Specifying a file grouping by using fixed width layouts

Fixed width record layouts contain one or more fields that can be optionally divided into logical groups. The groups are not displayed in the finished layout or schema, but they can be used to organize the fields of the layout.

To add a grouping to the layout, click the Insert grouping button in the New Record Layout window. When prompted, provide a name for the group by entering it in the field, or select a recently used name by clicking the dropdown arrow.

To add a field to the layout, click the Add fields button. The field configuration window is displayed.

Enter the following basic details about the field in the Record Field area:

In the Format area, you can specify the formatting options for the field value. For more information, see Formatting field values.

To create the field and return to the New Record Layout window, click Finish.

To create the field and continue with creating another field in the same window, click Next. Click Back to return to the previous field details again.

The following details of each field can be modified in the New Record Layout window:

Table 1. Details for new record layout fields

Column name	Description
Name	The name of the field.
Repeating	If the selected field contains repeating elements within the grouping, they can be selected by clicking the icon.
Default	Enter a default field value to be applied in a message if it does not have any other value.
Inclusion	Specify whether the field is required to be included (Mandatory) in the message or not (Optional).
Type	Select the field type from the list of available field types in Rational® Integration Tester.
Length	Enter the number of characters permitted in the message that is designated for the selected field. Note: The Record Layout schema uses this value to calculate the length of the data that the field can hold when the record is filled from memory. Additional data from the memory is shifted to the next available field, and remaining data is any, is saved in a field named "unexpected". For example, consider a message with two fields: A=len(2) B=len(2) If you pass 12345 to this message, you would see the following result: A=12 B=34 unexpected=5 The unexpected field contains raw bytes. However, when you publish a record layout message, this restriction does not apply. If a field exceeds the custom length, but the Trim if too long option is not selected as the field value format, the field contents are not truncated.
Position	Indicates the position in the message (starting from zero) of the selected field, which is based on the size of all preceding fields.
Align	Select the alignment of the data for the selected field in the message (left, center, or right).
Padding Left	Enter the character that is used in the message as padding to the left of the field data (for right- or center-aligned fields).
Padding Right	Enter the character that is used in the message as padding to the right of the field data (for left- or center-aligned fields).
Format	Click the icon to choose formatting for the field. For more information, see Formatting field values.

Selected fields and groupings (one or more) can be removed from the layout by clicking the Remove fields icon. To move one or more selected fields or groupings up or down within the layout, click the Move up or Move down icon.

The editable properties for each field can be modified by pressing the F2 key. You can move around the cells within the layout by using the arrow keys. To apply a change in the current cell, press Enter. To apply a change and move to the next cell to the right, press Tab. To move to the cell below the current one, press Enter.

After you have created the layout and configured it, click the Save icon or press Ctrl + S to save the layout.