Overview
Exported attendance logs from a clocking device normally have a .dat file extension. To convert this file to a .csv file, you can follow the steps in this article.
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From your File Explorer, locate the .dat file, which has been exported from the clocking device.
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Right-click on the file and select Open with, and open the file with Notepad.
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When the file is opened, you will see the attendance logs like the example below.
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When the file is open, select File and Save As....
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In the appearing dialog, in the Save as type field, select All files.
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Change the File name extension from .dat to .csv.
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A new file with a new file extension will be saved in your directory. Double-click on this file to open and view it in other applications supporting the .csv file extension.
The columns of the .csv do not contain any headers, but they can be understood using the descriptions below.
- Column A - Employee ID
- Column B - Date & Time
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Column C-F - Punch State
- Where the columns show "1 0 1 0" this is considered as a Punch In
- Where the columns show "1 1 1 0" this is considered as a Punch Out
Each row of data is a punch made by an employee; either a Punch In or a Punch Out.