How can I convert a .prn file to a format Excell or SPSS can read???

[ThomasT]

Hi,
I have a machine that can only print data sets to the printer or as a .prn file. I can access the .prn file for viewing but I NEED to be able to work with the data, i.e. use Excell or a statistical program.. Does anybody know how this can be done.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Thomas T

[ThomasT]

Thanks for replying,
The only thing I have found that will read the .prn files is a postscript reader like Ghost. Excell will not recognize .prns and gives me nothing but garbage. I'll try using a line printer driver to create the .prn file. But I'm skeptical. Thanks

[toms111]

I said line printer, but if the machine you are creating the file on is a windows computer, install a "Generic-text only printer". I just tried it. It works fine.

[toms111]

It depends on the print driver that was used to create the file. If it was a simple line printer, there will be very little control information in it. What are you using to view it. If it is a word processor file like word or word pad, and it doesn't look like a bunch of ****, You can simply import it to Excel. In Excel, go to open file dialog and change the file type to "all files". Open the file. Since it is essentially a text file, excel will go though a wizzard that will allow you to set the column delimiter. You can try several ways but if the printed data was essentially columns of numbers, Excel will generally do a pretty good job of placing the column breaks.

[This message has been edited by toms111 (edited 06-08-99).]