Flat File Connection Manager Editor (Advanced Page)

Use the Advanced page of the Flat File Connection Manager Editor dialog box to set properties that specify how Integration Services reads and writes data in flat files. You can change the names of columns in the flat file, and set properties that include data type and delimiters for each column in the file.

By default, the length of string columns is 50 characters. You can resize the length of these columns to prevent truncation of data or excess column width. You can also update other metadata to enable compatibility with destination columns. For example, you might change the data type of a column that contains only integer data to a numeric data type, such as DT_I2. You can make these modifications manually, or you can click the Select Types button to use the Suggest Column Types dialog box to evaluate sample data and make some of these changes for you automatically.

To learn more about the Flat File connection manager, see Flat File Connection Manager.

Options

  • Connection manager name
    Provide a unique name for the flat file connection manager in the workflow. The name provided will be displayed within SSIS Designer.
  • Description
    Describe the connection manager. As a best practice, describe the connection manager in terms of its purpose, to make packages self-documenting and easier to maintain.
  • Configure the properties of each column
    Select a column in the left pane to view its properties in the right pane. See the following table for a description of data type properties. Some of the properties listed are configurable only for some flat file formats.

    Property

  • New
    Add a new column by clicking New. By default, the New button adds a new column at the end of the list. The button also has the following options, available in the drop-down list.

    Value Description

    Add Column

    Add a new column at the end of the list.

    Insert Before

    Insert a new column before the selected column.

    Insert After

    Insert a new column after the selected column.

  • Delete
    Select a column, and then remove it by clicking Delete.
  • Suggest Types
    Use the Suggest Column Types dialog box to evaluate sample data in the file and to obtain suggestions for the data type and length of each column. For more information, see Suggest Column Types.

See Also

Reference

Flat File Connection Manager Editor (General Page)
Flat File Connection Manager Editor (Columns Page)
Flat File Connection Manager Editor (Preview Page)

Other Resources

Integration Services Error and Message Reference

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance

Change History

Release History

17 July 2006

Changed content:
  • Explained data types and the use of the Suggest Column types option.

5 December 2005

Changed content:
  • Provided information about updating metadata of columns.