# Fields tab

![Fields tab](https://3411831820-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FAYwCj9fPr1B2pjC11IOQ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-114b9810cedd619fd11755cc6c34313953b22dda%2FPDI_TextFileOutput_FieldsTab.png?alt=media)

The **Fields** tab allows you to define the properties for the fields being exported.

| Column                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**                   | Specify the name of the field.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Type**                   | Select the field's data type from the dropdown list or enter it manually.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Format**                 | Select the format mask (number type) from the dropdown list or enter it manually. See [Common Formats](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/9.3-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/common-formats) for information on common valid date and numeric formats you can use in this step.                                                                            |
| **Length**                 | <p>Specify the length of the field, according to the following field types:</p><ul><li><strong>Number</strong></li></ul><p>Total number of significant figures in a number.</p><ul><li><strong>String</strong></li></ul><p>Total length of string.</p><ul><li><strong>Date</strong></li></ul><p>Total length of printed output of the string. For example, <code>4</code> only returns the year.</p> |
| **Precision**              | Specify the number of floating point digits for number-type fields.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Currency**               | Specify the symbol used to represent currencies (for example, `$` or `€`).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| **Decimal**                | Specify the symbol used to represent a decimal point, either a period (`.`) as in `10,000.00` or it can be a comma (`,`) as in `5.000,00`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| **Group**                  | Specify the method used to separate units of thousands in numbers of four digits or larger, either a comma (`,`) as in `10,000.00` or (`.`) as in `5.000,00`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Trim type**              | Select the trimming method (none, left, right, or both) to apply to a string, which truncates the field before processing. Trimming only works when no field length is specified.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| **Null**                   | Specify the string to insert into the output text file when the value of the field is null.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| **Get Fields** (button)    | Click to retrieve a list of fields from the input stream.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Minimal width** (button) | Click to minimize the field length by removing unnecessary characters. If selected, string fields will no longer be padded to their specified length.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |

See \[Understanding PDI data types and field metadata]\(../../../../../../Data%20Integration%20Perspective/Data%20Integration%20perspective%20in%20the%20PDI%20client/Advanced%20topics%20(PDI%20perspective)/Understanding%20PDI%20data%20types%20and%20field%20metadata.md) to maximize the efficiency of your transformation and job results.