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Creating a fixed-width file format

Create a fixed-width file format so that you can use a fixed-width flat file as a source or target in a mapping.

When you specify format options for a fixed-width file format, use a sample flat file. The data in the sample file appears on the page to help you determine the appropriate format options for your data. The format options that you specify do not alter or save the sample file.

Click

New

Components

Fixed Width File Format

and then click

Create

To edit a fixed-width file format, on the

Explore

page, navigate to the fixed-width file format. In the row that contains the fixed-width file format, click

Actions

and select

Edit

Enter the following fixed-width file format details:

Property	Description
Configuration Name	Name of the fixed-width file format.
Location	Location of the fixed-width file format. Browse to the folder where you want to store the fixed-width file format or use the default location. If the Explore page is currently active and a project or folder is selected, the default location for the asset is the selected project or folder. Otherwise, the default location is the location of the most recently saved asset.
Description	Description of the fixed-width file format.

Specify the following connection details for the sample fiat file:

Property	Description
Sample Flat File Connection	Connection to the sample file that you use to specify the fixed-width format.
Sample Object	Sample file that you use to specify the format options.

Configure the column boundaries to fit the data in your sample file. You can enter the boundaries in the

Column boundaries

field or you can position the boundaries using the ruler.

To configure column boundaries in the

Column boundaries

field, enter the number of bytes to determine the width of the first column. Then enter boundaries for the subsequent columns. Separate each value with a comma. Press Enter after you enter a boundary to see the placement of the boundary on the ruler.

To configure column boundaries using the ruler, use the mouse to drag the boundary to the appropriate location on the ruler for the first column. Each mark on the ruler represents a byte. To add new boundaries, click the ruler or click

Add

. Use the mouse to drag boundaries to the appropriate position on the ruler as necessary.

The following image shows a fixed-width file format with boundaries configured for six columns:

The sample flat file shows below a ruler. Five boundaries are shown on the ruler. The Column Boundaries field shows the location of the columns in bytes.

To add or change column names and edit datatypes, click

Edit Columns

and then enter the column name and select the datatype for each column.

To specify advanced properties, click

Additional Attributes

and specify the following properties:

Property	Description
Line sequential	Ends each row with a newline character. Must be enabled when you use a fixed-width file format for a flat file source or target object. Line sequential is enabled by default.
Number of rows to skip	Number of initial rows to skip. For example, you might want to skip blank rows or header rows.
Number of bytes to skip after column ending	Number of bytes between the last column of one row and the first column of the next.
Null character type	Whether the null character is text or ASCII.
Null character	Character to represent a null value.
Repeat null character	Reads repeat null characters in a single field as a single null value.
Strip trailing blanks	Removes trailing blanks from string values.
Default Date Format	Date format to use for the column when a date format is not specified in the flat file connection. To specify the default date format, enter the following information: Whether the field width is adjusted or fixed. Enter A for adjusted width or F for fixed width followed by two spaces. The field width in bytes. The date format. For example, if you want the format to be fixed width with a width of 12 bytes and date format of DD/MM/YYYY, enter the following text: F 12 DD/MM/YYYY