# Setting a byte offset in a flat structure

Use a SetElementProperty and a GetElementProperty function to edit a byte offset in an element.

## Before you begin

You have created a flat structure.

## About this task

In this example, you have a flat file with a root element and three child elements named a, b and c, with the following sample data:

```
A1111B2222C00003333
```

Each child element has an initiator, A, B and C respectively. The goal is to configure the c element to ignore the 0000 part of the value. ![Initiator tab.](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/Resources/images/edit_byte_offset_01_structure.png.png)

## Procedure

1. Open the Util tab for the c element.
2. Place a SetElementProperty function in the Util tab.
3. Place an Add function on the Value argument.
4. Place a GetElementProperty function on the First Value argument.
5. Double-click the GetElementProperty function and select Byte offset in the Property drop-down list, then click OK.
6. Place the c element on the Element argument of the GetElementProperty function.
7. Place a Constant function on the Second Value argument.
8. Double-click the Constant function and enter 4 in the Value field, then click OK.

## Results

The expression created indicates that the byte offset for the c elements should be calculated by adding the four bytes to ignore to the current offset of the c element, which is called by the GetElementProperty element. ![Expression result.](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/Resources/images/edit_byte_offset_02_expression.png)

If you want to check that the new offset is correct, you can create a map with this structure as both input and output. ![Map example.](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/data-mapper-functions-reference-guide/Resources/images/edit_byte_offset_03_map.png)

When using the Test Run feature, you should get the following result:

```
A1111B2222C3333
```