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The next step is identifying the flat file name and path in Flat File Destination Editor screen. Point to the file folder and type the name of the flat file where you want to export SQL Server table data, and click OK to end SSIS package developing. An important configuration setting for Flat File Destination component is the overwrite settings. Drag and Drop the SSIS Bulk Insert Task from the toolbox to Control flow region. Double click on Bulk Insert Task to configure the source and destination connection strings. In the General tab, we can change the Name and description. Now click on the connection tab to set the source and destination connections. A common question with SSIS is how to handle adding headers and footers to a flat file when the format is different that the data rows. This gets more difficult when the header or footer needs to contain data based on the actual data rows, such as a total or a record count. I have bunch of 100 logfiles in a location.I need to load one by one.I am using the foreachloop container with flat file connection manager.The problem here is if a Flat file source editor try to open a file whcih is opened or opend for writing the Package failes.So any one can suggest how to overcome this issue.Is there any Readonly properties like that avilable in the flat file file.

Applies to: SQL Server (all supported versions) SSIS Integration Runtime in Azure Data Factory

The Flat File source reads data from a text file. The text file can be in delimited, fixed width, or mixed format.

• Delimited format uses column and row delimiters to define columns and rows.

• Fixed width format uses width to define columns and rows. This format also includes a character for padding fields to their maximum width.

• Ragged right format uses width to define all columns, except for the last column, which is delimited by the row delimiter.

You can configure the Flat File source in the following ways:

• Add a column to the transformation output that contains the name of the text file from which the Flat File source extracts data.

• Specify whether the Flat File source interprets zero-length strings in columns as null values.

  Note

  The Flat File connection manager that the Flat File source uses must be configured to use a delimited format to interpret zero-length strings as nulls. If the connection manager uses the fixed width or ragged right formats, data that consists of spaces cannot be interpreted as null values.

The output columns in the output of the Flat File source include the FastParse property. FastParse indicates whether the column uses the quicker, but locale-insensitive, fast parsing routines that Integration Services provides or the locale-sensitive standard parsing routines. For more information, see Fast Parse and Standard Parse.

Output columns also include the UseBinaryFormat property. You use this property to implement support for binary data, such as data with the packed decimal format, in files. By default UseBinaryFormat is set to false. If you want to use a binary format, set UseBinaryFormat to true and the data type on the output column to DT_BYTES. When you do this, the Flat File source skips the data conversion and passes the data to the output column as is. You can then use a transformation such as the Derived Column or Data Conversion to cast the DT_BYTES data to a different data type, or you can write custom script in a Script transformation to interpret the data. You can also write a custom data flow component to interpret the data. For more information about which data types you can cast DT_BYTES to, see Cast (SSIS Expression).

This source uses a Flat File connection manager to access the text file. By setting properties on the Flat File connection manager, you can provide information about the file and each column in it, and specify how the Flat File source should handle the data in the text file. For example, you can specify the characters that delimit columns and rows in the file, and the data type and the length of each column. For more information, see Flat File Connection Manager.

This source has one output and one error output.

Configuration of the Flat File Source

You can set properties through SSIS Designer or programmatically.

The Advanced Editor dialog box reflects the properties that can be set programmatically. For more information about the properties that you can set in the Advanced Editor dialog box or programmatically, click one of the following topics:

Related Tasks

For details about how to set properties of a data flow component, see Set the Properties of a Data Flow Component.

Flat File Source Editor (Connection Manager Page)

Use the Connection Manager page of the Flat File Source Editor dialog box to select the connection manager that the Flat File source will use. The Flat File source reads data from a text file, which can be in a delimited, fixed width, or mixed format.

A Flat File source can use one of the following types of connection managers:

• A Flat File connection manager if the source is a single flat file. For more information, see Flat File Connection Manager.

• A Multiple Flat Files connection manager if the source is multiple flat files and the Data Flow task is inside a loop container, such as the For Loop container. On each loop of the container, the Flat File source loads data from the next file name that the Multiple Flat Files connection manager provides. For more information, see Multiple Flat Files Connection Manager.

Options

Flat file connection manager
Select an existing connection manager from the list, or create a new connection manager by clicking New.

New
Create a new connection manager by using the Flat File Connection Manager Editor dialog box.

Retain null values from the source as null values in the data flow
Specify whether to keep null values when data is extracted. The default value of this property is false. When this value is false, the Flat File source replaces null values from the source data with appropriate default values for each column, such as empty strings for string columns and zero for numeric columns.

Preview
Preview results by using the Data View dialog box. Preview can display up to 200 rows.

Flat File Source Editor (Columns Page)

Use the Columns node of the Flat File Source Editor dialog box to map an output column to each external (source) column.

Note

The FileNameColumnName property of the Flat File source and the FastParse property of its output columns are not available in the Flat File Source Editor, but can be set by using the Advanced Editor. For more information on these properties, see the Flat File Source section of Flat File Custom Properties.

Options

Available External Columns
View the list of available external columns in the data source. You cannot use this table to add or delete columns.

Flat Package Editor 2008 Download

External Column
View external (source) columns in the order in which the task will read them. You can change this order by first clearing the selected columns in the table, and then selecting external columns from the list in a different order.

Output Column
Provide a unique name for each output column. The default is the name of the selected external (source) column; however, you can choose any unique, descriptive name. The name provided will be displayed within SSIS Designer.

Flat File Source Editor (Error Output Page)

Use the Error Output page of the Flat File Source Editor dialog box to select error-handling options and to set properties on error output columns.

Options

Input/Output
View the name of the data source.

