Encodes a binary file into a printable format for transmission as an e-mail message. Encoded files can be decoded with the DECODE utility. Both the standard MIME encodings as well as a few additional encodings (e.g., UUENCODE) are supported.

restrictions

None.

Syntax

PMDF ENCODE input-file-spec encoded-file-spec

Qualifiers	Defaults
/ENCODING=type	/ENCODING=BASE64
/FILENAME	/NOFILENAME
/HEADER	/NOHEADER

prompts

Input file:	input-file-spec
Output file:	encoded-file-spec

Parameters

input-file-spec

Specifies the name of an input file. The input file can be any OpenVMS file including binary files, keyed indexed files, or files with extended semantics such as DDIF files. Only a single input file can be specified; wildcards are not allowed.

encoded-file-spec

The name of the file to produce as output. The file output by ENCODE will contain all of the information necessary to reconstruct the original input file. The format of the output file is described in the Description section below.

Description

PMDF DECODE and ENCODE have been, for the most part, made obsolete by PMDF MAIL. If you use PMDF MAIL, then files which you send with the SEND command will be encoded automatically, if necessary. Encoded messages which you receive will be decoded automatically, if necessary, and can simply be extracted to a file with the EXTRACT command. If, however, you do not use PMDF MAIL, then read on.

The ENCODE and DECODE utilities are provided with PMDF as a means of transmitting OpenVMS binary files via MAIL. With ENCODE, a file can be encoded in a format which uses short records containing only printable characters. Such files can then be transmitted through most any mail system without being altered (e.g., lines wrapped, characters removed or replaced, etc.). ENCODE preserves all file contents and all file attributes when encoding a file. The contents and attributes are properly restored when decoded with DECODE. Absolutely any type of OpenVMS file can be transmitted with these two utilities --- even indexed files with multiple keys and files with extended semantics such as DDIF files.

Encoded files have two parts. The first part is a conventional RFC 822 message header. Header lines are used to describe the file format; this information includes a conventional OpenVMS FDL (file description language) description of the file and a description of the encoding used to convert the file into a printable form for transfer. ENCODE creates this header; DECODE reads it and uses the information it contains to reconstruct the file.

Note Many encoded messages received with PMDF are automatically decoded for you, thus obviating the need to use PMDF DECODE at all. This is especially true when you use PMDF MAIL whose EXTRACT command will extract any MIME encoded message or message body part. If you use VMS MAIL, however, you can occasionally receive an encoded message which PMDF could not deliver in its decoded form to VMS MAIL owing to limitations of VMS MAIL itself.

Qualifiers

/ENCODING=type

This qualifier controls the type of encoding used to encode the input file. The possible values for this qualifier are BASE64, CBASE64 (gzip compressed BASE64), BASE85, BINHEX (encoding only, not the file format), BTOA, HEXADECIMAL, PATHWORKS, QUOTED_PRINTABLE, UUENCODE, CUUENCODE (gzip compressed UUENCODE). BASE64 encoding is the default; this is also the default decoding type used by DECODE.

/FILENAME

/NOFILENAME (default)

When used in conjunction with the /HEADER qualifier, this qualifier specifies that the filename should be included in the MIME headers generated. Only the name and extension portion of the file specification will be used; any node, device, directory, and version number information will be discarded. This qualifier does not specify the input file to use; only the name to use for the name parameter of the Content-type: header line and the filename parameter of the Content-disposition: header line. By default, no filename parameter is specified in the Content-type: or Content-disposition: header lines. Or if used with /ENCODING=UUENCODE, the /FILENAME qualifier causes the filename to be included on the begin 600 line.

/HEADER

/NOHEADER (default)

This qualifier controls whether or not a MIME-compliant header is placed at the beginning of the output. /HEADER is the default. /NOHEADER is used to produce output suitable for use in non-MIME messaging applications. Note that all structural information about the file is lost when /NOHEADER is used.