You must open a table before you can use it. The Open command activates a dialog box for opening tables, (opening a table is described below). Choose the appropriate table by double-clicking on it in the dialog box.
Most programs require you to import files created in some other programs. MapInfo Pro allows you to work directly with files created in other programs. When you have a file in one of the following non-MapInfo Pro formats, you do not have to import it:
- dBase DBF
- Delimited ASCII
- Lotus 1-2-3
- Microsoft Access Database
- Microsoft Excel
By not importing data you save time; opening a file is quicker than importing it. You also save disk space. When you import a file, you make a copy of it. Since MapInfo Pro works directly with files from other programs, it does not have to make a copy.
When MapInfo Pro opens a file from some other program, it creates a file with a .TAB extension. This file describes the format of the file that actually contains the data. When you have opened a non-MapInfo Pro file, such as a Lotus file, in a previous session and attempt to open it again, the following prompt appears:
Table definition already exists. Overwrite it?
The table definition referred to is the .TAB file. It does not hurt anything if you continue. MapInfo Pro overwrites the .TAB file and opens the file.
When importing files, you cannot select a character set for MapInfo (*.tab) and MapInfo Extended (*.tab) file formats. MapInfo Pro uses the local system character set when creating MapInfo and MapInfo Extended tables.