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Exporting Data to Microsoft Excel

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Exporting data from Epi Info to Microsoft Excel is pretty much the same as exporting data to Microsoft Access. There is one limitation on the size of file that you can import into Excel. The maximum number of records that the database can have is 65,535. That's the maximum number of row that an Excel spreadsheet can hold. To work with larger databases, you will need to split the file into two parts and work on them separately.

First you need to export the data from Epi Info, and then import it into Excel. From the main menu in Epi Info, Choose Export files:

ExportEpi1.jpg (175383 bytes)

To choose the Epi Info database that you want to export, press Enter to show a list of the databases in the current directory:

ExportEpi2.jpg (178283 bytes)

Now you can either type the name of the file you want to convert or use the mouse or arrow arrow keys to select the file. Once you choose a valid file, you see:

ExportEpi3.jpg (179244 bytes)

The best format to use with Microsoft Access is dBase 4. So check the box next to it. Notice that the output file name is automatically set to the name of the input file and that the extension is set to DBF when you click on the dBase 4 button. Once you click on the OK button or press Enter, you see:

ExportEpi4.jpg (205717 bytes)

This dialog box shows how many records were converted and the name of the files.

Importing Data into Excel

Now it is time to run Excel. Choose Open from the File menu and then change the File of Type pop-up to dBase Files (*.dbf):

ExportExcel1.jpg (105093 bytes)

Now, locate the dBase file that you want to open and double click on it.

ExportExcel2.jpg (230583 bytes)

The data was imported correctly but now the columns are too narrow (you can only see 4 or 5 characters in each cell. To correct this problem, you need to highlight the columns that you would like to widen. You do this by dragging the mouse over the columns that you want to adjust. For example, to adjust all of the cells, you would locate the mouse over the A in the columns heading and then drag the mouse across all of the other columns with data. Release the mouse button and locate the mouse over one of the vertical bars between the column headings:

ExportExcel3.jpg (172681 bytes)

Double click the left mouse button and the column widths will be automatically adjusted do all the data will be visible in the cells.

Exporting Data to Microsoft Access  |  Getting Started With Epi Info  |  End of Tutorial


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Last modified: 07/28/04