Re: Problem converting Informix file

Obrag Aterg wrote: > My organisation has a database system based on Informix 3.x (don't ask me > why its that old). Most of the files (with .DAT extension) opened OK in MS > Excel, but one file has a lot of odd characters (eg. square box that when > copy onto the clipboard translates into nothing, so it is difficult to do > replace). > > What gives? I don't recall version 3 of Informix. You're probably talking about Standard Engine 2.11; in any case, the .DAT files are the actual data rows, and the strange characters you are seeing are probably numeric, date or floating point fields in its binary encoding. The best way to convert them is to write a simple 4GL or ESQL program that will download the table in ASCII format to a flat file; I'm not sure if Informix had an utility to export databases in that version. -- Ernesto Hern'ndez-Novich - emhn@telcel.net.ve Just another Unix/Perl/Java hacker. One thing is to be the best, and another is to be the most popular. Unix: Live free or die!