This chapter describes how to use the printing, editing, and data transfer functions in an emulator session. It also describes some of the choices in the emulator session Actions, Window, and Settings -> Appearance menus.
Personal Communications provides functionality with assistive technology such as screen readers. Following are some of the accessibility-related enhancements.
Personal Communications supports the ShowSounds and SoundsSentry options available in the Windows Control Panel -> Accessibility Options -> Sound dialog. The ShowSounds option displays a string representing the event that generated a sound in the status bar.
To mute all of the sounds generated by Personal Communications, select the Mute option in the Settings -> Appearance -> Display Setup -> Sound panel.
Users can configure a toggle key to enable Personal Communications to replace blank and null characters in the input field with another character. This option enables screen readers to report the length of the field to visually impaired users. Data sent to and from the host is not changed--only the screen display and the screen reader's voicing of the display are affected. By default, this function is not enabled.
For 3270 and VT emulators, the default padding character is a blank. For 5250, the default replacement character is an underscore. You can choose another character if you prefer.
During the emulation session, you can turn the screen reader assist on or off, as needed. To map the screen reader toggle to a key, click Settings -> Keyboard. Click Customize to access the keyboard setup dialog. Refer to the online help for a complete list of available keyboard functions.
For an accessible version of the Operator Information Area (bottom line of the session), you can display the expanded OIA window. Click View -> Expanded OIA from the session menu bar. You can also select Show Expanded OIA from the session's system menu. You can change the number of lines displayed in the expanded OIA in the Settings -> Appearance -> Window Setup dialog.
To set focus to the expanded OIA so that a screen reader can read the values, you need to map a key to the function OIA: Toggle focus to/from Expanded OIA. This key enables you to toggle focus back and forth between the session window and the expanded OIA window. When you set focus to the expanded OIA window with a key, the focus in the expanded OIA is always set to the first line. When you return to the session window, the cursor should be where it was before you went into the expanded OIA window. Refer to the online help in the Settings -> Keyboard -> Customize dialog, for more information about custom key mapping.
Even though most users use the popup keypad with a mouse, it is possible to customize and use the poppads with the keyboard alone. To display (execute) a poppad without a mouse, you must map a few keys in the Settings -> Keyboard -> Customize dialog.
The Display Poppad function shows the last poppad and puts keyboard focus on it. The functions Display Poppad Pad 1, Display Poppad Pad 2, Display Poppad Pad 3, and Display Poppad Pad 4 display a specific poppad and put keyboard focus on that pad. You can execute the button with current focus by pressing the space bar or the Enter key.
If you are using a sticky poppad, the poppad window remains open until you close it. A regular poppad exits when you push one of the buttons. To get focus to a sticky pad without a mouse, you must map the Set Focus to Poppad function to a key--this sets focus to the sticky poppad from the session window. Because you must use the Ctrl-Tab key combination to get focus from the sticky poppad back to the session, mapping the Set Focus to Poppad function to the Ctrl-Tab key combination is not advisable.
You can connect a Telnet (3270/5250/ASCII) session quickly using the Quick Connect bar by configuring only Host, Port and LU Name (3270)/Workstation Id (5250). The LU Name and Workstation ID are optional.
The Quick Connect bar is enabled only for Telnet sessions (both display and Printer). For non-Telnet Sessions, the Quick Connect bar does not appear.
While using the Quick Connect bar, the other session parameters are taken from the active session, if any. If no session is active, then all session parameters will be of default.
You can activate or deactivate the Quick Connect bar by clicking View -> Quick Connect Bar in the session window menu.
Personal Communications complies with Microsoft Windows Power Management requirements for handling sleep events (stand by and hibernate). This support minimizes session interruptions due to network disconnections caused by sleep on Windows 7 and later versions.
When Personal Communications is in the connected state and Windows 7 or later operating system indicates that the user is available for interaction, Personal Communications prompts the user to grant permission to sleep.
You can specify a setting in the Preferences Manager that allows the system to standby or hibernate without prompting. In default mode (unchecked), if there is at least one connected session, you will be prompted to allow the system to standby or hibernate. If there are no connected sessions, Personal Communications allows the system to standby or hibernate without prompting. See Standby/Hibernate.
When Personal Communications is not in the connected state, Windows 7 and later operating systems might automatically sleep, without prompting the user for permission.
When Windows 7 and later operating system's resumes after an emergency suspension, Personal Communications might display and log a warning message.
Refer to the Administrator's Guide and Reference for more information about Power Management.
When you configure a 3270 or 5250 display session, Personal Communications lets you specify an associated printer session. This function is implemented on Communications Server, iSeries®, eServer™ i5, or System i5® TN5250, and zSeries TN3270E servers. This is unique to Telnet, and is not available in the SNA environment.
