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

204 Chapter5
Reformatting Specifications
Globals Menu
Record Length A positive integer that specifies the total number of characters in the
output record, including all fields and separators.
If the output records are fixed length and the total number of characters is
less than this length, the record is padded with blanks at the end. If there
are more characters in the field than will fit in the record, the record is
written up to the specified length and the excess characters are discarded.
In this case, a warning message is issued to the user who runs
REFORMAT.
For variable length records, the actual record length is the sum of all the
fields written to the record, including separators. In this case, the record
length specified here is the maximum length allowed for any record.
Default = 80 characters.
Upshift? Indicates whether letters of the alphabet are to be shifted up to all
uppercase letters when data is written to the output file. Specified as:
• Y — Shift letters to uppercase.
• N — Leave letters as entered by the user.
Default = N (do not upshift).
If nothing is specified, an error is returned.
Convert to EBCDIC? Indicate whether the output file is to be written in EBCDIC code
rather than USASCII.
• Y - write output file in EBCDIC
• N - leave output file in USASCII
Default = N (do not convert).
Record Terminator
String Indicates a character or string of characters to be appended to the end of
every record. The record terminator may be specified as any of the
following:
• Quoted String — Any USASCII characters, including blanks, enclosed
within single or double quotes. For example: “eof” or “ “ or ‘**’ .
• USASCII Code — Numeric equivalent to an USASCII character
preceded by a dollar sign ($). Code may be any decimal number in range
0-127 (refer to Appendix C for decimal equivalent to USASCII code).
For example: $34 is the numeric equivalent of quotation mark; $65 is
the equivalent of the letter A.
• System Constant — The following system defined constants may be
used as a terminator:
— $LF — line feed
— $CR — carriage return
— $GS — group separator