Defining Fixed-Width File Formats with Multiple Formats
Access the Select Input form or the Select Outputs form.
Select User Defined Format, and then click Define Format(s).
On the User Defined Format - Type form, select the Fixed Width - Columns are aligned at specific positions with specific widths option.
Select the Multiple Formats - Rows are in two (2) or more formats option, and click Next.
On the User Defined Format - Multiple Format Definition form, enter the number of formats that are included in the user-defined format, and click Next.
To define the character length of the Designator column, complete the Length field.
On the User Defined Format - Multiple Format Names form, enter a name for each format in the Name column, and click Next.
The Designator name should describe the data in the user-defined formats.
For example, suppose that a text file contains purchase order information. Lines in the table have information for a whole purchase order with the first field designated as POH; lines with a first field designated as POI contain information about individual items in the purchase order; and lines in the table with a first field designated as POT contain information about purchase order totals. In this scenario, you would enter POH as the designator of the first format, POI as the designator of the second format, and POT as the designator of the third format.
Note: You can rename the columns for each format to help you remember the formats with which you are working. For example, you can rename the columns according to their function in the file, such as Header, Detail, and Total. These names appear in the Inputs list on the Mapping form of the table conversion.On the User Defined Format - Column Layout form, select a format from the list of available formats.
You define the columns for the format so that the system can parse the information from the file.
To add additional columns, click Add to define the columns.
On the New Column Properties form, modify these fields as required, and click OK:
Name
Start
Length
Type
To edit an existing column, select the column, click Edit, and change the properties on the Column Properties form.
To model the columns after an existing table, business view, or foreign table, click Model, select the appropriate tab, and then select the table or business view that you want to use as a model for the user-defined format.
Note: You cannot model the columns after an existing object unless the layout of the two objects match.Click OK, and then click Next.
The system copies the format from the model that you selected and places it into the column layout grid.
On the User Defined Format - Finish form, click Finish.