Tab delimited text file tables do not display correctly in ArcCatalog or ArcMap

Description

When a table for a tab delimited text file is opened in ArcMap or ArcCatalog, the data is not correctly entered into columns.

Cause

ArcMap and ArcCatalog interpret files with a .txt, .csv, or .asc extension as comma delimited by default. Files that have a .tab extension are interpreted as tab delimited by default.

Solution or Workaround

• Change the extension on all tab delimited text files to .tab.
  
  
  Right-click the file in Windows Explorer and select Rename.
  
  
• Modify the schema.ini. This file determines how to read delimited text files.
  
  

  Note:
  For more information on modifying the schema.ini see Accessing delimited text file data