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A descriptor string is stored in the Zero subscript of the file's (fictitious) global root—^EMP( in the example. This is simply a ^-piece-delimited string containing the following:
Table 110: File Header—Descriptor String
| ^-piece | Contains |
|---|---|
| piece 1 | File name. |
| piece 2 | File number with file characteristics codes. |
| piece 3 | Most recently assigned internal entry number. |
| piece 4 | Current total number of entries. |
NOTE: The most recently assigned number is not necessarily the largest entry number. The file number is the record number of the file in the attribute (or data) dictionary that describes the data fields for this file. Thus, if a file has three employees and if the file's most recently added employee was assigned entry number 9, you have:
^EMP(0)="EMPLOYEE^3I^9^3"
The data dictionary number (second ^-piece) can also be followed by a string of alphabetic characters that are used by VA FileMan as flags to indicate various characteristics of the file. Table 111 lists the values this string can contain:
Table 111: File Header—Descriptor String: Second ^-Piece
| second ^-piece | Contains |
|---|---|
| D | .01 field of the file is a DATE/TIME. |
| P | .01 field of the file is a POINTER to another file. |
| S | .01 field of the file is a SET OF CODES. |
| V | .01 field of the file is a VARIABLE POINTER. |
| A | Automatically adds entries without asking: "ARE YOU ADDING A NEW ENTRY?" |
| I | File has Identifiers. |
| O | The user is asked "...OK?" whenever a matching entry is found during lookup. |
| s | (lowercase s) File has a screen defined in ^DD(filenumber,0, "SCR"). |
Reviewed/Updated: May 2026