According to the documentation HTML and PDF are the standard fixed width output formats, but is it possible in the text editor, with code, to extract the column width from the data source and format a TAB or TEXT report for a fixed width output?

Have you looked at FORMAT TAB and FORMAT TABT?

quote:

Reference: FORMAT TAB
Description:
Creates an output file in tab-delimited format

quote:

Reference: FORMAT TABT
Description:
Creates an output file in tab-delimited format that includes column headings in the first row

ON TABLE SAVE AS filename FORMAT ALPHA


Will give you a fixed width output able to be read by a text editor with all the fields in columns relating to their actual field length.

Is this what you want?

You can interogate the master file description to determine field lengths etc. but the FORMAT ALPHA negates the need.

The code -

APP HOLD BASEAPP
TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT RCOST DCOST
BY COUNTRY
BY CAR
BY MODEL
ON TABLE SAVE FORMAT ALPHA
END

Gives a save.ftm file in your BASEAPP application folder of -

ENGLAND   JAGUAR          V12XKE AUTO                8878   7427                
ENGLAND   JAGUAR          XJ12L AUTO                13491  11194                
ENGLAND   JENSEN          INTERCEPTOR III           17850  14940                
ENGLAND   TRIUMPH         TR7                        5100   4292                
FRANCE    PEUGEOT         504 4 DOOR                 5610   4631                
ITALY     ALFA ROMEO      2000 4 DOOR BERLINA        5925   4915                
ITALY     ALFA ROMEO      2000 GT VELOCE             6820   5660                
ITALY     ALFA ROMEO      2000 SPIDER VELOCE         6820   5660                
ITALY     MASERATI        DORA 2 DOOR               31500  25000                
JAPAN     DATSUN          B210 2 DOOR AUTO           3139   2626                
JAPAN     TOYOTA          COROLLA 4 DOOR DIX AUTO    3339   2886                
W GERMANY AUDI            100 LS 2 DOOR AUTO         5970   5063                
W GERMANY BMW             2002 2 DOOR                5940   5800                
W GERMANY BMW             2002 2 DOOR AUTO           6355   6000                
W GERMANY BMW             3.0 SI 4 DOOR             13752  10000                
W GERMANY BMW             3.0 SI 4 DOOR AUTO        14123  11000                
W GERMANY BMW             530I 4 DOOR                9097   8300                
W GERMANY BMW             530I 4 DOOR AUTO           9495   8400                

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <Maryellen>,

Both good suggestions, thanks.

Francis,
I tried TABT it doesn't produce a fixed width output, even with SQUEEZE=OFF I still get collapsed column widths. Unless I'm doing something wrong.

Tony,
Tried your suggestion, I think because we outsource our WebFOCUS system to a Shared Services environment I don't have enough access to get to the "BaseApp" folder.

I also tried PCHOLD with a filename "c:\\..." FORMAT [all text types] and I just don't get fixed width in anything useful. It only seems possible in HTML and PDF which I can't reuse without additional processing

I apprieciate both of your responses though. Maybe in ver 7.

Tony's suggestion is the better one.

To have your file saved in a directory of your choice (on the server, not on your PC), you can allocate it like this:

FILEDEF SAVE1 DISK D:\DIR1\DIR2\SAVE1.TXT
-RUN

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT RCOST DCOST
BY COUNTRY
BY CAR
BY MODEL
ON TABLE SAVE AS SAVE1 FORMAT ALPHA
END
-RUN

You can also redirect your output to the client by specifying a local file in the AS part of the ON TABLE PCHOLD -

TABLE FILE CAR
PRINT RCOST DCOST
BY COUNTRY
BY CAR
BY MODEL
ON TABLE PCHOLD AS C:/FIXFILE.FTM FORMAT ALPHA
END

This will cause a prompt for OPEN / SAVE. Choose SAVE and then specify where you want your file locally. The SAVE AS dialog will not pick up your AS filename and will attempt to save as IBIWEB.EXE, just overtype the filename in the dialog and choose your extension type and destination directory.

ON TABLE PCHOLD AS C:/FIXFILE.FTM FORMAT ALPHA

I did not know that!

Thanks Tony.