How do I configure Mathematica to import data with Fortran E notation?

Some users experience a problem when using the Import command to import certain data files containing Fortran E notation. In particular, files containing the “+” symbol have been known to be imported incorrectly.

Our developers have created a workaround. Adding the following lines to the kernel's init.m file will allow Import to recognize the “+” symbol.

Import; (* Add "+" to the list of characters allowed to be in numbers. *) System`ConvertersDump`possiblyNumberQ[System`ConvertersDump`str_String]:= Apply[And, Map[MemberQ[ {"0", "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "*", ".", "^", "-", "+"}, #] &, Characters[System`ConvertersDump`str]]] 

This will allow the Import command to work as expected for data containing Fortran E notation.

The init.m file is a plain text file that can be created or modified in the directory determined by entering the following command:

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