Position Tab

The following list describes the properties on the Field Properties dialog box Position tab (available only on the Input side of the map):

Start position

Starting position of the specified element in the record.

Number of characters

Total length of the element.

Character used in empty portions of the field

Pad character that the translator uses for this field if the field value is less than the number of valid positions. A pad character holds the places that the field value does not occupy.

If you select the Use Configurable Trimming option in the Map Details dialog box, you can configure non-space characters on the input side of a map for both numeric and date/time fields.

For example, if a field is eight positions long and the field value is AAA (which is only three characters), you will need five placeholders to round out this eight-character field. If you use the ampersand (&) as the pad character, and left-align the field, the field will appear as AAA&&&&&.

Alignment

Whether the field is left-aligned, centered, or right-aligned in the valid number of characters.