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Unix Global Properties

Global properties pertaining to all Unix folders are configured as properties of the "Unix" root folder, directly beneath the server in the File Explorer tree. The Properties dialog box the "Unix" folder contains the following tabs for configuring properties.

File Formats Page

Each Unix file has a 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 used to store a binary (non-character) file: no conversion takes place when transferring between your PC and the server.

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

File formats are mapped to Unix file names using file name patterns. For example, you could specify that all file names which match the pattern *.BINARY contain binary data. A format may also be mapped to a specific file name. The default file format is ASCII Text.

Note

File formats can also be configured using the ChangeMan ZDD Wizard application, which allows you to configure multiple servers in a single step.

The File Formats page of the Unix folder properties.

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
File name pattern Type a file name or pattern. For example: *.TXT would apply to all files that end with TXT. The following files would be affected:

TSOID.TXT and TSOID.TEST.TXT

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 .

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 file 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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