About Delimitation

When a text file is used as a database, BarTender needs some way to determine how the data in the file is separated into fields. This is done by using delimitation, which refers to the use of special characters to separate the fields in the data file.

Most database and spreadsheet programs can read or save data in a delimited format. When you delimit values, you can search for, access, and retrieve data from any delimited field in the text file.

You can use any character to separate values in a text file, but the most common delimiters are the comma (,) and colon (:). The vertical bar or pipe character (|) and tab are also sometimes used.

Comma-separated values resemble the following:

Size,Weight,Length,Width,Depth

Colon-separated values resemble the following:

Size:Weight:Length:Width:Depth

The default text file delimitation method in BarTender is comma-separated values.

Quotation marks can be used in delimited files to include a delimiter inside a field value. For example, if your field value is an address that contains a comma, you can use quotation marks to indicate that the comma is part of the field value and not a delimiter, as in the following example:

FirstName,LastName,Address,Region

Jane,Smith,"1234 Main Street, Mytown, Mystate",East

You can also use two quotation marks to enclose a quotation inside a field value, as in the following example:

Name,FamousPhrase

Muhammad Ali,"At age 22, Ali, who was then called Cassius Clay, said, ""Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."""

In BarTender, you can select an alternative delimitation method for an existing database as needed.

To select an alternative delimitation method

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