These instructions will enable you to be able to run ACL on data provided to you in an

Excel File. Because you cannot directly call up an Excel file into ACL, the substance of
these instructions is on converting an Excel file into a format ACL can read.

There are three basic sections:

1. Preparing an Excel file for ACL.

2. Exporting the Excel file to a Dbase III file.
3. Accessing the Dbase III file using ACL.

PREPARING AN EXCEL FILE FOR ACL

Excel files come in many shapes and forms. They are often formatted for presentations.
Formatting may include titles, headings, boxes, double-spacing, dashed lines, subtotals
and totals. Numbers may have brackets, dollar signs, etc. As far as ACL is concerned,
another name for the above is garbage. Our objective is to clean and simplify the Excel
file before saving it as a Dbase III file. The following can be used as a checklist for
preparing the Excel file:

Step 1 - Make row 1 in the Excel spreadsheet the column headings.

Use uppercase and make the names cryptic. Don't use spaces in the names. Don't start a
name with a number. Don't use symbols like % & @ $ #. However, you can use an
underscore ( _ ). Make the name more than one character long. ACCT, DESC, CYBAL,
PYBAL, BAL97, BAL98, SKU, PO_NUMBER, PART_NO are all good examples.

Step 2 - Make row 2 the first row of data.

After the column headings described in Step 1 are in place, delete extraneous rows at the
top so row 2 has actual data. There shouldn't be a blank row between the column
headings and the first row of data.

Step 3 - Make sure row 2 has data in all of the columns; that is, no blanks.

When an Excel file is converted to Dbase III, the conversion looks at the contents of the
columns in row 2 and determines whether a column will be either numeric or character.
Sometimes a zero value will be represented as a blank. That will force an amount to be
treated as character. In this case, I would enter a 0.00 in row 2 in order to make sure the
amount will be treated as numeric.

Step 4 - Make sure the data has no blank rows or columns.

Excel spreadsheets are often double-spaced or have intermittent blank rows. My trick is
to sort the data. Highlight all rows and columns, except row 1. Click on Data and then
Sort. Where it says Sort by, make sure Column A is identified and it is set to sort in an
ascending fashion. Make sure you tell it that your data has no header row; we didn't
highlight row 1. After sorting, all blank rows will bubble up to the top. Highlight and
delete them. As for blank columns, make sure they don't exist. Seek and destroy!

Step 5 - Make sure the data is pure data. No subtotals or any other garbage.

The sort in Step 4 will flush out other garbage as well. Dashed lines, the words Total and
Subtotal, etc., will sink to the bottom. If column A contains words and not numbers, look
in the S' and T's. Again, seek & destroy.

Step 6 - Format the numbers using the 0.00 format.

Make sure you force decimal places. In Excel, a column may show 30.3 instead of 30.30.
Or 12 instead of 12.00. Format all numeric columns so every number has the right
amount of decimals. Also, there should be none of the following: Commas, dollar signs,
brackets, etc. A positive should look like 36337.40 and a negative, -9367.38.

Step 7 - Make sure each column is wide enough to hold the data.

Use auto width fit options in Excel. Or just double-click on the right edge of the column
right above row 1. The data should be just wide enough to not have overlapping into the
next column. None of the numeric columns should look like ######## because the data
was too wide.

Step 8 - Make sure there are no hidden columns.

Your Excel file is now ready to be exported into a Dbase III file which ACL can read.

EXPORTING THE EXCEL FILE TO A DBASE III FILE

Step 1 - Highlight all data, including row 1 (the column headings), down to the last row.
Include all columns. It is imperative you do this before attempting Step 2.

Step 2 - Click on File / Save as. At the bottom, change the file type to Dbase III.
(That's 3, not 2, 4 or 5.). The file name should have the .dbf extension.

Save the file and now you are ready for ACL. When exiting Excel, you will be warned
that the file is not an Excel workbook and you will be prompted to save changes. Click
on [NO].

IMPORTING THE DBASE III FILE INTO ACL

Go into ACL and do the following:

Step 1 - Create a new ACL document or access an existing one.

To create a document, click on File and then New Document. Enter a name, point to a
folder, and hit [OK].

Step 2 - Point ACL to your DBASE III file.

If you just created a document, you will be prompted to locate a data file. If you accessed
an already existing document, click on Data, then on Select, then on New. In either case,
click on [NEW]. Point to the correct folder and the Dbase III file. Double-click on the
Dbase III file.

Step 3 - Accept the file.

ACL will say, "This is a dBASE file. Field definitions have been created automatically.".
This is good news! The names you put in row 1 in Excel are now the column headings
(field definitions) in ACL.

Click [OK], then click on the [X] in the upper right corner of the Input File Definition
dialog box. Click [OK] again and you are ready to audit the data.