ASCII Key is a utility using unformatted text files (ASCII- or other character sets). It uses the platform "EXCEL(c) 97 / 2000 ". The main focus of the program is "comparing the contents of two text files", "identifying duplicate records" and "filtering". These features always refer to the "key columns", which can be easily determined by using a special function before starting the program. By allowing to process multiple files ASCII Key can be used also to combine single text or HTML files into one large file. More features: Join: Copy selected columns from one file to another in case of identical keys. Split: Split a file according to its key columns. Statistics: Counting the occurrences of words in text files (giving the number for each different word). All functions maybe extended by repetition (input = output, e.g. searching common keys in several files). For an easy start of the program you may save all parameters as well as the paths of all input and output files in a "variant". It is possible to store your variants in a separate Excel file so that when substituting the ASCII Key file (e.g. by a new version) all your saved settings are preserved. There is no general restriction concerning the number of lines ASCII Key is able to process. This number only depends on the features of your computer, especially on the RAM size. All text elements of the program maybe shown in English or German. Applications: A major area of application is in the office, especially if you extract data (text files) from a host system and you need a further processing of these extracts (e.g. compare it with other files, filter it).