Character view and Hexadecimal view
The z Systems® Data Editor can display file content in an alphanumeric format or a hexadecimal format.
Character view
The number of records that are shown in the editor is determined by the preference limit, as shown in Figure 1.
Instead of displaying all records from a data set, the Single Mode view displays one record at a time. The single mode view is useful for viewing and editing all of the information that is associated with a single record. In Figure 2, record one is shown in the Single Mode section of the editor workspace.
The single format can be hidden from the editor panel or brought back into view by clicking the Collapse/Expand button at the top of the editor.
Both the character and single mode views are synchronized so that they can be used together to quickly edit records. If a record is modified in one view, the changes are displayed in the other view instantaneously.
Hexadecimal view
The Hexadecimal (hex) view displays each field in a data set to show the vertical hexadecimal representation of each field in the two rows immediately following the original record. Vertical hex representation uses two lines to display the hexadecimal byte. The first line contains the first character in the byte and the second character is displayed in the second line.
For example, in Figure 3, shows the hex view for the word "Hello". The first line that contains hex characters contains the "C" and the second line contains "8" which is the hex value "C8" for the letter "H".
Use the Hex toggle button in the toolbar to display a hexadecimal view of the records.
When you edit hex data, no data is validated except for incorrect hex digits that are entered into the hex field. Incorrect data for the data type can be forced into a field if the digits entered into the hex field are the numbers 0-9 or letters A-F. Entering incorrect data causes a series of red asterisks to be displayed in the standard display area, denoting it as containing incorrect content for its data type. The only other time fields can be found to be in error is when the editor initially loads the data set.
