WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Michael S. Hanson
Department of Economics

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Importing Text Datafiles into EViews

Cross Sectional Data   |   Time Series Data   |   Data Integrity


For Cross-Sectional Data:
Step 1: Create a new workfile for the data:
  1. From the EViews menu, select File | New | Workfile...
  2. In the Workfile Range window, select the radio button for Undated.
  3. For End Observation, enter the number of observations listed in the description file (*.DES).
  4. Click the [OK] button.
Step 2: Import the text datafile into the EViews workfile:
  1. From the EViews menu, select File | Import | Read Text-Lotus-Excel...
  2. Navigate the directory structure until you find the raw datafile (*.RAW) you downloaded, or type in the filename. Then click the [Open] button.
  3. In the ASCII Text Import window, type in the series names in the appropriate box (upper-left corner). Note: you should be able to copy the list of series names from the description (*.DES) file and paste it into this space.
  4. The following options should be set:
    • Data order: in Columns
    • File laid out as a rectangle (checked)
    • Delimiters (treat multiple delimiters as one): checked
    • Space: checked
    • Misc options: all unchecked
  5. Click the [OK] button.
Step 3: Save the workfile:
  1. Click on the [Save] button in the workfile window, or select File | Save from the menu.
  2. Navigate the directory structure to the correct file/drive location.
  3. Type a distinct filename.
  4. Click the [Save] button.
For Time Series Data:
  The steps are exactly the same as above, except instead of selecting "Undated" for the workfile range, select the frequency that corresponds to the one used for the datafile. (This should be clear from the description (*.DES) file.)
Data Integrity:
  While the above instructions should work under most circumstances, it is wise to check that the datafile loaded correctly into the EViews workfile. To check the data integrity, double-click on one or more series icons in the workfile window, and compare the spreadsheet view to the raw datafile (in text format). If the numbers do not appear to match, especially towards the end of the file, there is a problem. It is also worth plotting the data and viewing summary statistics to ensure that no errors (which might appear as outliers or as changes in scale) slipped into the newly created workfile.


Created: Friday, February 4, 2000
Updated: Monday, February 14, 2000
Version: 1.1.0c

Copyright ©1999 - 2000, Michael Steven Hanson