Column
View the external (source) columns that you selected on the Connection Manager page of the Flat File Source Editordialog box.

Error
Specify what should happen when an error occurs: ignore the failure, redirect the row, or fail the component.

Related Topics:Error Handling in Data

Truncation
Specify what should happen when a truncation occurs: ignore the failure, redirect the row, or fail the component.

Description
View the description of the error.

Set this value to selected cells
Specify what should happen to all the selected cells when an error or truncation occurs: ignore the failure, redirect the row, or fail the component.

Apply
Apply the error handling option to the selected cells.

See Also

Flat File Destination
Data Flow

This SQL Server SSIS tutorial shows how to export data stored in database table into a flat file by using SSIS package.Using SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS), SQL Server BI developers can easily create SSIS package to transfer table data to a text file.

SQL Server Integration Services enable Business Intelligence developers to to automate tasks like to export data, to import data, etc.Microsoft Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) provides a Visual Studio IDE environment for developers to create reusable packages (SSIS packages) that will be executed by SQL Server Integration Services.

Let's create SSIS package using BIDS and execute this package to export data from SQL Server database table into a text file (or flat file).

Open SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio.
I've SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence Development Studio installed on my computer so I'll be working on SQL Server 2008 R2 and its tools for this SSIS example.

Create new SSIS project following BIDS menu options 'File > New > Project...'
Then choose 'Integration Services Project' from Visual Studio installed templates.Name the SQL Server Integration Services project as 'SSIS Tutorial'.
The Integration Services project will create a default empty SSIS package titled Package.dtsx under SSIS Packages folder in Solution Explorer window.You can rename it by a right click on the SSIS package and choosing Rename in context menu.

On the left side of the Business Intelligence Development Studio, you will see a Toolbox containing tools developed for specific tasks.These tools can be configured for solutions of common tasks like bulk insert, executing sql scripts, executing FTP commands, send mail, back up database, rebuilding index, or even shrink database task.

Since our aim in this SSIS tutorial is to export data from SQL Server to flat file, we will choose Data Flow Task
Double click or drag-drop Data Flow Task object on to the Control Flow surface of the SSIS package in design view.

Flat Package Editor

When you double click on Data Flow Task object on design view a new tab 'Data Flow designer surface' will be active to configure data flow task.First we'll configure data source component, which is SQL Server database in our SSIS tutorial.Since we will directly export data from SQL Server table to text file without any transformation, we will not use any of the Data Flow Transformation tasks.As last step, we need to identify the destination component which is the flat file in our sample SSIS package.

Let's configure source component as SQL Server for sample SSIS package.
Choose OLE DB Source component from Tools and drag-drop it onto Data Flow designer surface.

Double click on OLE DB Source object to configure the data source for reading.I will not demonstrate here how OLE DB Source object will be configured for database connection to SQL Server.SQL Server BI developers can easily create new SQL Server data connections for the data source to export to flat file.

I'm using SQL Server 2008 R2 sample database AdventureWorks2008R2 for the SSIS package tutorial as data source.

I also plan to export all data stored in database table HumanResources.Department, I choose 'Table or view' in the 'Data access mode'.It is also possible to define a SQL query as the source of export data task by choosing the 'SQL command' data access mode.

Mac Flat Package Editor

Continue the SSIS package source editor by selecting the table or view name

OLE DB Source editor screen enables developers to preview source data.BI developers can exclude columns from export list in Columns tab by clearing checkbox beside column names or rename the output column name

By pressing OK buton, the configuration of the OLE DB Source component is complete.This means we have configured data source for SQL Server export task.Now we can configure the destination component for exporting data from SQL Server to flat file or to text file.

Among Data Flow Destinations components in Toolbox, choose Flat File Destination for this SSIS tutorial which will get data from SQL Server and write it into a flat file in text format.

When the Flat File Destination object is displayed on the designer surface, connect two objects.You can create a connection between two objects from data source to flat file destination object.All you have to do is click on green arrow of OLE DB Source component and then to click on the Flat File Destination component.

After the connection is build, we can now continue to SSIS tutorial by configuring the Data Flow Destination component Flat File Destination.Double click on the item on Business Intelligence Development Studio design surface.We have to configure the Flat File connection manager. Choose New buton.In Flat File Format screen, you will be requested to choose flat file format among available formats: delimited, fixed width, fixed width with row delimiters, and tagged right.

Flat Package Editor Download

I choose Delimited file format for target text file of the data export task.The next step is identifying the flat file name and path in Flat File Destination Editor screen.

Point to the file folder and type the name of the flat file where you want to export SQL Server table data, and click OK to end SSIS package developing

An important configuration setting for Flat File Destination component is the overwrite settings.If you want to overwrite data which might be already in the text file when the export data task is executed, mark 'Overwrite data in the file' checkbox.But if you want to append export data at the end of the flat file each time the SSIS package is executed, then make sure that you clear the 'Overwrite data in the file' checkbox.

Flat Package Editor 2008 Download

Now our sample SSIS package is completed. We can now test if we can export data in SQL Server database table to flat file in selected file folder.To test the SSIS package, use F5 (Start Debugging) or Ctrl+F5 (Start Without Debugging) options from Debug menu.

After the SSIS package execution in Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS), I see that data stored in sample database table is exported to text file HumarResources-Department.txt in target folder.As you see SQL Server Integration Services services along with Business Intelligence Development Studio will help SQL Server developers provide easy and fast solutions for many operational tasks like exporting data from SQL Server to flat file.I hope SQL Server BI professionals like this SSIS tutorial.