If the message system can use binary message formats, the messages are not encoded.

If the message system, for example SMTP, requires text-based message formats, then an encoding DLL (dbencod12.dll) translates the messages into a text format before sending. The message format is unencoded at the receiving end using the same DLL.

You can customize the encoding scheme to provide extra features.

If the compression database option is set to -1, then a version 5 compatible encoding is used for all message systems.