the row by sliding the vertical red row marker, and adjust the width of the columns by clicking the ruler at the top of the preview window.

Row width Specify the length of the row before adding delimiters for individual columns. Or, drag the vertical red line in the preview window to mark the end of the row. The row width value is automatically updated. The following screen shot shows the page when you've selected Ragged Right as the flat file format. Ragged right files are files in which every column has a fixed width, except for the last column, which is delimited by the row delimiter. The Advanced page shows detailed info about each column in the data source, including its data type and size.

The following screen shot shows the Advanced page for the first column in a delimited flat file. In the screen shot, notice that the id column, which contains numbers, initially has a data type of string. Configure the properties of each column Select a column in the left pane to view its properties in the right pane.

See the following table for a description of column properties. Some of the properties listed are configurable only for certain flat file formats and for columns of certain data types. New Add a new column by clicking New. By default, the New button adds a new column at the end of the list.

The button also has the following options, available in the drop-down list. Delete Select a column, and then remove it by clicking Delete.

Suggest Types Use the Suggest Column Types dialog box to evaluate sample data in the file and to obtain suggestions for the data type and length of each column.