Import Delimited Text Files

Access these options through any one of the following steps:

  1. Select the Delimited option button in the Importing file dialog box or the Text File Import Type dialog box.
  2. Click OK  to display the Import Delimited Text Files dialog box.
  3. Select the Specifications tab of the HDFS Import Text node dialog box (accessible from the Feature Finder, the ribbon bar, or the Node Browser) to access these options.
  4. In addition, to these options, a File button is included. Click the File button to display the HDFS Browser dialog box, where you can browse to a Hadoop file to import.
  5. Select the Downstream tab of the Big Data Analytics Model Execution dialog box to access these options.
Option Description
Variable Delimiting Specifies the custom characters (or string) used in the input file as the delimiter. You can select the type of delimiter used from four predefined separators - Tab, Space, Comma, or Semicolon - or specify other separators by selecting the Others option button and entering the desired separator in the adjacent text box.

For more extensive field separator options, see the Text Free Import Options topic.

Match all This check box is available when the Others option button is selected. Select this check box to specify that Statistica should use all the characters in the Others text box as a single string to represent a delimiter. Otherwise, each character in the text box is seen as separate delimiters. 

For example, if you enter ENDCOLUMN in the Others text box and select the Match all check box, then any occurrence of the word ENDCOLUMN in the file is seen as the end of current column of text.

Ignore consecutive delimiters Select this check box to specify that Statistica should recognize two or more consecutive delimiters as only one.
Import Options Specifies options related to row and data handling.
Take variable names from first row in the file Select this check box to create variable names from the first row in the text file.
Number of leading cases to skip Select this check box to specify which row of the text file to begin the import. You can enter the row number in this text box from which you want to begin the import.
Maximum number of cases to import Select this check box to specify how many rows of the text file to import. You can enter the maximum number of rows you want to import.
Note: The default value is 1. Hence, 1 must be your "minimum" maximum.
Decimal separator character You can specify the character used as the decimal separator in the text file ( '.' or ',').
Missing data text string Select this check box to specify a custom character or string that you want to be imported as missing data. You can enter the character or string of characters you want to be imported as missing data.
Skip blank lines Select this check box to avoid importing empty rows.
Advanced Displays the Advanced delimited importing options dialog box. You can use the options in this dialog box to define various escape characters you might want to use for the import.
Variable Options You can enter the specifications for the variable(s).
Note: Click on a column in the preview window to first select a variable to edit. Each column might be defined as an import variable. You can select multiple columns to specify the same options for all selected columns.
Name Select this check box to specify a name for the selected variable. You can enter the name to be used as the variable name for the selected column in the preview window.
Number Select this check box to specify the variable order. You can enter the number for the order of the selected column as it appears in the spreadsheet.

For example, if you select the first column and enter 2 in this field, then the column is imported as the second variable.

Missing data value Select this check box to specify the value to be used as missing data for the variable. You can enter the value to be used.
Data type Click the arrow on the right to display the drop-down list of data types. From the list, select the data type for the selected column.
Input format This check box is available if data type Date is selected for a variable. Select this check box to specify the date format of the column (DD/MM/YYYY). You can enter the date format for the variable.
Note: The Formatting button also becomes available when the Input format check box is selected.
Remove non-numeric characters Select this check box to remove any text values from the column. Values that are entirely textual are imported as missing data, and values that contain both numbers and text have all text characters removed.
Note: This check box is only available if data types Double, Integer, and Byte are selected.
Omit Select this check box to omit the import the selected column.
Formatting Displays the Input Date Formatting dialog box, which displays standard date formats to enter.
Case Delimiting Under Case Delimiting, specify the custom characters (or string) used as the input file's row delimiter.
Carriage return Specifies a carriage return as the end-of-line character.
Line feed Specifies a line feed as the end-of-line character.
Others Specifies a custom character or string as the end-of-line delimiter. When this option button is selected, the text box adjacent becomes available. In the text box, enter the custom character or string to specify the end-of-line character or string.
Match all When the Others option button is selected, this check box becomes available. Select this check box to specify that Statistica should use the text in the Others edit field as a single string representing a row delimiter. Otherwise, each character in this edit field is seen as separate delimiters. 

For example, if you enter ENDL in the Others edit field and select this option, then any occurrence of the word ENDL in the file is seen as the end of current row of text.

Preview You can enter the number of rows in this text box that you want to show in the preview window below the label Text File (filename.txt).
Preview all Select this check box to preview all rows from the file in the preview window below the label Text File (filename.txt).

If this check box is selected, the Preview text box is not available.

Format String Displays the parsing string currently being used by the text importer.
Auto refresh Select this check box to refresh the preview whenever an option is changed.
OK Accepts the options selected and imports the text file.
Cancel Closes the dialog box without importing the text file.