FIX: APPEND FROM TYPE XL8 Makes VFP 6 Disappear (217174)

SYMPTOMS

Issuing the APPEND FROM <xlfile.xls> TYPE XL8 command makes Visual FoxPro either disappear or produce an error. In Visual FoxPro 6.0 running under Windows NT 4.0, the following error message may appear before the application closes:

Fatal error: Exception code=C0000005

After selecting OK, Visual FoxPro disappears.

In Visual FoxPro 6.0 Service Pack 3 running under Windows NT 4.0, FoxPro simply disappears after executing the APPEND FROM command. No error mesage appears.

In Visual FoxPro 6.0 Service Pack 3 running under Windows 98, the following error appears:

Microsoft Excel file format is invalid.

RESOLUTION

Here are a few possible resolutions to this problem:

Save the Excel file as an Excel 5.0/95 workbook, or earlier, and use the APPEND FROM command to transfer the data.
Save the Excel file as a tab or comma delimited (.csv) text file and use the APPEND FROM command to transfer the data.
Use the Import command in Visual FoxPro. Import is on the File menu or you can code:
```
   IMPORT FROM append.xls XL8
					
```

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This bug was corrected in the next service pack for Visual Studio 6.0.

For additional information about Visual Studio service packs, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

194022 INFO: Visual Studio 6.0 Service Packs, What, Where, Why

194295 HOWTO: Tell That a Visual Studio Service Pack Is Installed

To download the latest Visual Studio service pack, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/updates/

MORE INFORMATION

This mainly happens with files in an Excel 97 format, which for purposes of Visual FoxPro's APPEND command, is version 8.0. The TYPE XL8 clause for Excel 97 files was added in Visual FoxPro 6.0. Visual FoxPro 5.x and earlier did not have this option.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

WARNING: The following steps cause Visual FoxPro to crash. Please make sure that you save all important data or code before following the steps. It is also a good idea to save all information in any other running applications before you use these steps:

In Excel 97, create a new file.
Place the following data in the corresponding cells: A1: 1
A2: 2
A3: 3
B1: =CONCATENATE("Hello",A1)
Press the F5 key to open the GoTo dialog box, then type the following and then click OK: A1:A4000
From the Edit menu, point to Fill, then choose Series. In the Series dialog box, select OK. This fills the column with numbers from 1 to 4,000.
Press the F5 key again, then type the following and then click OK: B1:B4000
From the Edit menu, point to Fill, then choose Down. This fills the columns with the formula.
While B1:B4000 is selected, from the Edit menu, select Copy, then select Edit, Paste Special. In the Paste Special dialog box, select Values, then choose OK. Before doing anything else, press the ESCAPE key to get rid of the copy marquee. Pressing the ESCAPE key after pasting is important because if you press the ENTER key, the formulas will be pasted back in the cells.
Save the Excel file. By default, it should save as a Microsoft Excel Workbook. For these steps, call the file Append.xls and place it in your Visual FoxPro default directory to avoid pathing problems.
Close Excel.
In Visual FoxPro 6.0, issue these commands in the Command window to create a new table and append in the Excel file. Remember that Visual FoxPro should disappear after the APPEND FROM command so make sure everything is saved:
```
   CREATE TABLE appendtest (num I, char C(40))
   APPEND FROM append.xls TYPE XL8
					
```