Global Properties of the File
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## Global Properties of the File

There are a few available directives to describe general traits of the file being described and not specific data within the file itself.

### DESCRIPTION

This is the description of the file format being described. This text appears in the help screens and in menus used by the various GUI wrappers.

### EXTENSION

This directive gives the filename extension generally associated with this file.

### ENCODING

Describes the character set used by this format. The value given must be one listed by 'gpsbabel -l'. example:

    ENCODING          UTF-8 # Use UTF-8 for input and output.

### DATUM

This value specifies the GPS datum to be used on read or write. Valid values for this option are listed in Appendix A, Supported Datums .

    DATUM             European 1950

### DATATYPE

Specifies the kind of data we have to read or write.

By default all data are seen as waypoint data. With DATATYPE you are now able to bind a specific type to this format. Possible values are WAYPOINT, ROUTE or TRACK.

    DATATYPE          ROUTE # route-only format

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