How to Create a Pipe Delimited File

Delimited files are useful for exchanging data, and businesses of all sizes widely use these files. What makes delimited files so useful is that they can be read and understood by a wide variety of programs, from applications running on large mainframe computers to applications like Microsoft Word and Excel, where they allow users to create mail merge letters and detailed lists of data. Using a database program, you can transfer the data in your database to a pipe-delimited format those other applications can use in just a few steps.

Instructions

1. Open your database program and go to your database. The instructions presented here apply to Microsoft Access, but the procedures for other database programs are similar.

2. Highlight the table or query you wish to use to create the pipe delimited file. Right-click and choose "Export" from the drop-down menu.

3. Click the drop-down box next to "Save as Type" and change it to "Text Files." Click the "Export" button.

4. Choose "Delimited" and click "Next." Choose "Other" and type the pipe symbol. The pipe symbol appears on the same key as the backslash, which is located just above the "Enter" key. Hold the "Shift" key down and press this key to input the symbol.

5. Click "Next" and then "Finish" to complete the export.

References

• Microsoft Office Online: Export Data to a Text File