Rule to apply weight to the first set of characters

[WaynePageAnderson]

Hello BC users.

Long time user, but I bet there is a lot more to know about this powerful tool then I know.

This question has had to be asked, apologies I could not find the solution.

I am comparing 2 files, each file has two columns of data… let’s say Account Number and a dollar amount. My account numbers are NOT lining up, thus making my analyses unuseful.

Is there a way to set a rule to put a heavier weight on the first, let say 8 characters? Or what is the way to have my account numbers line up?

The picture below explains.


Thanks for the help!

[Aaron]

Hello,

The easiest method might be to use our Data Compare session type. At which point you can define these as two columns (Account number and Amount). You can right click a column header and make it a Key, Standard, or Unimportant column. Your Account Number would be a Key, and the Amount would be standard. This should sort and align your data using the default Data Compare session settings.

The method to "weight" it in the Text Compare would be to define the Account number as an Important Grammar element, then mark Everything Else as Unimportant, but make sure that the Ignore Unimportant Text toggle is Off so that you see the Blue differences. Then alter the Alignment settings to Never Align Differences, which will never align Important (Red) Account differences, but will align Unimportant (blue) amount differences. This is less ideal than working with the Data Compare, but should be possible if you need a specific Text Report layout.

[WaynePageAnderson]

Thanks for your time A-A-Ron. See (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw 1:47)

Not a 100% sure on what is meant by a "Data Compare Session Type"? But I did find a good solution inspired by your response, I plugged the data into a CSV files and compared... worked like a charm.

Again thanks for you time and response.

[Aaron]

Hello,

Our different session types open different file extensions automatically. Text files open in the Text Compare, while CSV and Excel files open in the Data Compare. You can see the current compare type in the top title bar of the Window.

On the Home screen you can launch a specific session type first, then open your files within it.

http://www.scootersoftware.com/morei...ot=TextCompare

http://www.scootersoftware.com/morei...ot=DataCompare

[WaynePageAnderson]

Perfect, Thanks so much!

I REALLY like this software, it is VERY good!

-Wayne