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Encoding issues in ClearTeam Explorer Extension or ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse IDE for Compare/Merge view

Troubleshooting


Problem

If you have installed ClearTeam Explorer Extension or ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse IDE with Java Runtime Environment (Java 18 or later), you will see a warning message when comparing an ASCII text file that contains extended ASCII characters in the Compare/Merge view:

The encoding of this contributor is incorrect. Select the correct encoding and use the refresh button to restart the comparison.

Additionally, both sides of the comparison panel display UTF-8 as the detected encoding, and one of the side panels might show incorrect characters.

Cause

The issue occurs with ClearTeam Explorer Extension or ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse IDE in the latest versions of Eclipse, which uses Java runtimes (Java 18 and later), as the ClearCase Compare/Merge view defaults to UTF-8 encoding. While you can manually change the encoding in the Compare/Merge window, this change is temporary and must be reapplied each time.

Starting with Java 18, Java Platform Enhancement Proposal (JEP) 400 sets UTF-8 as the default charset for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which is independent of the operating system locale, which means the Compare/Merge view will also default to UTF-8 in Eclipse on Java 18 or later. Prior to Java 18, the JVM default charset on Windows was typically platform-dependent. This behavior change is due to the Java runtime rather than modifications in Eclipse or ClearCase.

Resolving The Problem

To work around this issue, you can choose one of the following options:

  1. Option 1: Run ClearTeam Explorer Extension or ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse IDE with Java 17 or an earlier version to maintain the previous platform-based default encoding behavior.

    Note: Java 17 is still the minimum required version for the current supported Eclipse releases.

  2. Option 2 (if Java 18 or later is required): Explicitly set the JVM file encoding for ClearTeam Explorer Extension or ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse IDE. Add the following entries to your Eclipse or CTE launcher configuration (such as eclipse.ini or ctexplorer.ini):

    -vmargs

    -Dfile.encoding=windows-1252

Ensure to replace windows-1252 with the appropriate encoding that matches your locale, ensuring that the Compare/Merge view consistently uses the intended encoding and avoids repeated warnings.

Document Location

Worldwide

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Document Information

Modified date:
10 March 2026

UID

ibm17256422

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