Column-Aligned Text (CAT) Reader Parameters

Number of Lines to Skip

Identifies the number of lines to skip at the top of the file. It is useful to enter a value here if the Column-Aligned Text file contains a header line of field names or other descriptive material that should be skipped.

By default, all lines are included.

Field Boundaries / Field Properties

These areas list the name, type, and width of the fields that comprise a row.

Fields containing X, Y, or Z-Coordinates will comprise the point geometry of the feature, while fields with the type Integer, Real, or String will be attributes.

Click the ruler in Field Boundaries to add, remove, or move field boundaries.

Screenshot: Click the ruler to define and drag column widths.

The ordering of the fields is important. The first field always starts at the first character in a row and is width characters wide. Subsequent fields start where the previous field ends.

Check Do Not Use to skip a field.