how to change .dat extension to .csv with automator in Lion

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Level 1

30 points

how to change .dat extension to .csv with automator in Lion

I get datalogger files every night that come in the .dat format. I need to process them in OpenOffice.calc to show the results. OO.calc will not read a .dat file, but if I manually change the .dat to .csv it works fine.

I don't know enough about Automator to write the script. Doing it by record doesn't work.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks 😐

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3), I7, 8GB, 750GB, Lion

Posted on May 28, 2012 7:00 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

red_menace

Level 6

17,030 points

May 28, 2012 10:18 PM in response to Cosman

You can use the Rename Finder Items action to rename the input items, using either Name Single Item or Replace Text for the extension (note that the extenson does not include the period) - for example:

Ask for Finder Items { Type: files } Allow Multiple Selection
Rename Finder Items - Replace Text { Find: dat in extension only Replace: csv }

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Answer 2

Cosman Author

Level 1

30 points

May 29, 2012 6:32 AM in response to red_menace

OK, I got it to work. Thank you very much.🙂

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