> i found the problem after reading openVMS notes from web , [...] Because getting the same info from the manual excerpt I cited would have been too easy? > to fix the problem I : > [...] > - generated the FDL for the file How, exactly? (I'll assume ANALYZE /RMS_FILE /FDL.) > - modified the FDL to correct the file type and record type. And what, exactly, was wrong with "Record Format: variable"? > - converted the file using the modified FDL And you thought that ANALYZE /RMS_FILE /FDL plus CONVERT /FDL (which reads the old file and writes a new file) would be more efficient than ANALYZE /RMS_FILE /UPDATE_HEADER (which only reads the old file) because ...? But, hey. If you're happy, ...