null values in Excel

[Guest]

Hello
I have multiple datasets in Excel spreadsheets that I am organizing and "cleaning-up" to import into Access. Ultimately, all datasets will be in one Access database. My datasets have multiple fields that have occasional missing values or blank cells. There are two reasons for the blank cells: 1. the data should have been collected, but were overlooked by mistake; and 2. the data are intentionally missing. I have talked with various database managers and they have suggested I use "null" for the missing values. Does Excel recognize "null" as a value for numeric fields? Should I just leave the cells as blank and after I import into Access, try to change them to null? Any ideas on how to distinguish between the two types of missing data? Thank you in advance!

Shanti

 

[Debra Dalgleish]

I'd import the data into a new table in Access, and clean it up there.
In Excel, if the intentionally missing data are in text fields, you
could use a code (e.g. "x") to mark them. Then, in Access, replace those
with "", to create a zero length string.

Blank cells should be imported as Null values.