Lexical Item Import/Export File Formats

You have two choices of file format when importing/exporting lexical items: the .plx file format, which is a proprietary format, and the .csv file format, which is a more general format for comma delimited text files.

In most cases, plx files are the preferred way to import/export lexical items because this format also contains the definitions for each item's lexical type. This means that a lexical type doesn't already have to exist in the lexicon in order to import items of that type. All the required information about each lexical item being imported is contained in the import file.

On the other hand, csv files don't contain lexical type definitions. Therefore, they usually require that the lexicon contain the same lexical types as the items in the import file. Even with this disadvantage, csv files give you the flexibility of using a standardized file format that is used by many applications. If you want files that are compatible with other applications like Excel or Word then you'll want to use this format.