You normally configure your run-time system using a project's properties in the IDE. However, some run-time behavior cannot be configured using the IDE; this must be configured using run-time tunables, which are stored in a run-time configuration file.
These run-time IDE settings can be saved in a file called <configuration name>.gcf which may be created automatically when a project is built.
When your run-time system or linked executable starts up, it attempts to read the run-time configuration file. The run-time configuration file specifies values for the run-time tunables.
If a setting specified in the IDE conflicts with a setting in the configuration file, the setting specified in the IDE takes precedence.
The run-time configuration file is shared by all users of the run-time system.
For native COBOL, you create or edit the run-time configuration file with a text editor, and then specify the location and name of the run-time configuration file using the COBCONFIG_ environment variable.
For example, if you want to use a configuration file called myconf.cfg , you set COBCONFIG_ as follows.
set COBCONFIG_=e:\mydir\myconf.cfg