EBCDIC, read with its copybook
A mainframe unload is a file of fixed-length records in an EBCDIC code page, laid out by a COBOL copybook.
Intact CSV Editor recognises such files on its own, reads them in any of 52 EBCDIC code pages — 037, 273,
500, 1140 and the rest — and cuts each record into fields at the offsets the copybook gives, including binary
(COMP), packed decimal (COMP-3) and zoned decimal numbers.
It writes them back too: Mainframe data in the export sheet writes fixed-length records in the code page you choose, laid out to match a COBOL copybook it can also write for you.
Fixed-width text, with layouts you keep
Not every fixed-width file is EBCDIC: bank statements, payroll extracts and old exports put fields at fixed columns in plain text. Define the columns once, save the layout under a name with a note on where it is documented, and share it with the next person who has the same file. Layouts are built in for:
- Swiss ESR V11 credit records — the payment files Swiss banks sent for orange payment slips.
- NACHA ACH files — file, batch and entry records of US bank transfers.
Then treat it like any other table
Filter, sort, validate with column rules, compare with yesterday's unload, query with SQL, and export to CSV, Excel or Parquet for people who have never seen a copybook.
