- Predefined Field Widths:
- Each data element occupies a fixed number of characters.
- For example, in a fixed-format file, a name might take up exactly 20 characters, whether the name is "Amy" or "Christopher Jones".
- No Delimiters:
- Unlike CSV or TSV formats, fixed-format data does not rely on commas, tabs, or other delimiters to separate values.
- Padding:
- Shorter values are often padded with spaces (for strings) or zeros (for numbers) to fill the required width.
- Position-Sensitive:
- The meaning of data depends on its exact position in the record (e.g., characters 1–10 might be the customer ID, characters 11–30 the name, etc.).