Import dbase via Basic - how to select character set

I am trying to programmatically open a dbase (.dbf) file using Basic. It opens fine, but because the file has Chinese characters, it’s not displaying the Chinese characters correctly. When I try to open the dbase file manually with Calc, the “Import Dbase files” dialog pops up and asks for the Character set. If I then select “Big5”, the file opens and displays Chinese characters correctly.

So my question is: how to open the dbase file using Basic with Character set “Big5”? I have tried the following for my code, but I am not sure what I should set as the value of the FilterOptions.

Dim aDocProps(2) As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
Dim oDoc as Object

aDocProps(0).Name = "Hidden"
aDocProps(0).Value = False
aDocProps(1).Name  = "FilterName"
aDocProps(1).Value = "dBase"
aDocProps(2).Name  = "FilterOptions"
aDocProps(2).Value = 1

oDoc = StarDesktop.LoadComponentFromUrl(ConvertToURL("my.dbf"), "_blank", 0, aDocProps)

I am using LO 5.3.7.2 x64

Locale: zh-TW (zh_TW)

In the “Options - Language Settings - Languages”:

  • Locale setting: Default - Chinese (traditional)
  • Western: Default - English (USA)
  • Asian: Default - Chinese (traditional)

Thanks!

For Big5 try "68" (note that the option’s value is of type string), see Filter Options in old OOo wiki

Thank you so much, that did the trick! I was looking for a page like this, but didn’t turn up on the search… I really need to work on my searching skills.