[GRASS-user] Editing dbf, problem

[Dylan Beaudette]

On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 8:23 AM, Kurt Springs<ferret_bard at mac.com> wrote:
> I was trying to edit one of my point vector dbf files in the file
> PERMANENT/dbf.  I used the spreadsheet in Openoffice to adjust a .dbf file.
>  The STR_1 column originally read #1 %64 @"Cat. 64".  I needed the Cat. 64
> for a label on my map so I edited the column to read just Cat. 64.  Now when
> I resize the size of the Map Display Window, everything freezes.  If I leave
> the map display window alone I can work with the project a little, but GRASS
> (or WISH) unexpectedly quits, usually sooner rather than later.  I tried to
> at the #1 %64 with the quotation marks back, but this didn't help.  Can
> anyone tell what the problem is and how to fix it?  Since I am using Qgis to
> do the actual displaying (and it doesn't seem to have the problem) I'll be
> fine, unless I have to adjust something in GRASS.  Then I will need a back
> up plan.
>
> Thanks for any insight that people may have.
>
> Kurt

Hi Kurt,

I (and others on the list) have encountered a variable degree of
success when working with DBF files opened/saved by an external
program. In some cases it works, in others the datatype (or something)
of a column will change and all hell breaks loose. I have seen this in
both GRASS and ESRI programs -- it just seems like the DBF file format
is very fragile. If possible, try converting your database back-end to
SQLite-- there are many good GUI-based tools for working on SQLite
files, and the SQLite engine has full support for SQL. It can be a
pain to switch between database back-ends, but I wish that I had done
it sooner.

Good luck,
Dylan


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