How do I translate an EBCDIC file with packed-decimal fields into ASCII?
You must purchase the Level 2, 3 or 4 EBCDIC conversion package described on this page. You also need a file layout description, preferably a COBOL “copy-book”, which describes the location of the different fields in the file. There is no automatic way of figuring this out. (However, we can usually determine the packed fields from a sample file which does not contain multiple types of records.) These field values are entered into the .LAY data layout file which controls the conversion process. NOTE: Be sure that the EBCDIC file was copied to your PC in “binary” mode. If any hardware/software was used to translate from EBCDIC to ASCII, the packed fields will be corrupted and the original data unrecoverable.
