PARFILE

Default: There is no default

Purpose

Specifies the name of an export parameter file.

Syntax and Description

PARFILE=[directory_path]file_name

A parameter file allows you to specify Data Pump parameters within a file, and then that file can be specified on the command line instead of entering all the individual commands. This can be useful if you use the same parameter combination many times. The use of parameter files is also highly recommended if you are using parameters whose values require the use of quotation marks.

A directory object is not specified for the parameter file because unlike dump files, log files, and SQL files which are created and written by the server, the parameter file is opened and read by the expdp client. The default location of the parameter file is the user's current directory.

Within a parameter file, a comma is implicit at every newline character so you do not have to enter commas at the end of each line. If you have a long line that wraps, such as a long table name, enter the backslash continuation character (\) at the end of the current line to continue onto the next line.

Restrictions

  • The PARFILE parameter cannot be specified within a parameter file.

Example

The content of an example parameter file, hr.par, might be as follows:

SCHEMAS=HR
DUMPFILE=exp.dmp
DIRECTORY=dpump_dir1
LOGFILE=exp.log

You could then issue the following Export command to specify the parameter file:

> expdp hr PARFILE=hr.par