RON HORNER ([log in to unmask]) wrote: : I think that one example of why programmers can't always fix the record : layout is in custom job submission programs. Depending on how the jcl : file is created, sometimes the record size is 80 bytes. In other times : the record size in a jcl file is 72. If I understand Ron's example, I think this is another situation where I would recommend describing the file as RECORD VARYING rather than resorting to COBOL 74 behavior. Walter Murray Hewlett-Packard Support Technology Lab