How to Create a Fix Field Size for Export?

[tbfilemaker]

MS Access has this function of creating "fixed field sizes" and exporting with "fixed width",can this be done in FileMaker? (Using FM6.0v4 but could upgrade if needed)

Problem: I need to create a fixed field size to Export into a COBOL system.

Why: The COBOL system will not accept the import unless the fields are, say 10 characters long. If there are less than 10 characters the remaining characters need to be filled with spaces. Hence, if I have 10 fields the resulting export will be 100 characters in total.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, this is a critical element in the final process of my Purchase Order system.

Thank you kindly...

[John Mark Osborne]

This article in the FileMaker Knowledgebase was written for FileMaker 6 so it's perfect for you. Even if you have FileMaker 7 or later, this article will still show you how to import and export fixed field lengths. You'll just need to translate some of the calculations (e.g. commas to semi-colons).

http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4462&p_created=1115172844&p_sid=D7lLnKmi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzAmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWZpeGVkIGZpZWxkIGV4cG9ydA**&p_li=&p_topview=1

[tbfilemaker]

John,

Thanks for the quick response.

By the way, I took your FileMaker five day course at Apple in Cupertino, great course and material.

Thanks again!

[John Mark Osborne]

That must have been a long time ago since you are still using FileMaker 6 Glad you enjoyed it! Now, go an upgrade to FileMaker 8.5 :