Message-level support

When a message is sent to a message queue, you must communicate the CCSID of the replacement data or the immediate message text to the IBM® i operating system. Use the CCSID parameter on any of the send message commands or APIs to communicate this CCSID to the system.

The default CCSID setting in the send message commands and APIs indicate that the replacement data or immediate message text is in the CCSID of the job that is running the command or API. You can override the job default CCSID value by specifying a different CCSID value.

If the replacement data or immediate message text supplied is not in the CCSID specified, incorrect conversion results may occur. See Can I correct the CCSID of a message? if this occurs.

Determining the CCSID of a message file

To determine the CCSID of a message file, follow these steps:

Type
```
WRKMSGD MSGF(MYLIB/MYMSGF)
```
where MYLIB is the library in which the message file is stored and MYMSGF is the name of the message file.
Press F22 (Display list details).

Note: You can also use the Retrieve Message File Attributes (QMHRMFAT) application programming interface (API) to determine the CCSID of a message file.

For job message queues, system reply lists, and the history log, the object-level CCSID is always 65534. You cannot change nor display object-level CCSIDs for job message queues, system reply lists, and the history log.