You want to register an external file with the following structure: first line contains Customer First and Last Name second line is address1 third line is address 2 fourth line contains the phone…

Question

Options

• AUse the New User Written External File wizard.
• BUse the New Fixed Width External File wizard.
• CUse the New Delimited External File wizard.
• DUse the New COBOL Copybook wizard.

• A
  94% (44)
• B
  2% (1)
• D
  4% (2)

Explanation

Option A is correct because the file uses a multi-line record structure - each field occupies its own line rather than being separated by delimiters or positioned at fixed columns within a single line. The User Written External File wizard is specifically designed for non-standard layouts like this, where you must manually define how the data is read across multiple lines.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (Fixed Width): Fixed-width files have all fields within a single line at defined column positions - not spread across multiple lines.
• C (Delimited): Delimited files use separator characters (commas, pipes, tabs) between fields on a single line - not one field per line.
• D (COBOL Copybook): This wizard is for files already described by a COBOL data division layout (PIC clauses) - not applicable to a plain multi-line text file.

Memory tip: Think "User Written = Unusual Structure." Whenever a file doesn't fit the two standard molds (delimited or fixed-width), you need to write your own reading logic - that's exactly what the User Written wizard enables.

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