Click the Writers settings in the Transformations view to define the writer to use with each target instance. When the mapping target is a flat file, an XML file, an SAP NetWeaver BI target, or a WebSphere MQ target, the Workflow Manager specifies the necessary writer in the session properties. However, when the target is relational, you can change the writer type to File Writer if you plan to use an external loader.

When you override a relational target to use the file writer, the Workflow Manager changes the properties for that target instance on the Properties settings. It also changes the connection options you can define in the Connections settings.

If the target contains a column with datetime values, the Integration Service compares the date formats defined for the target column and the session. When the date formats do not match, the Integration Service uses the date format with the lesser precision. For example, a session writes to a Microsoft SQL Server target that includes a Datetime column with precision to the millisecond. The date format for the session is MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS.NS. If you override the Microsoft SQL Server target with a flat file writer, the Integration Service writes datetime values to the flat file with precision to the millisecond. If the date format for the session is MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS, the Integration Service writes datetime values to the flat file with precision to the second.

After you override a relational target to use a file writer, define the file properties for the target. Click Set File Properties and choose the target to define.