One or more characters used to separate columns of data. Delimiters can be either printable or single-byte unprintable characters and must be different from the escape character and the quote character. You can enter a single-byte unprintable character by browsing the delimiter list in the Delimiters dialog box.

You cannot select unprintable multibyte characters as delimiters. You cannot select the NULL character as the column delimiter for a flat file source.

Maximum number of delimiters is 80.

By default, the Integration Service treats multiple delimiters separately. If selected, the Integration Service reads any number of consecutive delimiter characters as one.

For example, a source file uses a comma as the delimiter character and contains the following record: 56, , , Jane Doe. By default, the Integration Service reads that record as four columns separated by three delimiters: 56, NULL, NULL, Jane Doe. If you select this option, the Integration Service reads the record as two columns separated by one delimiter: 56, Jane Doe.

If selected, the Integration Service treats a specified set of delimiters as one. For example, a source file contains the following record: abc~def|ghi~|~|jkl|~mno. By default, the Integration Service reads the record as nine columns separated by eight delimiters: abc, def, ghi, NULL, NULL, NULL, jkl, NULL, mno. If you select this option and specify the delimiter as ( ~ | ), the Integration Service reads the record as three columns separated by two delimiters: abc~def|ghi, NULL, jkl|~mno.

Select No Quotes, Single Quote, or Double Quotes. If you select a quote character, the Integration Service ignores delimiter characters within the quote characters. Therefore, the Integration Service uses quote characters to escape the delimiter.

For example, a source file uses a comma as a delimiter and contains the following row:

342-3849, ‘Smith, Jenna’, ‘Rockville, MD’, 6

.

If you select the optional single quote character, the Integration Service ignores the commas within the quotes and reads the row as four fields.

If you do not select the optional single quote, the Integration Service reads six separate fields.

When the Integration Service reads two optional quote characters within a quoted string, it treats them as one quote character. For example, the Integration Service reads the following quoted string as

I’m going tomorrow

:

2353, ‘I’’m going tomorrow’, MD

Additionally, if you select an optional quote character, the Integration Service reads a string as a quoted string if the quote character is the first character of the field.

Code page of the delimited file. Select a code page or a variable:

Default is the PowerCenter Client code page.

Specify a line break character. Select from the list or enter a character. Preface an octal code with a backslash (\). To use a single character, enter the character.

The Integration Service uses only the first character when the entry is not preceded by a backslash. The character must be a single-byte character, and no other character in the code page can contain that byte. Default is line-feed, \012 LF (\n).

Character immediately preceding a delimiter character embedded in an unquoted string, or immediately preceding the quote character in a quoted string. When you specify an escape character, the Integration Service reads the delimiter character as a regular character (called escaping the delimiter or quote character).

This option is selected by default. Clear this option to include the escape character in the output string.

Integration Service skips the specified number of rows before reading the file. Use this to skip title or header rows in the file.