Importing ASCII Files

You can import data in an ASCII file format from other applications such as databases and spreadsheets. Strategic Finance reads and writes Strategic Finance format ASCII files. This file format is a comma- or tab-delimited file structure that includes:

Header information: delimiter (comma or tab), format (account number or name) and time-period labels.
Financial account information (account numbers or names) used to map the data values (for nonaggregate periods only) to the Strategic Finance data file.

In Strategic Finance, the output values in the ASCII file are used to back-calculate the input values of each input relative to its forecast, except for Freeform formulas and growth rates from a previous period zero (0) value. In these cases, Strategic Finance overrides these values with "#" (currency).

When importing an ASCII file with account names, text or symbols not matching account names in your current .alc file result in an error message.

An imported ASCII file must contain a header with a label worded exactly as follows:

#Hyperion Strategic Finance Formatted ASCII File#

#comment

 #delimiter=comma (or "tab")

#format=number (or "name")

 #time, (list period labels here)

Even if Input and Display flags are not set for an account in the .alc file (in Customize view), input data imports from an ASCII file. Set the Input flag to view the data in the account.
If spaces are entered in an ASCII file (blank rows), they are not acknowledged, and all recognized data is imported into the Strategic Finance file.
The time-period labels specified in the ASCII file header must match the labels in the Strategic Finance file or template, or an error message appears.