HP Data Entry and Forms Management System (VPLUS) Reference Manual (32209-90024)

Chapter 5 181
Reformatting Specifications
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.)
You may want to reformat data entered in the batch file in order to:
• Combine data from several forms into one record in the output file.
• Separate data from a single form into two or more output records.
• Generate several output files from the data entered through a single forms file.
• Add literals (such as sort codes or record separators) to each output record.
• Use only a selected portion of the data entered in any field.
• Write only selected fields from any form to an output record.
• Fill, justify, or strip characters from data entered in any field.
• Add a check digit to alphabetic or numeric data.
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.