In general, the suffixes tend to be as descriptive of the formats as they can within the limits of the number of characters allowed for suffixes by the operating system. (The file name suffix is also known as a file name extension.) For example, a program or executable file is sometimes given or required to have an ".exe" suffix. Some operating systems and applications describe files with given formats by giving them a particular file name suffix. The file must have a unique name within its own directory. End users can then access the databases records using another version of FileMaker. Depending on the operating system, files (and data sets) are contained within a catalog, directory, or folder.ΔΆ) In any computer system but especially in personal computers, a file is an entity of data available to system users (including the system itself and its application programs) that is capable of being manipulated as an entity (for example, moved from one file directory to another). The database file is then published to FileMaker Server or FileMaker Cloud. In mainframe systems, the term data set is generally synonymous with file but implies a specific form of organization recognized by a particular access method. This use of the term has become somewhat less important with the advent of the database and its emphasis on the table as a way of collecting record and field data. By providing the same information in the same fields in each record (so that all records are consistent), your file will be easily accessible for analysis and manipulation by a computer program. In turn, each record would consist of fields for individual data items, such as customer name, customer number, customer address, and so forth. For example, you might put the records you have on each of your customers in a file. 1) In data processing, using an office metaphor, a file is a related collection of records.