Flat file connections enable you to create, access, and store flat files. You can use flat file connections in mappings and in tasks such as mapping tasks, PowerCenter tasks, replication tasks, and synchronization tasks.
When you configure a flat file connection, you must select the runtime environment to be used with the connection. If you select a runtime environment with Secure Agents that run on Linux, you cannot specify a Windows directory for a flat file target.
A flat file connection cannot use a Secure Agent that runs on NTT. Therefore, do not select a runtime environment with Secure Agents that run on NTT.
In a serverless runtime environment that has data disks configured, you can choose one of the mounted directories or their sub directories to use in the flat file connection.
When you select a flat file connection in a mapping or task, you choose the formatting options for the flat file. When you choose the formatting options in a Source, Lookup, or Target transformation, you specify whether the flat file is a delimited flat file or a fixed-width flat file. If the flat file is a fixed-width flat file, you select a fixed-width format from a list of fixed-width formats that you configured. If you plan to use a fixed-width flat file, you need to create at least one fixed-width format before you select a fixed-width flat file in the Mapping Designer.