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Convert bidirectional text files to ANSI

The feature described in this Help topic is only available if support for right-to-left languages is enabled through Microsoft Office Language Settings.

In addition, to enable the right-to-left features in Microsoft Access, you must be running a 32-bit Microsoft Windows operating system that has right-to-left support— for example, the Arabic version of Microsoft Windows 2000.

The ConvText utility provides more support (additional code pages and visual text layout options) than is found in some Microsoft Office applications to convert bidirectional files to ANSI characters. ConvText is available on the Microsoft Office Web site and on the installation CDs for Microsoft Office language versions that offer right-to-left support.

The following example illustrates how to use ConvText with Access. Similar steps are required to use ConvText with other Microsoft Office applications such as Excel.

1. In the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder, double-click the ConvText.exe icon.
2. Click Convert To Windows ANSI Code Page.
3. Type file names in the Source and Target boxes, or click Browse.
4. Do one of the following:
   • Click Load to retrieve a previously saved conversion specification.
   • Select the code page, text layout, file type, and any other relevant parameters that match the target text file to be created.
5. Click Save to retain the conversion specifications.
6. Click Convert.
7. Import the converted text file into Access.

All field names and records from the original table or worksheet will be fully recreated in a new table.