svn commit - mysqldoc@docsrva: r5508 - trunk/userguide

[plavin]

Author: plavin
Date: 2007-03-22 21:13:27 +0100 (Thu, 22 Mar 2007)
New Revision: 5508

Log:
Add next section

Modified:
   trunk/userguide/excel-mysql.xml


Modified: trunk/userguide/excel-mysql.xml
===================================================================
--- trunk/userguide/excel-mysql.xml	2007-03-22 19:52:32 UTC (rev 5507)
+++ trunk/userguide/excel-mysql.xml	2007-03-22 20:13:27 UTC (rev 5508)
Changed blocks: 3, Lines Added: 73, Lines Deleted: 21; 6059 bytes

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 [
     <!ENTITY % fixedchars.entities SYSTEM "../common/fixedchars.ent">
     %fixedchars.entities;
+    <!ENTITY % urls.entities       SYSTEM "../refman-common/urls.ent">
+    %urls.entities;
 ]>
 <appendix id="excel-mysql">
 

@@ -56,10 +58,9 @@
       feature of the Query Browser also common to other GUI Tools. By
       pointing and clicking you can quickly build a table without
       knowing anything about data definition language (DDL). Not only
-      will the table editor help you work more quickly, but it's
-      a good way to learn MySQL's implementation of SQL.
-      Any alterations made to a table using the graphical interface
-      are shown in SQL
+      will the table editor help you work more quickly, but it's a good
+      way to learn MySQL's implementation of SQL. Any alterations made
+      to a table using the graphical interface are shown in SQL
       statement format, making it easy to learn the appropriate SQL
       commands. We'll take advantage of this feature to document as we
       go.

@@ -70,66 +71,117 @@
       make things easier, especially if you are not familiar with
       MySQL's dialect of SQL or if you are uncomfortable working from
       the command line. This tool is available for download at
-      <ulink url="http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html"/>.
+      <ulink url="&base-url-downloads;/gui-tools/5.0.html"/>.
     </para>
 
     <para>
       The example spreadsheet that we'll be importing contains
       information about the accreditations of members of a professional
-      association. It's not complicate so the process should be fairly
+      association. It's not complicated so the process should be fairly
       easy to follow but at the same time it does highlight the major
-      issues you might encounter and provides general guidelines
-      for importing spreadsheets into MySQL.
+      issues you might encounter and provides general guidelines for
+      importing spreadsheets into MySQL.
     </para>
 
     <para>
       The steps we'll take are as follows:
-      
+
       <itemizedlist>
+
         <listitem>
           <para>
-            Export the spreadsheet to a
-            text file
+            Export the spreadsheet to a text file
           </para>
         </listitem>
-        
+
         <listitem>
           <para>
             Import this file wholesale into a temporary table
           </para>
         </listitem>
-        
+
         <listitem>
           <para>
             Create permanent tables from this temporary table
           </para>
         </listitem>
-        
+
         <listitem>
           <para>
-            Use the <literal>mysqldump</literal>
-            utility to export the tables
+            Use the <literal>mysqldump</literal> utility to export the
+            tables
           </para>
         </listitem>
-        
+
         <listitem>
           <para>
             Upload these tables to a production server
           </para>
         </listitem>
-        
+
       </itemizedlist>
-      
     </para>
 
   </section>
 
-  <section id="spreadsheet-tex">
+  <section id="spreadsheet-text">
 
     <title>Converting a Spreadsheet to a Text File</title>
 
-    <para></para>
+    <para>
+      Before attempting to convert the spreadsheet, review the data for
+      consistency. For example, make sure that every row has the same
+      number of columns and check that all dates are formatted in the
+      same way. This may save major headaches by helping to spot errors
+      early.
+    </para>
 
+    <para>
+      How you convert a spreadsheet to a text file may depend upon the
+      OS you are using. If you are working under Windows with an Excel
+      spreadsheet, open the spreadsheet in Excel and choose the the
+      <guimenu>Save As</guimenu> menu option under the
+      <guimenu>File</guimenu>menu. From the <guilabel>Save as
+      type</guilabel> list box choose the <option>Text(Tab
+      delimited)</option> option.
+    </para>
+
+    <para>
+      Under Unix, Windows, or Mac you can use OpenOffice Calc to open a
+      variety of spreadsheet formats, including an Excel spreadsheet.
+      Export the speadsheet from the Calc application by choosing the
+      <guimenu>File</guimenu> and <guimenu>Save as</guimenu> menu
+      options. Next choose <option>Text CSV </option>from the
+      <guilabel>Filter</guilabel> list box. This opens a dialog box for
+      further refining your choice. Choose the character set
+      <literal>Unicode</literal> or a platform-specific format, if
+      appropriate. As a field delimiter choose the
+      <option>{Tab}</option> option and no text delimiter at all. The
+      drop-down list box only offers single or double quotation marks as
+      the options; to choose no delimiter simply delete the quotation
+      mark.
+    </para>
+
+    <para>
+      If you are using an application that won't let you save the
+      spreadsheet in tab-delimited format, a Google spreadsheet for
+      example, then simply save the file as a CSV file. Tab-delimited
+      text files are the easiest to import into MySQL but importing a
+      CSV file is almost as simple. Before saving the file review the
+      contents first and ensure that no commas appear anywhere in the
+      data. A stray comma can cause data corruption or complete failure
+      when importing the data in CSV format.
+    </para>
+
+    <para>
+      Once you've saved the file, have a look at the exported data in a
+      text editor. Each record should appear on a separate line. Don't
+      be concerned if each line is not a uniform length. Many programs
+      will export the column headings as the first row of the text file.
+      Delete this row and resave the file, making sure that you save it
+      as a text file and don't introduce any formatting.
+    </para>
+
   </section>
 
   <section id="designing-table">