/sys$common/syshlp/EDFHLP.HLB  —  Abstract
    The Edit/FDL utility helps you create, maintain and tune large,
    complex OpenVMS RMS files, particularly indexed files. Using the
    Edit/FDL utility, you can add, modify or delete file attributes
    explicitly or you can invoke scripts that ask questions which the
    Edit/FDL utility uses to make file attributes decisions.

    The output from the Edit/FDL utility is an FDL file which is
    used as a model for the data file you wish to create. The file
    describes in ASCII text the attributes of the file that it will
    be used to create. There are several methods of creating FDL
    files but it is preferable to use the Edit/FDL utility because it
    enforces the FDL syntax.

    FDL files are divided into logical sections labeled with a
    primary attribute such as SYSTEM, FILE, DATE, KEY, and so forth.
    Most primary attributes use secondary attributes to specify the
    file attributes for the resultant RMS file.

    For example, if the ALLOCATION secondary attribute has the value
    20000 under the AREA 3 primary attribute, then the third area of
    the file will have 20,000 disk blocks when the file is created.
    You specify this as follows:

                 AREA 3
                         ALLOCATION     20000

    After you create an FDL file, you can create the RMS file modeled
    on the FDL file using the DCL commands CREATE/FDL and CONVERT
    /FDL, or the callable FDL$CREATE library routine.

    Complete information about the Edit/FDL utility and the Create
    /FDL utility can be found in the OpenVMS Record Management
    Utilities Reference Manual, which also includes descriptions
    of the Analyze/RMS_File utility, the Convert utility and the
    Convert/Reclaim utility. The callable FDL$CREATE library routine
    is described in the OpenVMS Utility Routines Manual.
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