Scribe Online’s Text Connector now supports fixed width delimited text files. Fixed width files are formatted so that each field in the file has a maximum character width. The data in those fields must be less than or equal to the maximum width value and shorter fields are padded with characters (usually spaces). Here’s an example of a fixed width formatted text file: The great thing about Scribe’s Text Connector support for fixed width is that it will take a “best guess” when first connecting to a file. If you’ve used Microsoft’s Text Driver, its “Guess” option is disabled for fixed width, so you need to manually create and manage all fields and lengths! Scribe will look at the data in the file and build all the columns for you on the first time you connect. Additionally, you have the ability to add New columns (or Delete them) if the guess is wrong, or if you actually want to change your file. The add/delete will happen at the end of the file you won’t have to start from scratch if you’re just adding a column. Another great feature that Scribe has in this format is the ability to Trim() fields at the connection level. If your fixed width file contains extra spaces to pad the columns, there’s an option to trim the fields to remove any leading or ending spaces. By doing this in your connection, you won’t need to repeat this for each individual field you map. Once you’re done with the configuration and the Preview looks good, click Test Connection before saving your settings.
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