Re: sql*loader datatype question

Lisa, in the modeling world, unless you are performing a calculation(like on phone number), i've always been told to make them character.  
joe
>>> lisa.koivu_at_efairfield.com 08/30/01 01:33PM
>>>

I'm hitting a wall here.  I'm trying to load data into a large table.  Two of the fields are phone numbers (10 digits).  The database field is defined as number(10).  When I try to load these records, they err out with an error similar to below.
Record 858:  Rejected - Error on table
INV_OWNER.FPSITE, column FPS_AFFIL_LTD_PTS_FPS. <FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>ORA-01722: invalid number So I change the fields to character, get the data in and it truly is all 10-digit numbers.  I'm wondering if I'm missing something in the format.  The doco says that INTEGER EXTERNAL is to be used for "human readable" numbers, non-binary, when you want to specify the length.  The length I've chosen is correct.  I can even create a table with number(10) columns and insert the varchar(10) phone number data into it! 
What am I missing?  I really do not
want to change all my number fields to character.  It would defeat the purpose. I have a feeling I'm missing some sort of conversion in SQL*Loader but I don't see it off the top of my head.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

Lisa
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