User Guide : Using Extract Editor : Creating Extract Editor File
 
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Creating Extract Editor File
You can create an extract file using a report file from which you want to extract the data. The Extract Editor file extension is .extract. This file stores the meta data for the extract so that you can resume designing your extract later.
To create an extract file:
1. Do any of the following:
• Go to File > New > Extract.
• Click icon and select Extract.
• Right-click on a project folder and click New > Extract.
The Extract File window is displayed.
Note:  Reset the DataConnect perspective if the Extract option is not available in the File menu, New icon drop-down menu, or the right-click context menu.
2. In Extract File Name, specify a file name for the extract file and click Next.
3. Specify the following options:
Options
Descriptions
Report File
Text file or Report File that contains the raw data from which the required data must be extracted.
Description
Description of the extract file.
Starting Line
Indicates the line number from which the Extract Editor displays the data from the report file. By default, it is from the beginning of the first line. However, when selecting a sample of the file, you may want the Extract Editor to start reading the file on another line.
Ending Line
Indicates the line number until where the Extract Editor displays the data from the report file. By default, the Extract Editor displays the first 500 lines of the report file, beginning at line 1 and ending at line 500. However, when selecting a sample of the file, you may want the Extract Editor to stop reading the file on another line.
Sample Size
When you change the Starting Line or Ending Line values, the Sample Size value changes to reflect the total number of lines of text that the Extract Editor displays.
Pad Lines
Lines in the report may not be of same length and it is sometimes recommended to pad the lines such that the displayed lines are of the same length for better designing the data fields.
If selected, Extract Designer pads each line of text in the report file to a fixed right margin or reads each line only to the last character on that line. By default, this option is not selected.
When a report has a ragged right margin, this option assists in defining data fields to a width that does not cause the data in wider fields to be truncated. However, this can be misleading if you are defining line styles.
Note:  The spaces used to pad the lines in the display do not actually exist in the text file. Do not use them in recognition patterns for line styles.
Pad Line Length
When the Pad Lines option is selected, each line is padded to the longest length necessary to accommodate the data. This value is the Pad Length. The default value is the length of the longest line in the file. If any lines are smaller than the specified pad line length, they are padded with spaces to make them equal.
If you want the Extract Editor to pad with spaces past the last character in all the lines, you can change the value of Pad Line Length.
4. Click Finish.
The new .extract artifact is displayed in Project Explorer under the selected project and the data from the specified report file is displayed in the Design tab in Extract Editor. It is also displayed in the selected project in Project Explorer.
You can change the Report File, Start and End Line values, and Padding options on the Configuration tab in the Extract Editor.