Progress
Results User’s Guide
for UNIX


Exporting Data in ASCII Format

This section describes how to export data in an ASCII format.

The ASCII export format consists of one record per line. Each line begins with an asterisk (*). Double exclamation points (!!) mark the beginning and end of each field, and a comma (,) separates each field.

Follow these steps to export data in ASCII format:

  1. Define the report you want to export.
  2. Select the Settings option. A list of possible export formats appears.
  3. Select an ASCII format.
  4. This window appears:

    This window shows the default ASCII settings. For example, the first line of the format grid shows that no characters are defined to mark the beginning of a record. The second line shows the characters that mark the end of a record. In this case, the default is cr lf (meaning carriage return line feed). The second and third lines define that the fields are surrounded by double quotes (") and separated by commas (,).

    Use this window to override the defaults. For example, you can change the settings so that an asterisk (*) marks the start of each record, and the exclamation points (!!) delimit the fields.

  5. Enter new settings then press GO to accept the settings and exit the Settings option.
  6. The settings appear in the Data Export Layout window.

  7. Run the report on your terminal.
  8. The data appears in the new ASCII format. In this format, commas separate the fields in each record. (In Results format, a space separates each field.)

  9. Save the export format.
NOTE: When you set the export type to Fixed-width ASCII (SDF), you can use the Width/Format of Fields option (under the Define option) to change the width and format of any field or defined column in the current Data Export Layout window. You can select this option only when the export type is set to Fixed-width ASCII (SDF). The width and field format defines how Results exports the field data. For example, it defines the width of a character field or the number of decimal places in a numeric expression. For information on field display formats, see "Field Display Formats."


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