# Text File Output The **Text File Output** step exports rows to a text file. This step is commonly used to generate delimited files (for example, CSV) that can be read by spreadsheet applications, and it can also generate fixed-length output. {% hint style="warning" %} You can’t run this step in parallel to write to the **same** file. If you need to run multiple copies, select **Include stepnr in filename** and merge the resulting files afterward. {% endhint %} ### Step name **Step name** specifies the unique name of the step on the canvas. You can change it. ### Configure the step (tabs) The **Text File Output** step includes these tabs: * **File** * **Content** * **Fields** #### File tab Use the **File** tab to define where and how files are created. | Option | Description | | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Filename** | Output file path and name. Select **Browse** to locate a file or folder. For supported file system types, see [Connecting to Virtual File Systems](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/extracting-data-into-pdi/virtual-file-system-browser). Do not include a file extension when date/time is appended and **Extension** is set. | | **Pass output to servlet** | Returns output using a web service instead of writing to a file. See [Web services steps](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/extracting-data-into-pdi/web-services-steps). | | **Create parent folder** | Clear if you do not want to create the parent folder automatically. | | **Do not create file at start** | Avoids creating empty files when no rows are processed. | | **Accept file name from field?** | Uses file name(s) from the incoming stream, based on **File name field**. For performance tuning when writing multiple files, see [Improving performance when writing multiple files](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/data-integration-issues/improving-performance-when-writing-multiple-files). | | **File name field** | Incoming field containing the output file name at runtime. | | **Extension** | File extension to append. Default: `.txt`. | | **Include stepnr in filename?** | Adds the copy number (for example, `_0`) when running multiple copies of the step. | | **Include partition nr in filename?** | Adds the partition number to the file name. | | **Include date in filename?** | Adds the system date to the file name (for example, `_20181231`). | | **Include time in filename?** | Adds the system time to the file name (for example, `_235959`). | | **Specify Date time format** | Adds a date/time stamp using **Date time format**. | | **Date time format** | Date/time format to use when appending date/time. | | **Add filenames to result** | Clear if you do not want to add output file names to the transformation result file list. | Select **Show filename(s)** to simulate and display the list of files that will be generated. #### Content tab Use the **Content** tab to define output formatting. | Option | Description | | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Append** | Appends rows to the end of the file. | | **Separator** | Field delimiter (commonly semicolon or tab). Select **Insert Tab** to insert a tab character. Default: `;`. | | **Enclosure** | Encloses fields so separator characters can appear inside field values. Optional; default is `"`. | | **Force the enclosure around fields?** | Forces enclosure for all fields. | | **Disable the enclosure fix?** | Disregards enclosures on string fields and separators. | | **Header** | Clear if you do not want a header row. | | **Footer** | Adds a footer row. When **Append** is selected, existing footers can’t be stripped before appending new rows. | | **Format** | Line ending format: **DOS** or **UNIX**. Default: `CR + LF` (Windows/DOS). | | **Compression** | Output compression: `.ZIP` or `GZip`. Only one file is placed in a single archive. Default: None. | | **Encoding** | File encoding. Leave blank to use the system default. To use Unicode, specify `UTF-8` or `UTF-16`. | | **Right pad fields** | Pads string fields with spaces (or truncates) until the field length in the **Fields** tab is reached. | | **Fast data dump (no formatting)** | Improves performance for large outputs by skipping formatting. | | **Split every ... rows** | Splits output into multiple files after N rows when N > 0. | | **Add ending line of file** | Adds an alternate ending row to the output file. | #### Fields tab Use the **Fields** tab to define output field formatting. | Column/option | Description | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Name** | Output field name. | | **Type** | Output data type. | | **Format** | Optional conversion mask. See [Common Formats](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/common-formats). | | **Length** | Output length (varies by type). | | **Precision** | Number of floating-point digits for number-type fields. | | **Currency** | Currency symbol (for example, `$` or `€`). | | **Decimal** | Decimal symbol (dot `.` or comma `,`). | | **Group** | Thousands separator (comma `,` or dot `.`). | | **Trim type** | Trimming method to apply to strings. Trimming works only when no field length is specified. | | **Null** | String to write when the field value is null. | | **Get Fields** | Populates the table from the incoming stream. | | **Minimal width** | Removes unnecessary padding. When selected, string fields are no longer padded to their specified length. | For guidance on choosing data types and field metadata, see [Understanding PDI data types and field metadata](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/understanding-pdi-data-types-and-field-metadata). ### See also * [Text File Output (Legacy)](https://wiki.pentaho.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=7701492) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/text-file-output-cp.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. 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