Reporting Language > Saving and Reusing Your Report Output > Using Text Fields in Output Files

Using Text Fields in Output Files

Reference:

Text fields can be propagated to HOLD and SAVE files that have the following formats: ALPHA, WP, and FOCUS or XFOCUS. However, although a Master File is generated for format ALPHA, you cannot issue a TABLE request against a HOLD file of format ALPHA that contains text fields.

Reference: Rules for Text Fields in Output Files

  • You can include as many text fields in the file as needed. However, you must specify text fields after non-text fields in the display list (PRINT..., SUM..., and so forth).
  • You can specify only one text field in the display list, and no non-text fields, in a request that includes an ACROSS phrase.

The following rules apply to missing data for text fields in HOLD and SAVE files:

  • A blank line is valid data. An end-of-text mark indicates the end of the field.
  • If there is no text for a field, a single period (.) followed by blanks appears in the HOLD or SAVE file.
  • If MISSING=ON during data extraction, a period (.) is written out to the HOLD or SAVE file.
  • If MISSING=OFF during data extraction, a blank is written out to the HOLD or SAVE file.

See Handling Records With Missing Field Values.

In environments that support FIXFORM, due to limitations in the use of text fields with FIXFORM, the following restriction applies:

  • When you use the command FIXFORM FROM HOLD, the HOLD file may not contain more than one text field, and the text field must be the last field in the Master File.

When HOLD files are read using FIXFORM, the interpretation of missing text depends on whether the field's designation is MISSING=ON in the Master File, conditional ©) in the FIXFORM format description, or some combination of the two.

Example: Applying Text Field Rules in HOLD Files

The following request extracts data to a HOLD file named CRSEHOLD:

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