Advantages of this association are as follows:
When configuring a session, if you want the server to associate a printer with the session, do the following:
You can also set the following options:
The Print Session Setup dialog enables you to customize the display options for a 3270 or 5250 printer session. This dialog can be accessed by clicking Settings -> Appearance -> Print Session Setup. You can also add the Print Session Setup dialog to the session tool bar.
The following customization options are available.
The following items can be included in the text information.
| Connection Status | If this item is selected, Connected is displayed if the session is in connected state. Disconnected is displayed if the session is not connected. |
| Host Name | Host name or the IP address for the connection. |
| Host Type | Host system type to which the session is connected. |
| Interface | Interface type selected in the Customize Communication dialog. |
| Attachment | Physical and logical connection selected for the session. |
| WS Profile | If the session is started from a saved workstation (.WS) profile, the name of the profile is displayed. The field is blank if it is a newly configured session. |
| Host Codepage | Code page selected in the host Session Parameters configuration panel. |
The following display options are based on the selected device and the settings of the Session Parameters - 5250 Host > Advanced dialog. These options are available for 5250 sessions only.
| Device Status | If this item is selected, Started is displayed if the device is in ready state. Stopped is displayed if the device is not in Ready state. |
| Workstation ID | Device name for the session. |
| Message Queue/Library | Message Queue and Message Library specified in the Session Parameters -> Advanced dialog |
| Host Font | Host font selected in the Session Parameters -> Advanced dialog |
| HPT | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Host Print Transform is enabled. FALSE is displayed if HPT is not enabled. |
| HPT Printer Model | If this item is selected, the Printer Model is displayed. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| HPT Drawer 1 | If this item is selected, the HPT Drawer 1 paper size is displayed. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| HPT Drawer 2 | If this item is selected, the HPT Drawer 2 paper size is displayed. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| Envelope Hopper | If this item is selected, the Envelope Hopper is displayed. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| Customization Object/Library | If this item is selected, the Customizing Object and Customizing Library are displayed. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| ASCII code page 899 | If this item is selected, TRUE or FALSE is displayed, depending on whether ASCII Code Page 899 is enabled. If HPT is not enabled, Not configured is displayed. |
| Printer | Printer name that is currently selected for the session. |
| PDT File | Printer Definition File currently used for printing. |
| RTL Orientation
(Bidirectional 3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed in the session window if host file right-to-left orientation is selected. |
| Symmetric Swapping
(Arabic 3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed in the session window if Symmetric Swapping is enabled. |
| Numeric Swapping
(Arabic 3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed in the session window if Numeric Swapping is enabled. |
The following display options are based on the workstation profile and the Page Setup dialog. For 3270 sessions, the listed options are on the Text and Text Options tabs. For 5250 sessions, the listed options are on the Orientation and Advanced Options tabs.
| CPI/LPI
(3270 sessions only) |
Number of characters printed per inch and number of lines per inch. |
| MPL/MPP
(3270 sessions only) |
Maximum print line and maximum print position. |
| Font Name
(3270 sessions only) |
Device font of the printer device driver. |
| Margin - Left/Top | Left and top margin values. |
| Drawer1 | Drawer 1 orientation. |
| Drawer2 | Drawer 2 orientation. |
| Bestfit Scaling | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Bestfit is enabled in the .WS profile. If Bestfit is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Suppress Null Lines
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Suppress Null Lines is enabled. If Suppress Null Lines is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Nulls as Spaces
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Nulls as Spaces is enabled. If Nulls as Spaces is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Ignore FF at First PP
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Ignore FF at First PP is enabled. If Ignore FF at First PP is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| FF Takes PP if followed by Data
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if FF Takes PP if followed by Data is enabled. If FF Takes PP if followed by Data is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| CR at Max PP + 1
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if CR at Max PP + 1 is enabled. If CR at Max PP + 1 is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| NL at Max PP + 1
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if NL at Max PP + 1 is enabled. If NL at Max PP + 1 is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| FF - Any Position / Column 1
(3270 sessions only) |
If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if FF - Any Position / Column 1 is enabled. If FF - Any Position / Column 1 is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
|
Ignore color while printing (3270 & VT sessions only) |
Select this option to ignore the colors in PS and print in black & white. |
|
Replace FF by LF (3270 and 5250 sessions only) |
Select this option to replace a form feed by the number of lines entered in the edit box. |
| Automatic Orientation | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if automatic page orientation is enabled. If automatic page orientation is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Printer Font Codepage | The printer font code page used for printing on the workstation. |
| No CR between Fields | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if No CR between Fields is enabled. If No CR between Fields is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Bold as Normal | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Bold as Normal is enabled. If Bold as Normal is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
| Use Raster Fonts | If this item is selected, TRUE is displayed if Use Raster Fonts is enabled. If Use Raster Fonts is not enabled, FALSE is displayed. |
You can use Personal Communications to print from display or printer sessions:
To print only part of the session window, drag the mouse to create a trimming rectangle around the part of the window you want to print and then select Print Screen from the File menu.
