By default, TPU$FILEIO creates variable-length files with carriage-return record attributes (FAB$B_RFM = VAR, FAB$B_RAT FORM item, that item is used instead. The following combinations of formats and attributes are acceptable: Format Attributes STM,STMLF,STMCR 0,BLK,CR,BLK+CR VAR 0,BLK,FTN,CR,BLK+FTN,BLK+CR All other combinations are converted to VAR format with CR attributes. This routine always puts values greater than 511 in the first longword of the stream data structure. Because a user-written file I/O routine is restricted to the values 0 through 511, you can easily distinguish the file control blocks (FCB) this routine fills in from the ones you created. NOTE TPU uses TPU$FILEIO by default when you use the simplified callable interface. When you use the full callable interface, you must explicitly invoke TPU$FILEIO or provide your own file I/O routine.