External table is not in the expected format

  • Anyone know the cause or workaround for this error? I'm trying to do a basic import of an Excel spreadsheet to a table and I'm getting the following error:

    "External Table is not in the expected format"

    It's a simple task and I'm not clear on the root cause. The spreadsheet was created using Excel 2003.

    Please help!

  • Does your spreadsheet have a header row? If so, but you have defined the connection to the spreadsheet without specifying a header row, I think that this error can appear.

    The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
    - Martin Rees
    The absence of consumable DDL, sample data and desired results is, however, evidence of the absence of my response
    - Phil Parkin

  • Some other things to look for:

    Did a field get defined as numeric before but now contains non-numeric data or vice versa?

    Do you have a column that has mixed types (some values all digits, some values containing other characters)? Excel tries to guess the data type from the first few rows and is sometimes wrong.

    If there are column headings, did a spelling change? This includes case. Also check for leading or trailing spaces.

    Or did a column get dropped or added?

    Or is it picking up a blank column at the end?

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply