When Match and Merge is configured with an OLEDB connection using a text file, column formats are determined by the data in the first row.  If a column is configured as a date, currency or decimal type, matches may not occur if alpha-numeric values appear in subsequent rows.  In this scenario, create a schema.ini file to define the column types in the same folder location as the lookup file.

1. Create a new file named schema.ini in the same folder location as the lookup file.
2. Line 1 will be the lookup filename enclosed within square brackets as follows: [matchandmerge.csv]
3. Line 2 is the file format used to evaluate the sequences. For example: Format=CSVDelimited
4. Line 3 is the character set to be used. For example: CharacterSet=OEM
5. All remaining lines display the column names and location data formatted as text. Add a separate line for each column to be used. For example: Col1=”Column1Name” Char Width 255

Additional information regarding schema files may be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms709353(VS.85).aspx