Defining a Fixed Position Field

The easiest way to define a field is to specify its name and location using the syntax shown in the following example.

Note: The method shown below is valid only for line data print streams. You cannot specify print positions for AFPDS or Xerox Metacode data.

<FIELD> fieldname
    <LOCATION> row column length
</FIELD>

You can use this method when the field information always occupies the same position on the printed page.

For example, assume you have an impact print stream in which you must determine what kind of insurance policy each client receives so you can outsort each policy based on type. As shown in the following example, the policy type information is always in column 23 of the fifth line on the page. The longest policy type is 10 characters in length (AUTOMOBILE).

In this case, you could identify the Field group as shown in the following example.

<FIELD> %%Policy_Type
   <LOCATION> 5 23 10
</FIELD>