Downloading Information from 
                  Government Documents CD ROMs 
 
 
                          Introduction 
 
Many of the Governmental CD ROMs allow you to capture the information onto a floppy disk.  By 
downloading the information you save having to re-key it into the program you use for analysis.  You can 
simply import the data. 
 
Consult the manual for the software program you will use to find the types of files it accepts and to answer 
any questions regarding the analysis of imported data.  The Government Documents staff does not provide 
information or instruction concerning the use of Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, etc. 
 
To download information from a Government Documents electronic product you must bring a floppy disk 
which has been formatted for the DOS family of computers.  The Government Documents computers can 
use any size floppy with any formatting options.  You can convert text files to the Macintosh format at any 
of the Academic Computing Sites. 
 
There are several downloading options.  The most appropriate selection depends on how you will analyze 
the information on your PC. 
 
 
                           Text Files 
 
Text files contain written information which can be edited or printed using a word processing package 
such as WordPerfect or MS Word.  However, the margins of the downloaded files are usually larger than 
those that start up with the application.  Therefore, first widen the margins before you import the text. 
 
Text files can also be called ASCII files.  ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information 
Interchange and is a standard computers use to represent characters. 
 
 
                         Columnar Files 
 
Also called tab delimited, the columnar format places the information into a table where each data field 
has a separate column (see table 1).  These files can be imported into spreadsheets such as Lotus 1-2-3, 
databases (dBase, Fox Pro), etc. 
 
 
                      Comma Delimited Files 
 
Comma delimited files place a comma after each data field.  Table 2 contains the same data as table 1, but 
in the comma delimited format.  Comma delimited files take less disk space than columnar files.  
Spreadsheets (Lotus 1-2-3, Excel, etc.), database management programs (dBase, Fox Pro), etc. use those 
commas to place each element into a separate cell. 
 
 
                             Table 1 
 
                                Total        Total     Popula-    
                                popula-      popu-     tion       
                                tion         lation    change    
  County, State                   1980         1990    1980-90   
  Apache, AZ                      52108        61591      9483 
  Cochise, AZ                     85686        97624     11938    
  Coconino, AZ                    75008        96591     21583    
  Gila, AZ                        37080        40216      3136    
  Graham, AZ                      22862        26554      3692    
  Greenlee, AZ                    11406         8008     -3398    
  La Paz, AZ                      12557        13844      1287    
  Maricopa, AZ                  1509227      2122101    612874    
  Mohave, AZ                      55865        93497     37632    
  Navajo, AZ                      67629        77658     10029    
  Pima, AZ                       531443       666880    135437    
  Pinal, AZ                       90918       116379     25461    
  Santa Cruz, AZ                  20459        29676      9217    
  Yavapai, AZ                     68145       107714     39569    
  Yuma, AZ                        76205       106895     30690    
 
 
                             Table 2 
"",Total,Total,Popula- 
"",popula-,popu-,tion 
"",tion,lation,change 
"County, State",1980,1990,1980-90 
"Apache, AZ",52108,61591,9483 
"Cochise, AZ",85686,97624,11938 
"Coconino, AZ",75008,96591,21583 
"Gila, AZ",37080,40216,3136 
"Graham, AZ",22862,26554,3692 
"Greenlee, AZ",11406,8008,-3398 
"La Paz, AZ",12557,13844,1287 
"Maricopa, AZ",1509227,2122101,612874 
"Mohave, AZ",55865,93497,37632 
"Navajo, AZ",67629,77658,10029 
"Pima, AZ",531443,666880,135437 
"Pinal, AZ",90918,116379,25461 
"Santa Cruz, AZ",20459,29676,9217 
"Yavapai, AZ",68145,107714,39569 
"Yuma, AZ",76205,106895,30690 
 
 
                      Other Types of Files 
 
Many of the CD ROM programs allow downloading in the formats of specific software applications, e.g., 
dBase, Lotus, etc.  Consult the sections of this manual for each CD ROM, or the CD ROM's manual, to 
see what is available. 
 
 
Kenneth Furuta, Arizona State University, October 1993