Adjusting File Layout Properties

In the file layout definition, open the file layout, record, or field properties as appropriate for each step in the following procedure.

To adjust file layout, record, and field properties:

  1. Change the file layout properties.

    1. Double-click the topmost node in the file layout, ABS_HIST, to display the file layout properties.

    2. Enter a short and long description of the file layout you are creating. For this example, you are creating a FIXED file layout, so you do not need to make any changes on the Use tab.

  2. Change the file record properties.

    1. Double-click the QE_ABSENCE_HIST file record to display its properties. Enter a record ID of 000, and a starting position of 1. The ID length is automatically set.

      When you click OK, you see a message asking if you want to increment the start positions for all fields.

    2. Click Yes to automatically increment the start position numbers for every field to take the length of the file record ID that you just added into account. If you do not click Yes, you must manually increment the start position for all fields.

      You just created the file record ID for the QE_ABSENCE_HIST record:

      000 8001       VAC  1981-09-12 1981-09-26 14  .0                     P Y
000 8001       VAC  1983-03-02 1983-03-07 5   .0                     P Y

  3. Change the file field properties.

    When a record definition is used as a template for a file layout, the default starting position for each field is based on the order in which it appears in the record as well as its length.

    1. Double-click the QE_EMPLID file field to display its properties.

      The start position is automatically set to 4 because the file record ID is 3 characters long. However, in the example, an extra space is between the end of the file record ID and the first field. Therefore, you need to change the start position of this field and all of the fields that follow this field to increment the starting position of this field and all fields following this field by 1. To do this:

    2. Click the up arrow under Propagate to change that number from 0 to 1.

    3. Click the button with the arrows pointing right (>>>).

  4. (Optional) Adjust other fields.

    The last field (QE_COMMENTS) has a length of 0 because it is based on a Long field type.

    Note:

    When a Long field type is inserted into a file layout, the system converts it to a Character field type with a length of 0.

    Because the format for this file layout is FIXED, you have to change the field length of that file field so that it is long enough to accommodate the data that you expect from the file.

    You do not have to propagate this change because this is the last field in the record.