Fixed length refers to an ASCII text file format (also called "fixed width" or "fixed record" files) in which each field in a record has the same number of characters, and there is a return character at the end of each record.

1. To import a fixed length file, select File|Import Addresses. The Import Data window will appear.
2. Click on the Fixed Record option and enter the name of the file to be imported in the Import File Name box. If the file is not located in your WINEM directory, enter the full path and name of the file (e.g., A:\FIXED.TXT) or click on the yellow folder button and browse to it.
   
   
   
   
3. If you already know the starting position and size of each field in your file, go to step 9. If not, click on the View button to see the Fixed Record Preview.
4. You will see a bar with blue text that displays the contents of one entry in your file. Note that the text is in clumps, with spaces between them. Above the bar, a red number indicates the position. Below it, there is a horizontal scrollbar.
   
   
   
   
5. You probably see blue text, such as a company name or customer number, lined up against the left margin with a red 1 above it. On scratch paper, write down that text and the number 1. This is your first field and its starting position. If you don’t have text against the left margin right now, skip this step.
6. Click very slowly on the right arrow on the horizontal scrollbar. The blue text will move off the screen to the left. Continue until the next piece of blue text is against the left margin, then write down that text and the red number above it. The red number is the field’s starting position.
   
   
   
   
7. Repeat step 5 for each clump of blue text, or field.
8. Click on the Next button to see the next entry. Scroll through it sideways to make sure its fields start in the same positions as the previous entry’s fields. Sometimes one entry will have a field that was blank in another entry.
9. Calculate the field lengths: On your scratch paper, subtract each starting position from the next field’s starting position. For example, if the city starts at 114, the state starts at 144, and the ZIP starts at 146, then the field lengths are 30 for the city and 2 for the state. For the last field in the entry, subtract the starting position from the Record Size listed above the red number on the screen.
10. Input the starting position and length of each field that you want to import into the fields in the Import Data box. For example, if you want to import a first name into Envelope Manager, click on the green Start Position box in the row that says First Name and type in the character position where that field begins in the import file. Then click on the Length box and input the length of that field. Note that the length cannot exceed the number in the “Max Len” box because that’s the maximum number of characters that Envelope Manager can store in that field.
    
    
    
11. Click Done in the preview box, then click OK to begin the import. The number of records imported will display at the end of the process. Envelope Manager will also reindex the database to make sure that all records are ordered correctly.

Note: If your original file has the city, state, and ZIP code as a single field, map that field to an Address Line. Otherwise map them to City, State, and ZIP individually.