Specifying line termination characters for text files

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The default line termination character for text files (files with the MIME content-type of "text") that are imported into a synchronized stream depends on the platform on which you are importing.

About this task

The default terminator is line-feed (LF) on Linux® platforms, and carriage-return line-feed (CRLF) on Windows platforms. This value is set during synchronization stream creation, and can be changed after the stream is created, if necessary.

The line delimiter for text files (files with the MIME content type of "text") that are imported into a synchronized stream is specified by the LINE_DELIMITER_WORKSPACE property of the Rational® ClearCase® provider for the synchronized stream.

The four possible values of the LINE_DELIMITER_WORKSPACE property are PLATFORM (the default), LF, CRLF, and UNSPECIFIED. These all map to the corresponding IBM® Engineering Workflow Management (EWM) line delimiter, except for UNSPECIFIED, which maps to the EWM line delimiter value NONE.

The line delimiter property value determines the line endings for a text file that is loaded into a EWM sandbox. Here are the specific cases:
  • When the value is PLATFORM, the line endings are appropriate for the file system holding the sandbox (for example, LF for a Unix file system; CRLF for a Windows file system).
  • When the value is LF, the line delimiter is an LF character.
  • When the value is CRLF, the line delimiter is a CR character, followed by an LF character.
  • When the value is UNSPECIFIED, the line delimiter is the same as the original line delimiter is in the Rational ClearCase version.

For the Rational ClearCase version content to import correctly, the LINE_DELIMITER property of the Rational ClearCase provider for the synchronized stream must match the actual line endings of text files that are stored in the Rational ClearCase VOB. The user is prompted for this value by the Synchronization-Stream Creation wizard (the default is LF). When you specify the LINE_DELIMITER_WORKSPACE property to UNSPECIFIED, you must also specify the LINE_DELIMITER property to UNSPECIFIED.

Procedure

To change the value of the LINE_DELIMITER_WORKSPACE or LINE_DELIMITER property after the stream is created:

  1. Open the ClearCase-Synchronized Streams view.
  2. Right-click a synchronized stream in the table and click Properties.
  3. In the Properties editor, select ClearCase Provider Properties.
  4. In the Properties for this provider area, click the LINE_DELIMITER_WORKSPACE or LINE_DELIMITER property, as appropriate, and change its value.

What to do next

For information about how EWM determines line delimiters, see Specifying file properties and line delimiter types.