Import fixed width text to SQL

Question

We have records in this format:

99 0882300 25 YATES ANTHONY V MAY 01 12 04 123456 12345678

The width is fixed and we need to import it int

Answer 1

When you feel more at home with SQL than importing tools, you could bulk import the file into a single VARCHAR(255) column in a staging table. Then process all the records with SQL and transform them to your destination table:

CREATE TABLE #DaTable(MyString VARCHAR(255)) 
INSERT INTO #DaTable(MyString) VALUES ('99 0882300 25 YATES ANTHONY V MAY 01 12 04 123456 12345678')

INSERT INTO FInalTable(Col1, Col2, Col3, Name)
SELECT CAST(SUBSTRINg(MyString, 1, 3) AS INT) as Col1,
    CAST(SUBSTRING(MyString, 4, 7) AS INT) as Col2,
    CAST(SUBSTRING(MyString, 12, 3) AS INT) as Col3,
    SUBSTRING(MyString, 15, 6) as Name
FROM #DaTable

result: 99  882300  25  YATES