Change Message File (CHGMSGF)

Where allowed to run: All environments (*ALL)
Threadsafe: No

The Change Message File (CHGMSGF) command changes the attributes of a specified message file or a list of message files.

Restrictions

Only libraries to which you have use (*USE) authority for are searched.
You must have *USE and delete (*DLT) authorities for the message file.

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Parameters

Keyword	Description	Choices	Notes
MSGF	Message file	Qualified object name	Required, Key, Positional 1
	Qualifier 1: Message file	Generic name, name, *ALL
	Qualifier 2: Library	Name, LIBL, CURLIB, USRLIBL, ALLUSR, *ALL
TEXT	Text 'description'	Character value, SAME, BLANK	Optional
CCSID	Coded character set ID	1-65535, SAME, HEX, MSGD, JOB	Optional, Positional 2

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Message file (MSGF)

Specifies the message file or files whose attributes are being changed.

This is a required parameter.

Qualifier 1: Message file

*ALL: All message files in the libraries identified in the library qualifier are changed.
generic*-message-file-name: Specify the generic name of the message file whose attributes are to be changed. A generic name is a character string of one or more characters followed by an asterisk (*); for example, ABC*. The asterisk is a substitute for any valid character. A generic name specifies all objects with names that begin with the generic prefix for which the user has authority. If an asterisk is not included with the generic (prefix) name, the system assumes it to be the complete object name. If the complete object name is specified and the library qualifier is *USRLIBL, *ALL, or *ALLUSR, all message files of the specified name are changed.
name: Specify the name of the message file whose attributes are to be changed.

Qualifier 2: Library

*LIBL: All libraries in the library list for the current thread are searched until the first match is found.

*CURLIB: The current library for the job is searched. If no library is specified as the current library for the job, the QGPL library is used.
*USRLIBL: Only the libraries in the user portion of the thread's library list are searched.

*ALL: All libraries in the system, including QSYS, are searched.

*ALLUSR

All user libraries are searched. All libraries with names that do not begin with the letter Q are searched except for the following:

#CGULIB     #DSULIB     #SEULIB
#COBLIB     #RPGLIB
#DFULIB     #SDALIB

Although the following Qxxx libraries are provided by IBM, they typically contain user data that changes frequently. Therefore, these libraries are considered user libraries and are also searched:

QDSNX       QRCLxxxxx   QUSRDIRDB   QUSRVI
QGPL        QSRVAGT     QUSRIJS     QUSRVxRxMx
QGPL38      QSYS2       QUSRINFSKR
QMGTC       QSYS2xxxxx  QUSRNOTES
QMGTC2      QS36F       QUSROND
QMPGDATA    QUSER38     QUSRPOSGS
QMQMDATA    QUSRADSM    QUSRPOSSA
QMQMPROC    QUSRBRM     QUSRPYMSVR
QPFRDATA    QUSRDIRCF   QUSRRDARS
QRCL        QUSRDIRCL   QUSRSYS

'xxxxx' is the number of a primary auxiliary storage pool (ASP).
A different library name, in the format QUSRVxRxMx, can be created by the user for each previous release supported by IBM to contain any user commands to be compiled in a CL program for the previous release. For the QUSRVxRxMx user library, VxRxMx is the version, release, and modification level of a previous release that IBM continues to support.

name: Specify the name of the library to be searched.

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Text 'description' (TEXT)

Specifies text that describes the message file. The text specified replaces any previous text.

*SAME: The text, if any, is not changed.
*BLANK: No text is specified.
'description': Specify no more than 50 characters of text, enclosed in apostrophes.

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Coded character set ID (CCSID)

Specifies the coded character set identifier (CCSID) that is to be associated with the message file. This will not result in any text conversions on the message descriptions that already exist in the message file. Any message descriptions subsequently added to this message file will be converted from the CCSID specified on the Add Message Description (ADDMSGD) command to the CCSID of the message file. The CCSID associated with the message file overrides the CCSID associated with the message description. To use the CCSID associated with the message description, change the CCSID associated with the message file to *MSGD.

*SAME

The CCSID associated with the message file is not changed.

*HEX

The CCSID associated with the message file is changed to 65535. 65535 means that no conversions are to occur when adding or changing message descriptions to the message file and no conversions are to occur when retrieving message descriptions from the file. The CCSID specified on the ADDMSGD or CHGMSGD commands is saved in case this message file is ever changed to *MSGD.

*MSGD

The CCSID associated with the message file is changed to 65534. 65534 means to use the CCSID associated with the message description when retrieving message text from the file. When adding or changing message descriptions to the message file, no conversions are to occur and the message description is tagged with the CCSID specified on the ADDMSGD or CHGMSGD commands.

*JOB

The CCSID associated with the message file is changed to the CCSID of the job that is calling this command.

coded-character-set-identifier

Specify the coded character set identifier (CCSID) that is to be associated with the message file. The valid values range from 1 through 65535. Only CCSIDs that a job can be changed to are accepted. See the Globalization information in the iSeries Information Center at http://www.ibm.com/eserver/iseries/infocenter for a list of valid CCSID values.

Note: Changing the CCSID associated with the message file does not change the CCSID associated with the message descriptions. If the message file CCSID is ever changed back to *MSGD the original CCSIDs associated with the message descriptions are remembered.

Changing the CCSID associated with a message file that contains message descriptions may cause unpredictable results. This can occur when the character encoding of those message descriptions do not match the CCSID specified. Only change the CCSID of a message file that contains message descriptions to correct a message file CCSID. The change is made when a message file CCSID does not match the encoding of its message descriptions.

For more information on the message handler and its use of CCSIDs, see the i5/OS globalization topic collection in the IBM i Information Center at http://www.ibm.com/systems/i/infocenter/.

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Examples

CHGMSGF   MSGF(*ALL/*ALL)  CCSID(65534)

This command changes the CCSID to 65534 for all of the message files on the system.

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Error messages

*ESCAPE Messages

CPF2401: Not authorized to library &1.
CPF2407: Message file &1 in &2 not found.
CPF2411: Not authorized to message file &1 in &2.
CPF247E: CCSID &1 is not valid.
CPF2483: Message file currently in use.
CPF9830: Cannot assign library &1.

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