About .EE files for composite documents

The ".EE" (field definitions) file is supplied with field names found in the first record of the associated control file. Using EscapeE's composite field mechanism, field definitions may be constructed to compute filenames from the fixed data values in subsequent records in the control file. The named files are assembled into the composite document.

If no FILENAME has been supplied in the first record of the control file, EscapeE uses any .EE file it finds with the same file-stem as the control file. If a field definition file in that name cannot be found, a EscapeE creates a new field definition file automatically and names it with the control file's file-stem. It is by this means that a control file consisting of a simple list of files may be used to construct a composite document, the user remaining unaware of the underlying .EE file.