Editing a remote file

You must connect to a remote system and locate the file you want to edit.1
You can set several preferences that control what happens when you open a file:
  • You can choose the default editor action for MVS files by setting the Default action for opening MVS files preference on the MVS Files preference page. This preference setting determines whether a file is opened for editing, viewing, or browsing when you double-click the file name. If you drag a file from the Remote Systems view to the editor, however, the file is opened in edit mode in the default editor that is associated with the file extension. Setting the Default action for opening MVS Files preference does not change this behavior.
  • Opening large files (greater than 2500 KB) can cause out-of-memory errors and a forced shutdown of the workbench. Use the Show warning message on opening files setting on the z/OS Solutions preference page to enable IBM® Explorer for z/OS® to check the size of files and display a warning when they are larger than the specified threshold.
    Tip: You can check the size of a file before you open it by opening the Properties view. This view shows the file size for remote resources in bytes or in kilobytes.
For more information about these preferences, see the related topics.
  1. To edit a remote file, select a file in the Remote Systems view.
  2. Open a file with one of the following ways:
    • To edit the file with the default editor, double-click the file or right-click and select Open from the menu.
    • Open the file with a different editor, right-click it and select Open with from the menu.
The file opens in the editor. The file is locked on the remote system while you are editing it.
1 For IDz users, see this topic on search for Editing a remote file in IDz KC.
2 For IDz users, the MVS Files subsystem Properties view also displays the following information:
Property Group Name
The name of the property group that is associated with the subsystem.
Property Group Overrides
Whether any values in the property group were overridden: Yes or No.