Create a Non-indexed Data File

Use this procedure to create a (record) sequential, line sequential, or relative data file. To create an indexed data file, see Create an Indexed Data File.

From the Micro Focus Data File Tools window, select File > New, or click (New File).
The New dialog box appears.
Select Data File, then click OK.
The Create New File dialog box appears.
In the Filename field, type the name of the data file.
Tip: You can specify:
- An absolute path: for example, c:\path\to\file\dat-name.dat (Windows), or /home/path/to/file/dat-name.dat (UNIX).
  Note: Using an absolute UNIX path is only applicable when creating a file locally; if you are creating a file remotely (for example, from Windows), you must map a SAMBA drive and prepend the drive to the path.
- A relative path: for example, dat-name.dat. (The .dat file is created in the directory in which Data File Editor was started.)
- A Fileshare path: for example, $$FS-server-name\dat-name.dat (Windows), or $$FS-server-name/dat-name.dat (UNIX).
If you are applying a record layout to the new data file, click Browse to the right of the Structure File (optional) field, then use the Open dialog box to navigate to and select the structure (.str) file that contains the layout.
In the File Details section, click beside Format, then select the organization for the file.
Click beside Encoding, then select either ANSI or EBCDIC.
Note: Once the file is created and open in the editor, you can switch between the two encodings.
If the records will be of variable length, check Variable length records.
Specify the Min Length (only applicable for variable length records), and Max Length values.
Check Save details to save file details to a profile file.
If selected, a new filename.pro file is created in the same location as the data file. When you next open the data file, the details saved to the profile file are used.

Note: For certain file types, Save details is not available, because the details are stored in the file header of the data file instead.
To edit the file using an additional temporary file, click Use a temporary file for editing. When enabled, all modifications are written to a temporary file during editing, before being saved to filename when Save all... is selected. This option will also give you the chance to revert any current edits without writing to filename when using the Revert all... option.
Click Create File.
The file is created, then opened in the editor.