Query/38 output to an existing non-iSeries™ or a non-System/38™ target file is possible, but only under specific circumstances.
Query/38 allows output to any local or remote file only if the file is sequential and if its field attributes match those attributes required by the Query/38 application. If both conditions are not met, Query/38 rejects the specified output file before the Query/38 application runs.
Because the source server description of a non-iSeries or a non-System/38 target file is very general, its field attributes probably do not match the attributes required by the Query/38 application. Therefore, in most cases, Query/38 rejects that file if it is specified for output. It works, however, if the Query/38 output consists of one alphanumeric field only, and if the record length of the target file is large enough to hold this field.