How do I read in a text file that has fixed column
positions, but the last column is variable in length?
Each row has the appropriate terminating CRLF.

I do it by a bulk insert into a single column table then parse it via an
SP.

Nigel Rivett (SQL Server MVP)
www.nigelrivett.net

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I always did this by pre-processing the file first, checking the length of
each row and pad with spaces as required.
There's a custom task that does this on my site, Padding Task. Alternatives
would be something like GAWK or write your own custom app. C or C++ would be
fastest.


--
Darren Green
http://www.sqldts.com

"Nigel Rivett" <anonymous (AT) devdex (DOT) com> wrote