I have reason to want to delete data from a text file linked as a table, but my ISAM does not support it.

Where does one get an ISAM that does ?

Thanks

Richard

Text files are sequential datasets. Record 2 immediately follows record1, with no gaps and no way of directly addressing any record. Sequential files may be read forward or in reverse, record by record, but not randomly. I know of no platform that has a sequential access method that allows deletes or even updates to a sequential file. I believe the only update allowed is an append to the end of the dataset. You may be able to find some access method that allows updates to a sequential file (never deletes or inserts though) but that type of process could only be supported if the records were fixed length.

Using a text editor such as notepad or SPFPC, you can edit a sequential file and add/delete/change records. But the reason is because those types of programs treat the entire file as a string and load the entire file into memory. They don't address the file on a record-by-record level as the Access drivers do.

If you need to delete records from a sequential file, you're going to have to import it into a table. Do your thing. And rewrite (export) the entire file.