Micro Focus Technology
Quick Reference
http://www.simotime.com

When technology complements business

Table of Contents

Version 10.03.20

	Creating a Directory Structure
	A Sample MFE Project for Production Image
	A Sample MFE Project for Unit Testing and Development

Data Management

	File Formats for Micro Focus
	Accessing an ASCII/Text File as Fixed-Blocked, EBCDIC
	Data File Editor, Mapping Records to Copy File

User Tools on the Tool Bar

Field Developed or Additional Solutions

Submit a Job to MFE from a Command Line

Mainframe Access

	Mainframe Access, Drag-&-Drop Command Line
	Mainframe Access, Synchronization Monitor

Summary

	Software Agreement and Disclaimer
	Downloads and Links to Similar Pages
	Comments or Suggestions
	About SimoTime

Introduction
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This document is provided as a quick reference for individuals that intend to develop, migrate (between a Mainframe System and a Windows or UNIX system) or maintain applications using Micro Focus COBOL.

Mainframe Express from Micro Focus provides a desktop environment on a windows platform for doing mainframe programming using COBOL, mainframe Assembler, JCL, CICS emulation, IMS emulation and other mainframe functions. Installing Mainframe Express (i.e. MFE) is a simple process. The software ships with two CD's, one for the PC installation and one for the mainframe software for the Mainframe Manager, Mainframe Access Server components.

Tips, Techniques and Examples
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Creating a Directory Structure
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Creating a directory structure on the PC (i.e Windows environment) that complements the programming maintenance and development of software that is targeted for the mainframe environment is the first requirement prior to implementing a Programmer's Desktop that includes Micro Focus Mainframe Express (i.e. MFE).

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A Sample MFE Project for Production Image
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A Sample MFE Project for Unit Testing and Development
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Mainframe Access, Drag-&-Drop Command Line
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Mainframe Access, Synchronization Monitor
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Data Management
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File Formats for Micro Focus
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This is a link to a white paper that provides a quick overview of the various Micro Focus File Formats provided for the Windows and UNIX environments and supported by Micro Focus

Accessing an ASCII/Text File as Fixed-Blocked, EBCDIC
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Data File Editor, Mapping Records to Copy File
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After installing Mainframe Express (i.e. MFE) and creating the catalog it is a simple point-and-click on the file name in the catalog list to start the data file editor. Records within the file may be viewed or updated as a string of data for each record. The ability to map a record to a record layout (as defined in a COBOL program) provides a friendlier and less-prone-to-error method for viewing, updating or inserting records.

To map records (i.e. create a filename.STR) within a file to a defined record layout from a COBOL program the following steps are required.

Note: the following is a one-time task

Click the Files tab on the Project View.

On the right-hand pane of the Project View, right click the COBOL (filename.cbl) file from which you want to extract record layouts. Note: Prior to performing this step the COBOL program needs to have been compiled with the DEBUG option.

Right-click the COBOL file a second time and click Create Record Layout on the popup menu. The Record Layout Editor opens. In the Record Layout Editor window, the left pane displays the Data Division of the selected COBOL file. The right pane is empty until you add the first record layout.

The following steps are required to add record layouts to the record layout file.

4a.	Drag the required COBOL layout from the data division in the left pane across to the right pane of the Record Layout Editor window.
4b.	Click either Default Layout or Conditional Layout
4c.	Click Next
4d.	Click Finish

When you have finished, click Save on the File menu to save the record layout.

5a.	If the data file for which you are creating a record layout is a mainframe file then save the record layout file as filename.STR. For the FFIC application the Record Layout Files are stored in the STR sub-directory.
5b.	If the data file for which you are creating a record layout is a PC-type file then save the record layout file in the same directory as the data file and use the same name as the data file (i.e. basename.STR) with an STR extension.

To close the Record Layout Editor, click Close on the File menu.

Once the filename.STR has been created it is available to be used to view, update or insert records into a file. The following steps are required to load and/or associate the record layout file (filename.STR) with the actual data file.

1. Click the Catalog tab on the Project View.

2. Double-Click on the catalog entry of the data file to be opened.

3. Once the data file has been opened the following steps are required to load the record layout file.

3a. Select the File item from the MFE toolbar.

3b. Select Data Tools from the drop down menu.

3c. Click Load Record Layouts from the popup menu.

3d. Select and open the appropriate filename.STR from the Open window. The right pane of the Data File Editor should now display a formatted data record.

4. To avoid having to load the record layout file each time the data file is opened by the Data file Editor it is possible to associate the record layout file with the catalog entry using the following steps.

4a. Select the File item from the MFE toolbar.

4b. Select Data Tools from the drop down menu.

4c. Click Associate Record Layouts from the popup menu.

5. To close the Data File Editor, click Close on the File menu.

After the record layout file (filename.STR) has been created and associated with a catalog entry the Data File Editor will automatically load and display a formatted record.

User Tools on the Tool Bar
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From the MFE toolbar select "Options", then select "Customize IDE" from the drop-down list of items. When the "Customize IDE" window is displayed select the "Tools" tab and then click on the "New Tool" button. The following items would allow for the use of NotePAD as an editor.

Current user-modifiable tools:

Edit with NotePAD

-- end --

Command:	notepad.exe
Arguments:	$(FileSel)
Start in:

Once the preceding information is entered then Edit with NotePAD will show on the Tools item from the MFE toolbar. Also, if a member is highlighted the $(FileSel) will pass the fully qualified, drive-directory-membername to NotePAD.

Another very useful tool or feature is to use Internet Explorer to display application-oriented documentation. For example, the following items would allow a user easy access to a document about a particular program.

