Filtering a Data File

Applying a filter to the current data file enables you to limit the amount of records that are displayed at a time.

Your filter is defined by one or more conditions, and you can produce filtered results that include records matching all or any one of those conditions.

There are two types of condition that you can use:

Reference condition

A reference condition uses the same principles as reference modification in your COBOL syntax. You specify the starting position within a record in which to start filtering, and then specify the number of positions on from that in which to filter; for example, values of 7:3 will filter on ositions 7 to 9 within each record, as indicated below

Field condition

This type of condition is only available if you have applied a layout to your data file. A field condition filters the entire contents of the selected field. You can select any non-group field in the layout on which to filter.

For both types of condition, you select a value that you wish to filter and an operator (for example, greater than, contains, or not equal to). There are also supplementary criteria to add to the condition, such as making it case sensitive, or trimming leading or trailing space from the area filtered.

Data File Tools retains the last set of filtered results until another filter is applied, which enables you to toggle between displaying these results and displaying the original data file.