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Retrieving Registration Files

Various groups of the North Jersey Section of the ACS use electronic registration for meetings and symposia. Where these data are collected into a master file, that file can be downloaded to the meeting organizer's PC, and loaded into a database or spreadsheet program for use in conjunction with the meeting.

Location of Files:

http://njacs.org/meetings/xxx.txt
where xxx.txt = name of the data file, which will be provided to you
Use your browser to view the registration file.

Access Permission: To open the registration file an ID and PSWD are required.
These will also be provided to each authorized person.

File Format: The files are ASCII tab-delimited and can be easily imported into many programs.

Save the File: \File\Save As..., or Ctrl-S
Use a convenient directory on your PC where it can be accessed by your spreadsheet or database program.

Using the Data: A most convenient way to use the data is to import it into a Spreadsheet where the data can be cleaned and adjusted. It is then available for sorting and analysis, if desired. Or, it is easily transferred into a word processor where the data can be used in merge files to generate name-tags, form letters, labels, attendance lists, etc.

To load into a Spreadsheet, use the \File\Open command.
This will parse of the data into the appropriate columns. Each piece of data has been kept in a separate field (column) to maximize sorting capabilities.

To load into a Database program such as Paradox, Access, etc., refer to the instructions for that program on how to load data from and ASCII tab-delimited file

Suggestion: Each time you download the data file, you will receive the entire contents since the data collection started. Yet, with subsequent downloads, you will need only the most recent record additions.

Also, frequently there are many errors in the data, multiple records for a single registrant, or cancellations.

For these reasons, it is suggested that you:
a) import the raw data file into a temporary spreadsheet (or DB table)
b) clean up the records in that temporary file
c) then copy the clean records into your Master registration file

Additional Information: Assistance is available from Paul Tukey