Current user-modifiable tools:

Application Documentation!Bit manipulation

-- end --

Command:	c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Arguments:	c:\simoweb2\cblbit01.htm
Start in:	c:\simoweb2

Note: The information about the user tools is stored in the Windows registry. To copy this information to another machine requires the use of REGEDIT to do an EXPORT and IMPORT. The information is stored in the Windows registry at the following location.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Micro Focus\Mainframe Express\3.0\MFIDE\Tools]

From a DOS command line enter the following

c:\>regedit

When the "Registry Editor" window is displayed select the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" then select "Software" then select "Mainframe Express" then select "3.0" then select "MFIDE" then select "Tools".

With the "Tools" item highlighted select "Registry" from the toolbar at the top of the "Registry Editor" window and from the drop-down list select "Export Registry File". At this point follow the prompts to select a directory and file name to save the exported registry entry information for the user defined tools to be used with MFE.

Summary
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The purpose of this document is to assist as a tutorial for new programmers or as a quick reference for experienced programmers. These sample programs are made available on an "as-is" basis and may be downloaded, copied and modified for specific situations as long as the copyright information is not removed or changed. As always, it is the programmer's responsibility to thoroughly test all programs.

Software Agreement and Disclaimer
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Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software for any commercial purpose requires a fee to be paid to SimoTime Enterprises. Once the fee is received by SimoTime the latest version of the software will be delivered and a license will be granted for use within an enterprise, provided the SimoTime copyright notice appears on all copies of the software. The SimoTime name or Logo may not be used in any advertising or publicity pertaining to the use of the software without the written permission of SimoTime Enterprises.

Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software for a non-commercial purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided the SimoTime copyright notice appears on all copies of the software. The SimoTime name or Logo may not be used in any advertising or publicity pertaining to the use of the software without the written permission of SimoTime Enterprises.

SimoTime Enterprises makes no warranty or representations about the suitability of the software for any purpose. It is provided "AS IS" without any express or implied warranty, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. SimoTime Enterprises shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages resulting from the loss of use, data or projects, whether in an action of contract or tort, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this software.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please call or send an e-mail to: helpdesk@simotime.com

Downloads and Links to Similar Pages
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You may download this example at http://www.simotime.com/sim4dzip.htm#COBOLFileConversionZip

Please view the complete list of SimoTime Z-Pack Examples at http://www.simotime.com/sim4dzip.htm.

Note: You must be attached to the Internet to download a Z-Pack or view the list.

The SimoZAPS Utility Program runs on a Windows platform and has the capability of generating a COBOL program that will do the conversion of sequential and VSAM (KSDS) files between EBCDIC and ASCII. SimoZAPS can also read a sequential file in EBCDIC format and create an ASCII/CRLF file or VSAM Keyed Sequential Data Set in ASCII format. The conversion tables may be viewed or modified to meet unique requirements. The HexCess function of SimoZAPS provides the capability of viewing, finding or patching the contents of a file in hexadecimal.

Check out The COBOL Connection in the SimoTime Library for more examples of mainframe COBOL techniques and sample code.

Check out The VSAM-QSAM Connection in the SimoTime Library for more examples of mainframe techniques and sample code for accessing VSAM and Sequential files.

This document provides a quick summary of the File Status Key for VSAM data sets and QSAM files. The File Status Key is a two character data item. The first character of the status key is known as status key 1; the second character is known as status key 2.

Take a look at the Table of ASCII, EBCDIC and Binary values.

To review all the information available on this site start at The SimoTime Home Page.

Comments or Suggestions
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If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please call or send an e-mail to: helpdesk@simotime.com.

About SimoTime Enterprises
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Founded in 1987, SimoTime Enterprises is a privately owned company. We specialize in the creation and deployment of business applications using new or existing technologies and services. We have a team of individuals that understand the broad range of technologies being used in today's environments. This includes the smallest thin client using the Internet and the very large mainframe systems. There is more to making the Internet work for your company's business than just having a nice looking WEB site. It is about combining the latest technologies and existing technologies with practical business experience. It's about the business of doing business and looking good in the process. Quite often, to reach larger markets or provide a higher level of service to existing customers it requires the newer Internet technologies to work in a complementary manner with existing corporate mainframe systems. Whether you want to use the Internet to expand into new market segments or as a delivery vehicle for existing business functions simply give us a call or check the web site at http://www.simotime.com

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When technology complements business

http://www.simotime.com

Introduction (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Tips, Techniques and Examples (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Creating a Directory Structure(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

A Sample MFE Project for Production Image(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

A Sample MFE Project for Unit Testing and Development(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Mainframe Access, Drag-&-Drop Command Line(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Mainframe Access, Synchronization Monitor(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Data Management (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

File Formats for Micro Focus(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Accessing an ASCII/Text File as Fixed-Blocked, EBCDIC(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Data File Editor, Mapping Records to Copy File(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

User Tools on the Tool Bar (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Summary (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Software Agreement and Disclaimer (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Downloads and Links to Similar Pages(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Comments or Suggestions(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

About SimoTime Enterprises (Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Introduction
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Tips, Techniques and Examples
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Creating a Directory Structure
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

A Sample MFE Project for Production Image
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

A Sample MFE Project for Unit Testing and Development
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Mainframe Access, Drag-&-Drop Command Line
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Mainframe Access, Synchronization Monitor
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Data Management
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

File Formats for Micro Focus
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Accessing an ASCII/Text File as Fixed-Blocked, EBCDIC
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Data File Editor, Mapping Records to Copy File
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

User Tools on the Tool Bar
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Summary
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Software Agreement and Disclaimer
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Downloads and Links to Similar Pages
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

Comments or Suggestions
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)

About SimoTime Enterprises
(Next) (Previous) (Table-of-Contents)