Problem

When we try to push a file to a Mainframe/AS400 or other IBM OS (AIX for example), the transfer can fail with the the following error message appearing in the File Tracking:

Error during transfer operation: 550-Specified directory does not exist or cannot be accessed. 550 Working directory not changed

Resolution

This error message is coming from the remote Mainframe server. Most likely the SITE command is not being properly interpreted. In addition to this, when the transfer is initiated by an ASCII system, the Mainframe must be explicitly "told" that the file comes from an ASCII system, so that it coverts it to its own EBCDIC encoding.

1. Open the FTP Transfer Site in ST

2. Make sure that the Transfer Mode is set to ASCII

3. Add the below string in the SITE command section:

NAMEFMT 1

4. Save the Transfer Site and push a new file to the remote server to test the new settings

The behavior is specific to the remote system and the above steps are applicable for all ST versions.