Thank you for trying our new DropBox. It's a more convenient and reliable
method for delivering your reports. No more waiting for your data to come
in the mail (whether it is the e-mail or U.S. mail).
As we work out the kinks in the system, we hope you will be patient.
In the meantime, there are a few things we should detail to avoid confusion
for all involved.
Access the new sample files (new format) from here:
DELIMITED.TXT - ASCII delimited file: contains column headings in the first row (the previous version did not). For more information on the data format, see the structure page.
REPORT.TXT - Report format file: lists current month and year-to-date on the same line. More closely resembles the printed report.
This puts all the file names in one place and provides descriptions of each file instead of
having to wonder what each file contains. (11/20/97)
There are three sample files: 1.) alpha.txt (ASCII delimited,
exports); 2.) beta.txt (ASCII delimited, imports); 3.) omega.txt
(ASCII report format). (7/1/97)
Those subscribers who get their data only on paper can not download
their information from this site. We have sample files so that you can
see the format of the downloaded data. The current sample files are alpha.txt
(ASCII delimited - EXPORTS), beta.txt (ASCII delimited -
IMPORTS) and omega.txt (ASCII report format). Additional
sample files may be added as needed to show different formats. (7/1/97)
Those electronic subscribers who get a report format file will not
be able to import the file into a spreadsheet. The report format file
was designed to provide the functionality of a paper report. The delimited
file was designed to be imported into a spreadsheet. (6/24/97)
The DropBox is designed for easy delivery of customized requests. Therefore,
each file ordered by a Selected Commodity Service subscriber will have
a unique name. Even if two people order the same information, the file
names will be different. Consequently, entering the names "IM145",
"EM545", or your last name will not work. If there is
a file for you to download, you will be notified of the specific name.
(6/24/97)
The only common element of the Selected Commodity Service files is
that the names end with the statistical month of the data contained in
the file. If you were told that your file name is ABCDEFGH.MM, where MM
represents the statistical month, the file that contains April 1997 data
is ABCDEFGH.04. The file that contains December 1997's data will be ABCDEFGH.12.
(6/24/97)
This service began with the release of the April 1997 data.
Therefore, please do not try to access any files prior to April as they
do not exist. (6/24/97)
When importing delimited files into spreadsheets and databases, it
may be necessary to identify columns as text or numeric. Most of the columns
in your files that have text are surrounded by double quotes. However,
other columns have a mix of numbers and text (and no double quotes). These
are columns that may need to be identified as text depending on your spreadsheet.
Some spreadsheets allow this (like Excel for Windows 95). Others have no
problem regardless of whether or not the text has double quotes (like Quatro
Pro 8). For those that need to know which columns should be identified
as text or numeric, we will soon be adding that information to our structure documentation. (6/24/97)
Should you have any questions or suggestions, please e-mail [email protected].
