File encoding, code page conversion, and inheritance

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When you copy a file between a remote system and the workstation, the file is converted to a code page appropriate to its destination. File code pages are inherited from the system or folder that contains them.

File system default encoding

You can determine the default file encoding on a local or remote file system by setting a property in the Remote Systems view. Two options are available:
Default from remote system
The default file encoding is inherited from the local or remote system.
Other
You can select the default file encoding from a list of available choices. Developer for z/OS® uses the International Components for Unicode (ICU) for file encoding. You can learn more about ICU at International Components for Unicode.
To choose a default file encoding for a local or remote system:
  1. If you are connected to the remote system, disconnect. You can change the default file encoding for a remote system only when you are disconnected.
  2. In the Remote Systems view, select a local or remote system.
  3. Right-click and select Properties. The Properties window opens.
  4. In the categories list, click Host.
  5. Choose one of the file encoding options, and then click OK.

Code page conversion

Developer for z/OS uses remote-to-local file mapping to determine how file encodings are converted between local and remote code pages during file transfers. For more information about remote-to-local file mapping, see Remote-to-local file mapping.

Code page inheritance

When you transfer a file between a local and remote file system, the file inherits the code page setting from the destination container. This inheritance sometimes results in a file encoding that is different from or incompatible with the original file encoding. To ensure correct file encoding during a file transfer, make sure that the code page for the destination container is set correctly.
To set the code page for a file or container:
  1. Select the file or container. To set the code page for the MVS Files subsystem of a z/OS connection, for example, select MVS Files.
  2. Right-click and select Properties.
  3. From the category list, select Code Pages.
  4. Select host and local code pages from the list.