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| Odb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can use the Odb (“Output Debug ”)command while developing or fixing a script.The vertical bars let you see if the variables have spaces on either side.Once your script is working properly,you can do a quick search for “Odb ” to see if you left behind any debug lines. |
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| OutCSV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The various controls are explained in more detail below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OutCSV Init | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When v2 is 'Init',v1 can be used to specify an alternative separator (other than the usual comma).Typical alternatives include the semicolon (;)and the Tab (ASCII decimal 9).To save you having to look up ASCII values,OutCSV recognizes certain codes for the separator.Here is an overview of the v1 settings... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can,in fact,set the separator to any string.Used with padded text (or OutCSV's Control setting with the MaxWidth and MinWidth options),you can use OutCSV to generate columnar reports.Your script can then turn entire columns on and off using the '+'and '-'feature. |
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| Outputting a Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When v2 is 'Quoted'or 'Unquoted'or null,OutCSV accumulates the field for the current output line.The line is not actually sent to output until the 'Done'step is reached.Here is a brief example: |
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| OutCSV '''Init' OutCSV 'Fred Jones' OutCSV 1234.56 'Unquoted' OutCSV '''Done' |
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| This will output a two-field CSV line,with quotes around the first field but not the second one.If the field is quoted,any occurrence of the quote character (")is replaced by double-quotes,as per standard CSV conventions. |
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| OutCSV Nulls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you have several null fields to insert,you can use the Nulls option: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OutCSV 5 'Nulls' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This would accumulate 5 null fields for the current output line. Nothing is done if the parameter is 0 (zero)or a null ('').If the value is more than 1000,OutCSV stops with an error message. |
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| OutCSV Done and Stop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When v2 is 'Done',OutCSV sends the accumulated line to the output file.The v1 value is not used. An infrequently used alternative to 'Done'is 'Stop'.In this case,the output is not sent to the output file but is saved in the special variable $OutCSVRec.You can use this method if you do not wish to send the output immediately.In such case,you should copy the result from $OutCSVRec to another variable before doing another set of OutCSV commands. |
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| OutCSV Control | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When v2 is 'Control',OutCSV consults v1 for a command that configures how it will operate.Control settings remain in effect within the script until changed. The following options are available: |
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| To set the quoting character to a space,use 'QuoteChar Space'.When the QuoteChar is a space,it is not doubled-up when it is found in a field,since the only reason one would set the QuoteChar to a space is to create columnar reports. You can also use 'QuoteChar None'to mean “don't put any quoting characters around purportedly quoted fields ”.This feature is useful if you are using OutCSV to produce columnar reports. The MaxWidth and MinWidth settings take into account the presence or absence of quotes when calculating width.Also,unquoted fields are assumed to be numeric and (if necessary)are padded on the left,while quoted fields are padded on the right. |
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| Turning Fields On and Off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whenever the first character of v2 is '-'(the minus character),all subsequent fields are “turned off ”.To turn them back on,set the first character of v2 to '+'(the plus character).Here is an example: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| In this example,the “Current balance ” field will not appear in the output. The ability to turn fields on and off can greatly simplify the testing of scripts that generate CSV output.You can also use this feature to create reports with columns that can be turned on and off. |
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| Changing the Default Quoting State | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The default state for OutCSV field accumulation is 'Quoted'.However,sometimes you have a lot of 'Unquoted'fields in a row and it is a chore to have to type 'Unquoted'repeatedly.You can redefine the default state by putting an ellipsis (three periods)after 'Quoted'or 'Unquoted'.Here is an example: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OutCSV '''Init' OutCSV 1 OutCSV 2 'Unquoted...' OutCSV 3 OutCSV 'A''Quoted...' OutCSV 'B' OutCSV '''Done' |
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| This would output the following line: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "1",2,3,"A","B" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This alteration to the default only lasts until the 'Done'step;OutCSV always starts with the default state of 'Quoted'. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Switchable CSV/Columnar Reports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here is an example of some code that can be easily switched between CSV output and columnar output, simply by changing one variable (called MyVar here): |
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| Simply by setting the variable MyVar to 'Y',a CSV (Comma Separated Value)file becomes a columnar report.The result may not be elegant,but if you are looking for fast results without having to load the output into a spreadsheet,this can be a real time-saver. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OutCSV Examples | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Some script-enabled Parse-O-Matic applications include a sample script named ScrPSTOutCSV.txt .It provides examples of the techniques described above.If you do not have this script but would like a copy, please write to us.You can also find CSV-oriented sample scripts in the Pyroto,Inc.Knowledge Base, available at www.Parse-O-Matic.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OutEnd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| OutFile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| If the file name is not fully qualified (i.e.does not contain a path)the file will be placed in the default output folder,as set by the Path button. If a file is opened as New and a file already exists with that name,the old file is renamed with a .bak extension.For this reason,you should not use OutFile to switch to a file with a .bak extension. The fully-qualified name of the current output file is found in the $ActualOFN variable.If you copy this value into a variable,you can return to the original output file later on by using OutFile with 'Append'. |
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| OutNull | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Output | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| OutRuler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| You can use OutRuler while developing a script to help you measure where columns start and end.It outputs the line as OutEnd does,but includes a measuring scale above it. (This page is part of the online user manual for Parse-O-Matic. Parse-O-Matic is a programmable parsing tool that can extract, manipulate, convert or mine existing data sources and turn them into importable data. For more information on Parse-O-Matic products and conversion services, please visit www.ParseOMatic.com) |
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