Single fixed width record files

To create new data formats for a single fixed width record file:

  1. Specify or amend the following details:
    Description
    The description entered when the data format was created.
    Initial Lines to Ignore
    The number of lines at the start of the external file that are to be ignored. The default is 0.
    Record Separator
    The code that is used at the end of each record in the external file in order to separate the records. Select Windows New Line, UNIX New Line or Other. Windows New Line is the default separator and is displayed in the script as record-sep="\r\n", that is, carriage return and new line.
    To specify a different separator, select Other. This enables the Specify field for you to specify the separator.
    In the Fields section, in the Start, Length and Field columns, click in a row marked with a '*' asterisk to enter the start position (numeric), length (numeric) and name of the field. The name of the field must conform to XML syntax, for example, it cannot start with a numeric character. The field name must also be unique within the data format.
    Use these buttons to import field names or to insert or delete fields:
    Read File
    To import existing field names from an example file, click Read File and browse to the location of your file. The field names are extracted and inserted into the rows, replacing any field names you have already defined.
    Note: All files being imported must be in UTF-8 format.
    Insert
    Click Insert to add an additional new row above the currently selected row.
    Delete
    Click Delete to remove the currently selected row.

    To sort the order of the field names, select the field you want to move and click the Up or Down buttons as appropriate.

  2. Click Save a Format to save the data format to the database.
  3. Validate and test the data format.
  4. To view or edit the data format source code, change the view to text view. Select ViewChangeText View.