Changing values in one or more records of a file, especially a data file, without changing the organization or semantics of the file. File updating may be done in one of two ways. The first, common in data processing, is when the updating process is carried out separately from the entry of amendments and ‘invisibly’ from any human operator. The second is when records are displayed on an interactive device, and an operator can then amend a record while able to see it: this method is sometimes also called file editing.