The Text
File Format editor is the dialog used to create and edit "Text Format
Files".
The three main sections of this dialog are:
-
The top File Format area that specifies the current "File Format"
file.
-
The middle "Records and Fields" area, used to create and edit record
and field formats.
-
The bottom "Sample Text Line" area that simply displays a sample
text line in the currently selected format.
When
you first open the Format Editor, the File Format Name is set to
"Untitled". You can start with this empty (and unnamed) format file by
creating a new record for the format. Or you can open a previously
created format file. The controls in the Format Editor are as follows.
File Format Section Controls
|
|
Control |
Description |
|
Name
Static Box |
This
box contains the name of the current format file without the
file's path or extension. You cannot edit the name in this box
directly. The buttons to the right of this control allow you to
manage your format files as follows:
- New… Button: Create a new, empty format file.
- Open Button: Open an existing format file.
- Save Button: Save your changes, if any, to the currently opened
format file.
- Save As… Button: Save the currently opened format file with
another file name. |
|
Ignore Lines controls |
The
"Ignore Lines" controls below these buttons are used to control
which text lines in the text file to ignore when loading the file.
If the Starting With checkbox is checked, you can specify (in the
edit box to its right) the characters, which, if the text line
starts with one of them, cause the line to be ignored. If the Not
Starting With checkbox is checked, you can specify (in the edit
box to its right) the characters, which, if the text line does not
start with one of them, cause the line to be ignored. |
Records Section Controls
The
Records section specifies the active record in the format (the record
whose fields are displayed in the Fields section). The controls in the
records section are:
|
Control |
Description |
|
Name
Drop-down List |
Displays the name(s) of records in the currently opened format
file. To edit the fields of another record, just select it in this
list. |
|
Format Drop-down List |
Displays the format of the currently selected record. The formats
are:
1. Delimited: The specified Delimiter character separates Fields
in the record.
2. Fixed: The fields in the record are positioned according to a
specified column and field width.
3. Free: One or more space characters separate the fields in the
record. |
|
New
Button |
Adds
a new, empty record to the file format. |
|
Copy
Button |
Copies the currently selected record to a new record. The new
record is added to the end of the records list.
|
|
Rename Button |
Allows you to change the name of the currently selected record. |
|
Delete Button |
Deletes the currently selected record from the file format. |
|
Delimiter Edit Box |
Allows you to change the delimiter character for delimited record
types. |
Fields Section Controls
The
Fields section contains the definitions of all fields in the currently
selected record. The main list in this section displays the names,
types, and values for all defined fields. The buttons to the right of
the list provide the following field editing functions:
|
Control |
Description |
|
New…
Button |
Creates a new field and displays the Text Field Editor dialog so
you can specify the settings for the new field. |
|
Copy
Button |
Copies the currently selected field and adds the copy to the end
of the field list as a new field. The new field's name is based on
the copied field's name appended with a number to make the new
name unique in the record. If the record is a fixed-format record,
the new field's column number is set to one plus the current
length of the record. |
|
Edit… Button |
Displays the Text Field Editor so that you can edit the currently
selected field's properties.
Delete Button: Deletes the currently selected field. |
|
Move
Up Button |
Moves the currently selected field up in the field list. If the
record type is fixed-format, the effect is to simply display the
fields differently in the fields list. For other record types, the
effect is to actually change the order of the field in the record. |
|
Move
Down Button |
Moves the currently selected field down in the field list. If the
record type is fixed-format, the effect is to simply display the
fields differently in the fields list. For other record types, the
effect is to actually change the order of the field in the record. |
|
Sample Text Line Section Controls |
This
section simply displays a sample record. When you change the field
definitions for the record, the display of the sample record is
automatically updated. You can scroll the display to see other
sections of the sample record using the horizontal scrollbar at
the bottom. The "Maximum line length to show" edit box allows you
to change the maximum number of characters to display for the
sample record. |
|
