When you are working with ASCII data in MapInfo Pro, you do not actually create the table as you would in other file formats MapInfo Pro supports. MapInfo Pro registers your ASCII table by creating a MapInfo (.tab) file that points to the fields in the original file.
Note: Registering your data using MapInfo does not change the original data in any way.
If your delimited ASCII file has an extension other than .TXT (such as .ASC, .CSV, or .DAT, etc.), rename a copy of the file to FILENAME.TXT before you begin.
To register your ASCII (.TXT) data:
- Open the data file using Wordpad or Notepad (on the Start menu, click Programs, and click Accessories) or another text editor. See whether you have column headings and what delimiter (character that separates each piece of data from the next) is used in the data file.
- In MapInfo Pro, on the HOME tab, in the File group, on the Open list, click Table to open the Open dialog box.
- In the Files of Type list, select the format (.TXT), navigate to your data, and click Open.
- Specify a tab delimiter or type the other delimiter in the field provided.
- Choose the character set your file is using from the File Character Set drop-down list.
Select the Use First Line for Column Titles check box if you have column headings.
- Click OK to register your data in MapInfo Pro.
- On the HOME tab, in the File group, click Save Table or Save Copy As to make an editable copy of your table. Then, on the HOME tab, in the File group, click Close Table and close the original table. Finally open the editable copy. You can only read information from these files.