DBF Editor

[jaykapalczynski]

Looking for a good FREE DBF editor. 
If no real good ones then one that does not cost much....

Anyone have any thoughts?

[DanPatterson_Retired]

a search on Google using "dbf editor" yields many options...which ones did you rule out?

[jaykapalczynski]

Yea I did that...although I cannot download anything to my computer...Gotta love IT/IS.
I am looking for something as close to Excel as I can get...was looking for some suggestions.

Was looking at this one but seems like there were many steps and windows to navigate through to do simple stuff.  That and I did not see a Sort column option. 
http://www.alexnolan.net/software/dbf.htm

[JohnSobetzer]

I use Libre Office at home.  Open Office is similar.  Their spreadsheet programs both save to dbf unlike the newer Excel.

[jaykapalczynski]

I use Libre Office at home.  Open Office is similar.  Their spreadsheet programs both save to dbf unlike the newer Excel.

Is Libre Office a cloud based solution?  We will be working with sensitive data and need security....

I just installed and does not look like cloud based.  I have installed files...just want to make sure sensitive data will remain secure

[JohnSobetzer]

I believe there may be a cloud version as there is with Microsoft Office and Google Docs, but they would run through your browser.  The standard desktop install of Libre Office, like the classic Microsoft Office, is not cloud based.

[jaykapalczynski]

I have one question....I bring a DBF into Libre Office and the headers have extra characters.

HAVE you seen this before?????

It appears as if the definition of the Column...

Example:  Field1 N, 10, 3

• Field1 is the name


• N is for numeric


• 10 is length of field


• 3 is the number of sig digits

Example:  Field2 C, 50

• Field2 is the field name


• C is for CHAR


• 50 is the field length

[JohnSobetzer]

It looks like it is displaying field formats but I've also seen that it is reporting field constraints of a dbf.  In any case I ignore it and they don't show up when the saved dbf is later opened in ArcMap or Excel.

[jaykapalczynski]

From a Simple Edit point of view yes that works....

1. I open in LibreOffice and see those field formats


2. Make my edits and save


3. open back in ArcMap and it is fine.

Although If I open the DBF in LibreOffice and "Save As" excel format those Field Formats in the Header are migrated ot the new Excel file....

WHY is this....is there a way to hide them?

[JohnSobetzer]

I also found they are transferred when using the Save As  Excel spreadsheet command.  I couldn't find any way to get rid of them other than stripping them out manually.

It appears those added characters are because a dbf is a database and has certain limitations, and these remind the user of them so they don't screw it up.  I'd rather not have them but it suggests it is a design choice.  I don't get them when I open an Excel document in Libre.