View a Data File Unformatted

To view the data file you just created, load it into the Data File Editor:

1. In Classic Data File Tools, click File > Open and navigate to the ClassicDataToolsDemo project folder.
2. Select staff.dat; then click Open.

   Depending on options set, either the Data File Editor window appears immediately or a message box appears, explaining that all edits to indexed and relative file types are applied immediately.

3. If the message appears, and you want to prevent it from appearing again, check Do not show this message again; then click OK.

   The Data File Editor loads the contents of staff.dat and displays them as shown here:

   Figure 1. The IDE with a Data File Editor Window
   
   

   Each record is shown as one line. Because the Data File Editor does not know the lengths of the fields in the record, each line is simply a continuous line of text; the records are unformatted. Non-character fields such as COMP items generally display as non-standard characters or, if they don't correspond to any printable character, as .

4. Experiment with any of the following editing features: