Change Data Type size in a formula

[Archaeopteryx]

Hi,

Please tell me how I can change the 74 to an 89. My output is being truncated by 15 characters. Is this the correct place to do this in a macro?

thanks,

Chris

[mbarone]

Hi Chris,

Looks to me like the issue is you are taking Field_1 and modifying it.  Problem is, you cannot modify the size or type of an UPSTREAM ALREADY EXISTING field in a formula tool.  Only in a tool with select functionality (select, Join, Multijoin, etc.).

What I do in these situations is to create a new field, maybe called "Field_1_modified", and there you can adjust your size and type.

[Archaeopteryx]

Hi Mr. Barone,

Can I make that adjustment here? I should have highlighted the SELECT tool, not the Union tool. 

[mbarone]

Yes, but it has to be before the formula tool or else the formula will still truncate.  Looks like you have it after the formula tool.  

[Archaeopteryx · Accepted solution]

Mr. Barone,

See screen shot below. I went into the Input Data Options to File/Field Layout and clicked the ellipses. This opens the Flat File Layout dialog box. I then edited the Record Length there. I now the get the expected output. 

Thank you for the guidance. 

Chris

[mbarone]

Yes, that is an option, but it is very sensitive to the input file.  If you are sure none of the fields will change from run-to-run, then that should work.

[Archaeopteryx]

Yes, the format and layout is consistent from file to file. Only the number of rows of data would change.

Thanks again for your direction.

Chris

[BenMoss]

As an FYI, you can change the data type and/or size of a field with just a single tool using the 'Multifield formula tool', which does not have to work on multiple fields.

Ben

[tom_montpool]

While not precisely answering your question (I'm not using a formula tool), there are a couple of other options that you have.

If you have a file layout (metadata) that has your field list with type and size, you can use the CREW "Dynamic Metadata" macro. If you don't have a file layout, you can create one (and edit it) with the Field Info and Formula tools:

Dynamic Metadata

If you have a sample file that has the structure that you want to use, you can pull that file's structure and use a Union tool to 'force' the structure on your data file. The trick here is that your 'structure' file must be the first connection into the Union.

Union Tool