Data is read into the C array automatically, one record at a time. The way data is read depends upon the record structure. If a record contains carriage return characters (CTRL+M), those characters are always ignored.

Ordinary records are read into cell 1 onwards of the array. Therefore, for example, the 50th column is referenced as c50 and the 200th cell as c200.

Records are read into c101 to c200 for card 1, c201 to c300 for card 2, and so on. For example, 80‑column cards are read into c101 to c180 for card 1 and c201 to c280 for card 2. Columns 181–200, 281–300, and so on remain blank. In this case, the C array may be pictured as ten rows of 100 cells each. Column 50 of card 1 is then accessed by referring to it as c150, and column 67 of card 8 is referred to as c867. For information on longer records, see Multicard records of more than 100 columns per card.

If you have records with more than nine cards, you need to extend the size of the C array by using max=. This also tells Quantum which cells to clear between records. For more information about max=, see Highest card type number.

You can also read cards into the array sequentially regardless of card type: the first card goes in c(101,200), the second in c(201,300), the third in c(301,400), and so on. For more information, see Record type.