XFD files contain the data dictionary used to map the SQL from your Windows application to the appropriate I/O requests.
The name of each file corresponds to the name used in the SELECT clause of the COBOL program, followed by the "XFD" extension.
The rules followed by AcuODBC to locate the data dictionary files are the following:
Stand-alone or networked installation
Data dictionary files have to be located in the directory specified in the "Data Dictionary Directory" entry field during creation of a data source name.
Client/server installation
Using a remote file server, you can locate data dictionary files on the remote server, but this is not necessary. This is a feature you can use at your convenience.
When you create a DSN and then decide to locate XFD files on the remote server, you must complete the "Data Dictionary Directory" entry field with the name of the remote directory containing the XFD files. When you type the name of the remote directory, keep in mind that on UNIX, pathnames are case sensitive.
A sequential ASCII file called "xfdrmt.dir" (lowercase) must be stored in the remote directory. This file has to contain as many lines as the number of XFD files in that directory. Each line must be filled with the name of each data dictionary file. For an example of the "xfdrmt.dir" file, please refer to "To add a data source name" in Section 3.1.