A
AHo
Since I extensively use Excel Macros to prepare and process files to
be passed on to a number of bioinformatics programs (sequence
alignments in GCG format, 3D-structures in PDB format and so on), I
frequently need to export files as space delimited text, as many of the
standard formats rely on fixed field widths and record lengths. This
worked fine under the older versions of Excel.
Under Excel 2004, specification of column widths is in physical units
(cm or inches) rather than in numbers of characters as in older
versions of Excels.
If such a worksheet, created in Excel 2004, is exported using "save as
formatted text (space delimited)", the resulting file contains only the
first column of the worksheet (if the selection was on a single cell)
or the whole worksheet as tab delimited text, it seems not possible to
actually export as space delimited text.
Older worksheets, in which the column width was set in "number of
characters" units under an older version of Excel, or worksheets in
which the column width has been specified in "number of characters"
units using a Macro are correctly exported as space delimited text by
Excel2004, the problem therefore seems to reside in the specification
of the column widths.
Is there any place there on can specify that column widths are to be
interpreted in the "old-fashioned way"? Is there another workaround? It
is quite a nuissance to have to write a formatting macro every time on
has to format a space delimited text!!!
be passed on to a number of bioinformatics programs (sequence
alignments in GCG format, 3D-structures in PDB format and so on), I
frequently need to export files as space delimited text, as many of the
standard formats rely on fixed field widths and record lengths. This
worked fine under the older versions of Excel.
Under Excel 2004, specification of column widths is in physical units
(cm or inches) rather than in numbers of characters as in older
versions of Excels.
If such a worksheet, created in Excel 2004, is exported using "save as
formatted text (space delimited)", the resulting file contains only the
first column of the worksheet (if the selection was on a single cell)
or the whole worksheet as tab delimited text, it seems not possible to
actually export as space delimited text.
Older worksheets, in which the column width was set in "number of
characters" units under an older version of Excel, or worksheets in
which the column width has been specified in "number of characters"
units using a Macro are correctly exported as space delimited text by
Excel2004, the problem therefore seems to reside in the specification
of the column widths.
Is there any place there on can specify that column widths are to be
interpreted in the "old-fashioned way"? Is there another workaround? It
is quite a nuissance to have to write a formatting macro every time on
has to format a space delimited text!!!