If there is a column in your Excel spreadsheet that contains both text and numbers, the ISAM driver will not be able to correctly interpret which datatype it should be. Make sure that all the cells in a column are formatted to be the same datatype. For example, you might have following data in four columns in an Excel sheet:
   male   female children teens
   11     cc     78       ee
   22     xx     33       ff
   45     uu     56       oo			
If you try to read the data through ISAM driver against the whole sheet, you will get the null values for first row. If you want to avoid this, create named ranges: one containing only the header information and another containing the data information. For example:
   named range 'myRange1' :
   male     female    children     teens

   named range 'myRange2' :
   11   cc   78   ee
   22   xx   33   ff
   45   uu   56   oo				
Now you can connect to Excel via TextPipe and request information only from the particular named range. However, in one range, a particular column can contain only one type of data.

How to Create a Range

Follow these steps in order to create a range:
  1. Highlight the data.
  2. From the menu bar, click Insert, and then click Name.
  3. Click Define, and then click Range name.
Note: The Refers to box will refer to your highlighted range. This should grow and shrink as data is inserted and deleted.

To retrieve your data, use the range name you just created for the table name in your select statement.

Excel Steps

  1. Create the Excel file, test.XLS, with following data in sheet1:
       excel File : test.xls with the following entries:
    
            male  female    children   teens
             11    cc       78           ee
             22    xx       33           ff
             45    uu       56           oo
    					
  2. Create the named range, myRange1 and myRange2, in the sheet containing the appropriate data.
          named range : myRange1
    
          male female children teens
    
          named range  : myRange2
    
          11     cc   78   ee
          22     xx   33   ff
          45     uu   56   oo					

TextPipe Pro Steps

  1. Add a database filter from Filters Menu\Special\Database filter
  2. Set  the database filter to connect to the Excel driver, and specify the full path to test.xls
  3. Add the following text in TextPipe's Trial Run area:

    select * from `myRange2`

    Note the reverse apostrophe "`" while specifying the range
     
  4. Click the Trial Run button

The following results are as expected:

  11
  cc
  78
  ee
  22
  xx
  33
  ff
  45
  uu
  56
  oo