FORMCHAR - Basic Teradata Query

Basic Teradata Query Reference

Product
Basic Teradata Query
Release Number
16.20
Published
October 2018
Language
English (United States)
Last Update
2020-02-20
dita:mapPath
kil1527114222313.ditamap
dita:ditavalPath
Audience_PDF_include.ditaval
dita:id
B035-2414
lifecycle
previous
Product Category
Teradata Tools and Utilities

Purpose

This control enables users to specify the HEX numeric escape sequence to be used instead of a form-feed character, when printing reports.

The command has four options: ON, OFF, DEFAULT or any HEX sequence that a printer translates into a printer escape sequence (for example, "0C"XB or '0c'xb).

Syntax





where the following is true:

OFF
Initial default for workstation-attached systems
DEFAULT
Initial default for mainframe-attached systems

Usage Notes

Use the FORMCHAR command to specify form feed characters for printing reports. With the FORMCHAR set to ON, BTEQ sends a form-feed character to the mainframe printer and puts a single-byte “1” character in column one. For the FORMCHAR setting to be effective, the FORMAT setting must be set to ON as well. See the examples shown below.

Certain printers accept only a special numeric sequence in HEX to produce a form feed at the end of a page. When entering the HEX sequence, either uppercase or lowercase characters are valid. If used, the HEX sequence must be less than or equal to ten HEX characters. Note that when choosing this option, the character sets are implementation-dependent.

If no option is entered, or if an invalid option is entered, the value of FORMCHAR is reset to its initial default value.

The following commands are affected by the FORMCHAR command:
  • SHOW CONTROLS
  • HELP BTEQ
  • FORMAT

The FORMCHAR setting only affects the output for Field Mode, not Record Mode, Indicator Mode, or Multipart Indicator Mode.

The FORMCHAR command is valid in a Teradata SQL macro.

Example 1 – FORMCHAR

Specify form feed ON for a workstation-attached system as follows:

.SET FORMAT ON
.SET FORMCHAR ON

Example 2 – FORMCHAR instigated by a macro

The FORMCHAR command in a Teradata SQL macro appears as follows:

ECHO '.SET FORMCHAR  "0C"xb' ;

Example 3 – FORMCHAR

Enter the default for mainframe-attached operating systems as follows:

.help bteq
.show controls
.set formchar 'e7'xb
.show controls
.set formchar default
.show controls