Designer Guide

10.4.0
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Updating Fixed-Width File Properties

After you import a fixed-width file, you can update the file properties. Double-click the title bar of the source or target definition. Edit the table and column information.

To edit file properties, click the Advanced button on the Table tab. The Edit Flat File Information - Fixed Width Files dialog box appears. The Edit Flat File Information - Fixed Width Files dialog box contains more options for file sources than for file targets. For example, it contains information that the Integration Service needs to read the file, such as the number of initial rows to skip, or the number of bytes between rows.

The following table describes the fixed-width file properties that you can configure for source, target, and lookup definitions:

Fixed-Width Advanced Setting	Description for Sources and Lookups	Description for Targets
Null Character	Character used in the source file to represent a null value. This can be any valid character in the file code page or any binary value from 0 to 255.	Character the Integration Service uses in the target file to represent a null value. This can be any valid character in the file code page.
Repeat Null Character	If selected, the Integration Service reads repeat null characters in a single field as a single null value. When you specify a multibyte null character and select Repeat Null Character, the field may contain extra trailing bytes if the field length is not evenly divisible by the number of bytes in the null character. In this case, the field is not null. You should always specify a single-byte null character .	If selected, the Integration Service writes as many null characters as possible into the target field. If you do not select this option, the Integration Service enters a single null character at the beginning of the field to represent a null value. If you specify a multibyte null character and there are extra bytes left after writing null characters, the Integration Service pads the column with single-byte spaces. If a column is not big enough to take a null character because it is smaller than the multibyte character specified as the null character, the session fails at initialization.
Code Page	Code page of the file definition. For source definitions, use a source code page that is a subset of the target code page. For lookup file definitions, use a code page that is a superset of the source code page and a subset of the target code page.	Code page of the file definition. Use a code page that is a superset of the source code page.
Line Sequential	If selected, the Integration Service reads a line feed or carriage return character in the last column as the end of the column. Use this option if the file uses line feeds or carriage returns to shorten the last column of each row.	n/a
Number of Initial Rows to Skip	Indicates the number of rows the Integration Service skips when it reads the file. Use this setting to skip blank or header rows. One row may contain multiple records. Enter any integer from 0 to 2,147,483,647.	n/a
Number of Bytes to Skip Between Records	Number of bytes between the last column of one row and the first column of the next. The Integration Service skips the entered number of bytes at the end of each row to avoid reading carriage return or line feed characters. Enter 1 for UNIX files and 2 for DOS files.	n/a
Strip Trailing Blanks	If selected, the Integration Service strips trailing blanks from string values.	n/a
User Defined Shift State	If selected, you can define the shift state for source columns on the Columns tab. Select User Defined Shift State when the source file contains both multibyte and single-byte data, but does not contain shift-in and shift-out keys. If a multibyte file source does not contain shift keys, you must define shift states for each column in the flat file source definition so the Integration Service can read each character correctly.	n/a

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Designer Guide

Designer Guide

Updating Fixed-Width File Properties

Updating Fixed-Width File Properties