thanks Al. As usual spot on solutions.

k

>>actually simple .txt in column arrangement as the cursor displays it.
>>i note 'copy to mytext.txt' gives me data but sliced up in horizontal arrangement.
>>from what i have just read about fput() that looks like the way to go.
>
>Have you tried COPY TO MyText.txt TYPE SDF ?
>
>There are other output types that may work for you such as CSV, DELIMITED etc.