Changing Text Import Wizard Defaults

[Cm~]

I am using Excel 2007 and would like to change the Text Import
Wizard's default column data format from General to Text; that is,
whenever I run the wizard and go to Step 3 of 3, I would like all
columns to be pre-configured as Text instead of General. Can this be
done? If yes, then how would I do it? TIA for any assistance.

 

[Dave Peterson]

I don't think you can do it.

But if your data always has the same file name and layout, you could record a
macro when you open the file and specify each field.

If the fields vary (in width??), you can make make it a bit easier.

Open the file (so you see the wizard).
Get to that 3rd step.
Select the first field by clicking on it
Shift click on the last field
(all the fields in between should be selected, too)
And choose text.

And then continue the wizard.

 

[Cm~]

Dave Peterson said:

I don't think you can do it.

But if your data always has the same file name and layout, you could record a
macro when you open the file and specify each field.

If the fields vary (in width??), you can make make it a bit easier.

Open the file (so you see the wizard).
Get to that 3rd step.
Select the first field by clicking on it
Shift click on the last field
(all the fields in between should be selected, too)
And choose text.

And then continue the wizard.

Thanks for replying. The "Shift click on the last field" is something
I had not tried, although I did try Shift-clicking and Ctrl-clicking
on the second column after clicking on the first column and both ways
seemed not to work because the first column did not look highlighted.
Again, thanks for replying and for the "Shift click on ..." tip which
will make the import task a bit less irritating.

Not that it is important now but no, the files I import aren't always
the same file name and layout. Each file is different, not only with
the number of columns, but also with the number of columns for each
data block type within the same file; e.g., one data block type will
have 20 columns while another will have 65 columns.

Once again, thanks for the tip.