09/23/08 How to always see correct field names for a physical file

To quickly see the fields that are available in a physical file without having to run a SQL statement use the DSPFFD command.

1. Type from command line DSPFFD
2. Press F4
3. Type the File name and the Library where it is located
4. Press Enter

You will see the all the column names in the file along with their descriptions.

This simple command is often superior to running a SQL statement because the names of fields in a file are not always correctly shown when using SQL. The DSPFFD command will always return the correct naming convention of the column names.


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