On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 12:36:06 -0800, Stan wrote:

>I have to build a text file that has 80 character records. I have a number
>of fixed length fields in the file but need to add a 'filler' at the end of
>the fields to get to 80. Do I have to create a dummy variable to do that and
>if so, how?
>Thanks

"Hugo Kornelis" wrote:

> On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 12:36:06 -0800, Stan wrote:
>
> >I have to build a text file that has 80 character records. I have a number
> >of fixed length fields in the file but need to add a 'filler' at the end of
> >the fields to get to 80. Do I have to create a dummy variable to do that and
> >if so, how?
> >Thanks
>
> Hi Stan,
>
> You can't use regular SQL queries to create a text file. You'll have to
> use an external utility for that. The ones most commonly used are bcp or
> DTS. Both are described in Books Online.
>
> For bcp, the way to add extra space to pad the record length to 80
> characters is to use a format file. For DTS, you'll have to look into
> the transformation possibilities.
>
> If you need further help, I advise you to post to another newsgroup.
> This group is intended for support of English Query, and it's only used
> by few people. The group microsoft.public.sqlserver.tools is intended to
> support the tools that come with SQL Server (such as bcp and DTS).
>
> Best, Hugo
> --
>
> (Remove _NO_ and _SPAM_ to get my e-mail address)