Database to windows/Excel?

Question

Hi. I urgently need some help. I need to make information from an Appleworks database available to a Windows user. Is there a way to export that information to an Excel spreadsheet or workbook? Is there some other database program for PCs that I can export to? I assumed I could just cut and paste from the list view to a spreadsheet, but this garbles information. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm doing this from memory, so if this is a bit off, it's close --
I don't know of a more direct way to get this done.
1.) The first thing you need to do is "save as..." ascii text. This will give you a tab-delimited file.
2.) Still using AppleWorks, go to the File -> Open dialogue. In the bottom left portion of the box, it says document type (something like that)... use the pop-up to select Spreadsheet. Change the box on the right to "All available" (I think the default in this window is AppleWorks)...
3.) Now select the text file you saved in step 1.
4.) Your database should open as a spreadsheet.
5.) To manually re-arrange the order... click on the column header (A, B, C... etc) to highlight the place you'd like to put a column of data... then use shift+apple key + I to Insert an empty column.
6.) Click on the header of the column of data you'd like to move, copy... paste into the empty column... etc.
7. You can go back and Delete the column you just copied from... or delete the data and reuse the space for other data.
This can be a lot like doing a puzzle! but if you plan your "moves" in advance, you can re-arrange your columns fairly quickly.
The nice thing is, you can "Save as..." an Excel file when you're done.
Hint 1: save frequently... I do after each Insert and Paste operation.
Hint 2: yes, you could use cut-and-paste instead... by copying, you can visually confirm that the data you moved is complete, aligned with the correct row, etc. THEN delete the data from the original location.