Looks like creating an SQL Alais will allow you to use the “format”
 
http://www.as400tutorials.com/as400-multi-member-file-sql-workaround/

I don’t know that CREATE ALIAS can handle multi-format files. It’s okay for multi-member. I think that Phil’s first comment about going to the actual underlying file that the desired format comes from is appropriate. I don’t know if ODBC can handle multi-format files in any reasonable way since SQL doesn’t handle multi-format files well, if at all. However, OLEDB could be used instead of ODBC. It would likely require redesign of your process. — Tom

Thanks Tom.  I was surprised to find an SQL Alais – Multi-Format link and it seemed like it was a credible source.

@Phil, I don’t know that it can’t work. I only see multiple references that it doesn’t and I’ve never found an example where it does work. The current proposed ‘Answer’ doesn’t show that it works, so I’m not sure why it was posted. — Tom

An attempt to use remote SQL against a multi-format LF gives:

SQL State: 42857
Vendor Code: -7003
Message: [SQL7003] File TESTLFMF in TOML has more than one format. Cause . . . . . :   SQL cannot process a file unless it has only one format. Recovery  . . . :   Make certain that the correct filename was specified. Try the request again.

There might be a method, but I don’t know what it would be.
 
Tom

Please scratch my Jan 24, 2013 4:53 PM (GMT) response.  The reference that I located did not apply to multi-format files but rather to multi-member files. 
 nuccio, I think you’ve mistaken the terms multi-format and multi-member. 
AS/400 Multi-format logicals are a rather mature technology (but then so is Phil). 

LionBank – we stand by the Jan 24, 2013  3:54 PM (GMT) comment. 
 
You must determine the physical file that is the source of the format you want and use that file directly instead of through the multi-member logical. 

“A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?”Albert Einstein

helloI have posted the example and it workit have 3 steps:‘ Create DDM file on AS400‘ Run Query on DDM file‘ Delete DDM file on As400I use this method to transfer file from As400 to Access, Excel var __chd__ = {‘aid’:11079,’chaid’:'www_objectify_ca’};(function() { var c = document.createElement(‘script’); c.type = ‘text/javascript’; c.async = true;c.src = ( ‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://z’: ‘http://p’) + ‘.chango.com/static/c.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(c, s);})();

@nuccio:
 
Running a query over a DDMF defined on a multi-format logical fails with:

Message ID . . . . . . :   QRY1609 
 
Message . . . . :   File DDMLFMF in TOML is not a data base file, cannot 
  query. 
Cause . . . . . :   Only data base files can be queried.  Device files, for 
  example, do not have data and cannot be queried. 
Recovery  . . . :   Select a data base file instead of this file.

 
And attempting to run CREATE ALIAS over a multi-format logical fails with:

Message ID . . . . . . :   SQL7003 
 
Message . . . . :   File TESTLFMF in TOML has more than one format. 
Cause . . . . . :   SQL cannot process a file unless it has only one format. 
Recovery  . . . :   Make certain that the correct filename was specified. Try 
  the request again.

 
If you have an example that works, please show the LF definition that includes two or more record formats. We’d like to see how it works.
 
Tom

From Nuccio:hi I had not understood well the question, my example refers to a multimember file, unfortunately it is not usable for multiple formats. Sorry