IBM Support

Why are long string values imported from an excel file sometimes truncated to 255 characters?

Troubleshooting


Problem

When using i2 Analyst's Notebook to import data from an excel spreadsheet into the Analysis Repository, sometimes long string values are getting truncated to 255 characters when the data is imported.  There is no warning or error message that appears in the summary after the import is complete.

Is there a way to avoid this problem?

Cause

The i2 Analyst's Notebook Importer relies on the OLE DB drivers available in Microsoft Access Database Engine redistributable package to access the content in the Microsoft Excel columns.  When determining the data type of a column value, the Microsoft Access database engine by default will examine the first 8 rows of the spreadsheet to try and figure out the formats of the column.  If a cell that contains > 255 characters is *not* in those first 8 rows then it will assume a text field that has a 255 character limit.  If a cell with > 255 characters *is* in the first 8 rows then it will assume a memo field.

Therefore, if the long string value in your Excel import data does not appear in the first 8 rows, its value will be truncated to 255 characters.

Resolving The Problem

Fortunately, the number of rows the Microsoft Access Database Engine examines to determine the datatype is configurable in a setting in the Windows Registry, TypeGuessRows.  Change the value from 8 to 0 to have the data type checking include the first 16,385 rows. 

The actual registry key location depends on the version of the Access Database Engine you have installed on your system as well as whether your Windows system is 32-bit or 64 bit.  You can refer to this article to find the location of the registry key on your system:

Using the TypeGuessRows setting for Excel Driver

For example, if you have Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 on a 64 bit Windows system, the location of the TypeGuessRows key is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\Excel

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Historical Number

TS001525587

Product Synonym

ANB
ANBP

Document Information

More support for:
i2 Analyst's Notebook Premium

Software version:
All Versions

Operating system(s):
Windows

Document number:
793675

Modified date:
08 January 2019

UID

ibm10793675