CA CSM Implementation and Status › ASCII Configuration Files › Edit an ASCII File

Edit an ASCII File

Some text files are stored on USS in ASCII. If you attempt to open the file as EBCDIC, it may appear to be binary.

The ASCII requirement is due to Java, which only runs in ASCII. USS (OMVS) can run code that is ASCII and EBCDIC.

Note: OEDIT and ISHELL are for EBCDIC and cannot be used to edit ASCII files.

You can edit a file in ASCII mode using one of the following methods:

• Use a third-party utility that allows direct editing of ASCII files from USS.
• Edit the ASCII file locally with a text editor:
  1. Download the file to your computer using FTP in binary mode, so that the encoding is not changed during the transfer.
  2. Edit the file on your computer with a text editor.
  3. Upload the file back in binary using FTP.
• Edit the ASCII file with the ISPF UI Tool within USS:

  1. Select UTILITIES from the ISPF primary option menu.

  The Utility Selection Panel opens.

  2. Select Udlist.

  The z/OS UNIX Directory List Utility opens.

  3. Type the pathname, then use normal USS commands to step down the path to the required directory.

  4. Make yourself a superuser and enter the EA command on the appropriate file.

The file is in a readable form, and you can update it.