Trouble with input files when using German regional settings

[jarvis24]

It's true that working with MediaLab is much easier if you work in your native regional setting--this helps very much in trying to get your native fonts to appear correctly.

It's also true that DirectRT .csv files can not be saved properly when using some regional settings (e.g., German, Dutch). When this happens, it is usually because the computer does not use commas as the data field separator in .csv files (even though csv stands for comma separated values).

One easy fix for this is to set the regional settings to USA while editing .csv files. This will keep them structured properly. You can change back after editing and saving the files.

Another solution would be to keep your regional settings but change the default list separator to a comma. There is a little known setting in Windows can do this for you. You can set any character to use as your delimiter when saving an Excel file as csv. The key is in Windows Regional Settings:

1. Bring up your default options window by clicking Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Regional Settings.
2. Beside where you have indicated your regional setting, click Customize.
3. Click the Number tab and in the List Separator field, replace the current default separator with a comma.
4. Click OK to save the change and close the window.

You should now be able to save Excel files as comma delimited files without changing the rest of your regional settings.

-Blair