SEEK Statement Details Syntax SEEK [#]filenumber,position The filenumber is an integer number used in the OPEN statement to open the file. The position is a numeric expression indicating where the next read or write is done. The position must be in the range 1 to 2,147,483,647 (equivalent to 2^31 -1). For files opened in RANDOM mode, position is the number of a record in the file. For files opened in BINARY, INPUT, OUTPUT, or APPEND modes, position is the number of a byte from the beginning of the file. The first byte in a file is 1. After a SEEK, the next file I/O operation starts at that byte in the file. Note: Record numbers on a GET or PUT override the file positioning done by SEEK. A SEEK to a negative or zero position produces an error message that reads "Bad record number." Performing a file write after doing a SEEK beyond the end of a file extends the file. When used on a device that does not support SEEK, BASIC ignores SEEK and leaves the file position unchanged. The BASIC devices (SCRN:, CONS:, KYBD:, COMn:, and LPTn:) do not support SEEK.