Chapter 5 Reformatting Specifications

Information gathered during data collection is stored in one or more "batch" files. The data entered for each field in a form is stored exactly as it was entered. All blanks, punctuation, or special characters are included in the data. The only exception is that any formatting specified on the Field Menu or any automatic formatting resulting from data movement (refer to Chapter 4) is completed before the data is written to the batch file. Thus, if a value has been entered in the middle of a field, the blanks on either side are stored as part of the data; or if a number has been right justified and zero filled, it is stored in the batch file in that form.

All data from all fields in a single form are concatenated together without delimiters into a single record in the batch file.

If the configuration of the data in a batch file is not suitable for input to an application program, the data can be reformatted with REFORMAT. This program writes the data from the batch file to another file, the "output" file, according to formatting specified through the reformat design program, REFSPEC. (Refer to Figure 5-1 “Relation among Files Used for Formatting”)

You may want to reformat data entered in the batch file in order to:

This chapter describes how to use the reformat design program REFSPEC. It is an extension of forms design and is used by the forms designer in conjunction with an application programmer to specify how data is to be reformatted. Use of REFORMAT is described at the end of this chapter.

Figure 5-1 Relation among Files Used for Formatting