Tab Delimited Files

When to Use Tab Delimited Files in Desktop Publishing

A common problem in desktop publishing is how to get data from one program into another program. Plain text files are one solution. You'll lose your formatting but you'll have your text, which you then reformat in your page layout software. But, for some text such as Word tables or Excel Spreadsheets, there's another option -- tab delimited files.

Tab delimited files are one way to import and place data that is arranged in rows and columns, such as tables and spreadsheets. You'll still lose font formatting and colors, but you'll retain the grid-like layout of your work.

A tab delimited file is a special kind of plain text file with a tab between each column in the text. When imported into your page layout software, the tabs allow the columns to line up neatly.

In this Using Tab Delimited Files Step-by-Step tutorial see how to export tab delimited files and two methods of importing them into your desktop publishing software.