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File Formats Page

Each ChangeMan ZMF component has a local file format associated with it. The file format specifies what type of conversion is performed when data is transferred between the server and your computer. The native character code for z/OS servers is EBCDIC; for personal computers it is ASCII.

The file formats are:

  • ASCII Text

  • EBCDIC Text

  • Unicode Text

  • UTF-8 Text

  • Binary

ASCII Format

Data is converted from EBCDIC to ASCII when it is transferred from the server to your PC; the data is converted back to EBCDIC when it is transferred back to the server. This is usually the desired behavior so that the data is usable on both the server and your PC.

EBCDIC Format

Character conversions are not performed: the data remains in EBCDIC format on both the server and your PC. The data on your PC is only usable by special programs designed to process EBCDIC data. SPF/PC is a text editor that can be used to edit EBCDIC data on your PC.

'Text' Formats

When Text formats are transferred from the server to your PC, trailing spaces are trimmed and a carriage return/line feed (CR LF) sequence is appended to the end of each line. The CR and LF characters are stripped off when the data is transferred back to the server. This is usually the desired behavior for files that contain text, since CR LF is the standard way of delimiting lines of text on a PC.

Binary Format

The "Binary" format is for record format "V" or "U" data sets that contain binary data. When the file is downloaded to Windows, no character translation is performed and no line terminator characters are inserted. No changes at all are made to the binary data.

When data is uploaded, records are filled to the maximum length, except the last record, which may be a short record.

This format is appropriate for record format "V" or "U" data sets or Unix files only, and not for record format "F", data sets. The reason for this restriction is that, when uploading into a record format "F" data set, there can be no short record at the end, and the last record must be padded with spaces to fill the fixed length record. Thus, when downloading the file again, you would find blanks appended to the end of the binary data.

'Binary CRLF' File Format

The "Binary CRLF" format is for record format "V" data sets that contain binary data. When the file is downloaded to Windows, line terminator characters (CR LF) are appended to the end of each record. No changes are made to the actual binary data.

This format is appropriate for record format "V" data sets only, and not for record format

"F", data sets. The reason for this restriction is that, when uploading into a record format "F" data set, the records must be padded with spaces to fill the fixed length records. Thus, when downloading the file again, you would find blanks inserted into the binary data.

The "Binary CRLF" format is available for SerNet 7.1.1+ servers only.

File Format Usage

The table below summarizes how data is represented on the client and server for each of the file formats:

File Format Client Server
Char Code Line Term Char Code Line Term
ASCII Text ASCII CR LF EBCDIC None
EBCDIC Text EBCDIC CR LF EBCDIC None
Unicode Text Unicode CR LF EBCDIC None
UTF-8 Text UTF-8 CR LF EBCDIC None
Binary Binary None Binary None
Binary CRLF Binary CR LF Binary None

File formats are mapped to ChangeMan ZMF component library types. You can use wild characters in the library type name. For example, you could specify that all ZMF components of library type BIN contain binary data. The default file format is ASCII Text.

The ChangeMan File Formats page:

The default file format (for pattern *) is ASCII Text. To associate file formats with specific file names or patterns, fill in the fields as follows:

Field Description
Library type Type a library type or pattern. For example: Z* would apply to all library types that begin with "Z". The following library types would be affected:

- ZAA
- ZYX

See Wild Patterns for more information about pattern names.
File format Select a format from the drop-down menu.
Import Click to retrieve file format associations from a file.
Export Click to save file format associations to a file.

Click to add a file format association.

To delete a file format association, click .

Note

The * pattern cannot be deleted, but the associated file format can be changed.

To change a file format association, use one of the following methods:

  • Delete it and add the new one

  • Repeat the add process and the old entry will be overlaid

File formats are applied to library type name patterns in a hierarchical manner, from top to bottom. To change the order, use the buttons to reposition the entries.

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