F

Fixed unblocked

The same length as the data set

FA

Fixed unblocked ANSI

The same length as the data set

Contains ISO/ANSI/FIPS control characters

FB

Fixed blocked

Fixed

Fixed record length with multiple records per block

FBA

Fixed blocked ANSI

Fixed

Multiple records per block where these records contain ISO/ANSI/FIPS control characters

FBS

Fixed blocked spanned

Fixed

Multiple records per block written as standard blocks

FM

Fixed unblocked machine

The same length as the data set

Contains machine code control characters

FS

Fixed unblocked spanned

The same length as the data set

Written as standard blocks where these records do not contain any truncated blocks or unfilled tracks

U

Undefined

Undefined

V

Variable unblocked

Variable

VA

Variable unblocked ANSI

Variable

Contains ISO/ANSI/FIPS control characters

VB

Variable blocked

Variable

Multiple records per block

VBA

Variable blocked ANSI

Variable

Multiple records per block where these records contain ISO/ANSI/FIPS control characters

VBM

Variable blocked machine

Variable

Multiple records per block where these records contain machine code control characters

VBS

Variable blocked spanned

Variable

May have multiple records per block where these records can span more than one block

VM

Variable unblocked machine

Variable

Contains machine code control characters

VS

Variable unblocked spanned

Variable

A record can span more than one block