Configuring bidirectional data support

Use the ctg.bidi.target.layout Java™ system property to enable right-to-left bidirectional (bidi) data support.

When right-to-left bidirectional (bidi) data support is enabled, bidi data in CHAR containers is converted from logical order to visual right-to-left order before the data is sent to CICS®. The data is converted back from visual right-to-left order to logical order when the data is returned from CICS to CICS Transaction Gateway. For more information about bidi data support, see Bidirectional data support.

To enable right-to-left bidi data support use one of the following methods:

For Java Client applications running in local mode, set the system property ctg.bidi.target.layout to RTL, as shown in the following example:
```
java -Dctg.bidi.target.layout=RTL application
```
For Client applications running in remote mode and connecting to CICS Transaction Gateway on UNIX or Linux®, start CICS TG with the Java system property ctg.bidi.target.layout set to RTL. For example:
```
ctgstart -j-Dctg.bidi.target.layout=RTL
```
For Client applications running in remote mode and connecting to CICS Transaction Gateway on Windows, use the ctgservice command to specify the Java system property as follows:
```
ctgservice -R -A-j-Dctg.bidi.target.layout=RTL
```

If you start your local mode Java Client application or CICS Transaction Gateway without the system property options described above, by default, bidi data support is off. However, you can explicitly turn off bidi support by specifying -

Dctg.bidi.target.layout=OFF

You cannot enable bidi data support through the Configuration Tool.