Problem:

Net Express documentation regards to  File Handler Configuration

---> File Handling: http://supportline.microfocus.com/documentation/books/nx40/fhpubb.htm

     ...

          Chapter 6: File Handler Configuration            

          FH option BASENAME:  BASENAME=OFF is the default setting

BASENAME

The BASENAME option determines whether filenames specified in tags can be expressed without pathnames. By default, such filenames have to be expressed with full path information as passed to the File Handler by the calling program. By setting BASENAME=ON, it is possible to specify the filename without the path.

Syntax:

BASENAME={ON|OFF}

Parameters:

ON Filename tags can be expressed without path information.

OFF All filename tags in the configuration file must be expressed with full path information.

Properties:

Default: OFF

Comments:

This parameter can be set globally only, that is under the tag [XFH-DEFAULT]. You cannot set the parameter for an individual file.

Resolution:

Let's say your cobol program does I-Os on a file named aFile.dat, located in C:\\aDirectory, AND you use the File Handling configuration option BASENAME=OFF ( default setting )

If you want to set  a File Handling option which applies to an individual file,

the FH tag has to be:

[C:\\\\aDirectory\\\\aFile.dat]

Note the double entry of the backslash character \\ , this because this character \\  is an escape character for the MF routine which parses the MF File Handling configuration file...