How to Create an iSeries Database File
Procedure
Launch a BlueZone iSeries Display session.
From the BlueZone MenuBar, choose Transfer:Send/Receive. The BlueZone Host File Transfer desktop user interface will launch.
From the Host File Transfer MenuBar choose Transfer:Create iSeries Database File or, click the Create iSeries Database File icon located on the Host File Transfer Toolbar.
The PC File Name dialog will be displayed. Browse to the PC file that contains the data from which the iSeries file will be created and click the Next button.
The File Type dialog will be displayed. BlueZone will automatically choose the File Type based on the file structure of the database file you chose in the previous step. For example, if you chose an Excel spreadsheet, the File Type will be BIFF8.
Supported file types:
ASCII – A simple text file format where the records are separated by CRLF
Basic Sequential – Fixed-length records; text based file format
BIFF8 – The Binary Interchange File Format is used by Microsoft Excel (.XLS); binary based file format
CSV – Comma-Separated Values; text based file format; fields separated by comma; rows are separated by CRLF
DIF – Data Interchange Format; text based file format
DOS Random – Fixed-length records; text based file format
No Conversion – The host data is stored as-is on the PC
Tab Delimited – text based file format; fields separated by tab; rows are separated by CRLF
Click the Next button.
The FDF File Name dialog will be displayed. Choose the name of the FDF file or use the default name and click the Next button.
The Data Options dialog will be displayed.
Select the Data Options that match the data in your file.
Date
Date Format:
[DMY] Day/Month/Year
[EUR] European
[ISO] International Standards Organization
[JIS] JIS
[JUL] Julian
[MDY] Month/Day/Year
[USA] USA
[YMD] Year/Month/Day
Date Separator: Not used in all Date Formats
[] Blank
[,] Comma
[.] Period
[/] Slash
[-] Dash
Time
Time Format:
[EUR] European
[HMS] Hours/Minutes/Seconds
[ISO] International Standards Organization
[JIS] JIS
[USA] USA
Time Separator: (Not used in all Time Formats)
[] Blank
[,] Comma
[.] Period
[:] Colon
Decimal
Decimal Separator:
[,] Comma
[.] Period
Click the Next button.
Click the Start Scan button. BlueZone will scan the PC data file to determine its contents. A progress bar will show the progress of the scan.
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The checkbox “First row of data contains field names” should be checked to use the first row as field names and the 2nd row will be used as the first row of data. If unchecked the first row in the PC File will be used as the first row of data.
You can skip the scan but you will be prompted to continue.
If any errors are detected, you will receive an error message with a description of the error. Fix any errors and scan the file again. Keep fixing errors until the file has been scanned successfully.
Click the Next button.
The File Contents dialog will be displayed. This dialog is used to configure all the database fields. If the file was successfully scanned then there should be a list of fields already configured for you.
The Details button will show a dialog with selected field’s information.
Name: Field Name
Description: Optional description for the field
Type: Field Type
BIGINT
CHARACTER
DATALINK
DATE
DECIMAL
DOUBLE
GRAPHIC
INTEGER
NUMERIC
REAL
SMALLINT
TIME
TIMESTAMP
UNICODE
VARCHAR
VARGRAPHIC
Length: Number of digits or number of characters for the field
Scale: Number of digits after the decimal
CCSID: The host CCSID for the field
Default: The default value of the field when empty
Allocate: Fixed length space allocated for the field for VARCHAR and VARGRAPHICS
Padding: Allows for extra space in a CHARACTER or GRAPHIC field
Null Capable: The field can contain null values
In addition, you can bring up a pop-up menu if you “right mouse click” on any of the entries as shown here:
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The pop-up menu will allow you to perform additional operations on the entries like inserting new fields, deleting entries, moving entries up or down.
When you are ready, click the Next button.
The iSeries Library/FileName dialog will be displayed. Enter the iSeries File that will be created. You must have authority in the specific Library. Click the Next button.
The File Description Text dialog will be displayed. This is optional. If desired, enter text that describes the iSeries file on the host. Click Next to continue.
The Confirm Settings dialog will be displayed. If any of these settings are not correct, click the Back button to back and make any necessary changes. When you are satisfied with the settings, click the Finish button