You need to break this problem down into sub sections that are manageable. Bfeider már seo:

• extract data from a text file
  • CSV or plain text?
  • How is the data identifiable?
  • Have you managed to extract the data yet, if not how far have you got?
  • Show us what you have tried
• Add it to the Excel file
  • Select the appropriate worksheet in the Excel file
  • Select the correct row and column
  • Write your data as a string/number to this cell

ok here is the first part of the text file. i need to extract the date from this

From: g027778@msx.stp.guidant.com
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 08:33
To: Steidl, Charles (STP); Gubbins, John (CLN); Horan, Laurence (CLN);
Duppong, Lawrence (STP); Donovan, Leighton (CLN); Deasy, Luke (CLN);
Walmsley, Mark (STP); Smith, Noel (CLN); Keating, Patrick (CLN); Doyle
+,
PJ (CLN); Heineman, Scott (STP); Maher, Stephen (CLN); Williams, Thoma
+s
(STP)(Test Eng); Nguyen, Thuan (STP)
Subject: ** Summary of yield for Product: Insignia__Hyb_E1

****  Yield Report  ****

****  Product Name        : Insignia__Hyb_E1_581394
****  Software Product    : 581394-201-A
****  Test Level          : Hyb_E1
****  Part Number         : 401666-312
****  Model Number        : h666
****  RMI DataBase        : prod
****  Analysis Date Range : 09/02/2009 00:00:00 to 09/02/2009 23:59:59
****  Tested First/Last   : 09/02/2009 02:06:04 to 09/02/2009 19:20:16
[download]

After analysis date range i need to take out the 09/02/2009. this date will change every day so searching for it will not work. i'm trying to use an array to fins analysis date range and then take the next 'x' amount of characters and output them to the excel file. this would be the first step. what i'm comming up with is that I can find the analysis date range but my array etc is not working. And yes I as dropped royally in it given this 2 weeks ago and i'm finishing work next week. only an intern here for the summer. electrical engineer undergraduate and we don't do this sort of stuff often/ever. thanks a mil for all the help though. and I have it broken down. above is the first part!

So, when you're looking for the date range, you can find the "Analysis Date Range", but then how do you decide what is the date coming after that?

I would say that you're looking for:

1. First, the string "Analysis Date Range : " with an arbitrary amount of whitespace around the ':' (/Analysis Date Range\s+:\s+/)
2. Then, at least one digit, which we want to remember (/([0-9]+)/)
3. Then, a slash (which needs a backslash to escape it) followed by at least one digit, and record the digits but not the slash (/\/([0-9]+)/)
4. Then, another slash followed by at least one digit, and again record the digits not the slash (/\/([0-9]+)/)
5. And the rest doesn't matter
Combining that all into one:

# i modifer to make it case insensitive, just in case.
if ($line =~ /Analysis Date Range\s*:\s*([0-9]+)\/([0-9]+)\/([0-9])+/i
+)
{
  print "I found an Analysis date with month/day $1, $2 in year $3\n";
}else{
  print "This line did not have an analysis date that I recognize in i
+t\n";
}
[download]




Another way to go, would be to grab larger chunks and then split them later:

1. "Analysis Date Range : "
3. Then a pile of digits-and-slashes (start date) ([0-9\/]+)
4. Then whitespace and digits-and-colons (start time) \s([0-9:]+)
5. Then more whitespace and some digits-and-slashes (end date)
6. Finally, whitespace then digits-and-colons (end time)
PS: Is that date string "month day year" or "day month year"?


- SJ

How to make perldoc.perl.org resizable too!

So you need to extract a date once which appears after Sent and keep this value and use it in combination with the Analysis Date Range for each report?

open (FILE, "<" ,"datafile");
my $sent_date="";
while (<>){
       my $this_date_range="";
       ($sent_date)=/^Sent: (.*)$/; #Could be more precise, but you're
+ only expecting one instance of Sent at the start of a line ?
       ($this_date_range)= /^\*{4}\s+Analysis Date Range\s+:\s(\d{2}\/
+\d{2}\/\d{4})/;
        add_to_spreadsheet($sent_date,$this_date_range);
}
[download]

So, half way there ;) Now you need to implement add_to_spreadsheet(); Answer the questions and use the module suggested initially, it's easy enough to use once you know the steps you intend to take.

read them already, thats why I have not posted untill now trying to figure it out. Thanks but i'm just useless so they did not help at all lol, only helped to give me an idea how to do it but still no where near what I need. at it 2 weeks now so said i'd post and see what happens. Thank you though

but i'm just useless

STOP THAT!
You are not useless, you have been dropped in it.

Describe the problem to yourself, in writing, in English (or Gaelic, or whatever). Look at the data. How do you choose the data to extract? Describe that in natural language, then you might try converting that into a regular expression, if one is needed. If regular expressions make you weak at the knees then that probably means you are normal - but you can always ask here.

You might start with very simple code reading one line at a time then just printing them out, then gradually refine what it is that you are printing. Once you have what you are looking for then try writing into a spreadsheet. Or create a CSV and manually load it. Small steps.

You're telling me the "Files and I/O" and "Simple matching" sections didn't help? Maybe you need a book.