Configure a printer session to designate a workstation printer as a system printer that will use either the printer definition tables (PDTs) provided with Personal Communications or the Windows printer drivers. Refer to the online help for more information.
To print, the following methods apply:
For more information about printing, refer to Emulator User's Reference.
Using the Collect Screen function, you can add a capture of all or part of the screen to a collection of captures.
To add the current screen (or part of the screen) to the collection, click File -> Print Screen Collection -> Collect Screen.
To print and purge all the collected screens, click File -> Print Screen Collection -> Print and Purge Collection.
To print and keep all the collected screens, click File -> Print Screen Collection -> Print and Keep Collection.
To preview the collected screen and select collected screens to be printed or purge, click File -> Print Screen Collection -> Prpcess Collection.
All the collected screens can be deleted without printing by clicking File -> Print Screen Collection -> Purge Collection. An individual screen or part of the collection cannot be deleted.
The File -> Print Screen Collection -> Print Collection on Exit option ensures that the collected screens are printed before you close or disconnect the session. This option is enabled by default. To end the session without printing the collected screen, clear the Print Collection on Exit option. All the collected screens are then deleted when you close or disconnect the session.
You can add the Collect Screen and Print Collection functions to the toolbar, a popup keypad, or a custom keyboard map. The settings in the Page Setup dialog are used (shared with the normal Print Screen function).
In PDT mode, there is an option available for printing more than one screen in a page. Refer to Administrator's Guide and Reference for more information.
You can collect 5250 print jobs and print them as a single job or in a group. The collected print jobs are stored in a .SCS file.
You can set the following .WS profile keywords to specify the path and file name for the .SCS file.
[Printers]
SCSFile=<filename>.scs
SCSPath=<local path>The functions associated with this feature are listed below. The functions can be mapped to the keyboard, popup keypad, mouse button, or toolbar button.
When Collect Mode has been started, print jobs that have been sent are saved in the .SCS file. They are not printed immediately.
The print jobs that have been saved are sent to the printer as a single job.
The collected print jobs are deleted.
Refer to the online help for details about mapping the functions.
The CombineJobs profile keyword enables you to collect the jobs for printing, while maintaining them as individual jobs (instead of one job in the .SCS file). Specify the .WS keyword as follows:
[Printers]
CombineJobs=NIf you set CombineJobs to N, the Print Collection function sends the separate, collected jobs to the printer. While in Collect Mode, if the keyword is set to Y or is not specified, the print jobs are combined as a single job in the .SCS file.
To set up your printer to use a Windows printer driver:
The Printer Setup window lists the supported printers.
Personal Communications will now use the printer driver you selected, and the Printer Setup window is closed.
Printer Definition Table files define the transfer of characters and control codes to a printer, and the printer output format. If a PDT file is used, the Windows printer driver is not used, and Personal Communications generates print output based on printer control information defined in the PDT file.
Refer to Administrator's Guide and Reference for more information about PDT files.
To use PDT files:
The Printer Setup window appears.
Selected PDT files are available for the port selected here.
The Select PDT file window appears.
When configuring a 5250 printer session, the HPT mode may be selected. To use Host Print Transform (HPT), do the following:
Personal Communications allows use of Image Print Transform in 5250 print sessions, when using Host Print Transform. Refer to the most recent IBM® iSeries, eServer i5, or System i5 printing reference for more information on this feature.
Personal Communications allows you to set Page Setup parameters, such as the maximum number of lines per page, the maximum number of columns, and fonts. You can also add a header or footer to a page.
For detailed Page Setup information and instructions, refer to Emulator User's Reference.
Because special APL characters are not provided for printers, the APL fonts provided for displays are used when APL characters are printed. In some cases, APL characters are printed rather small. To print larger APL characters, you should install the Personal Communications AICAPL font, using the Windows Control Panel -> Font dialog.
Use ZipPrint to print PROFS™ or OfficeVision notes, calendars, OfficeVision documents, CMS files, XEDIT workspaces, and 3270 session screens.
Before you can use ZipPrint, DDE/EHLLAPI must be enabled for the sessions. To do this, click Settings -> API and refer to the online help for detailed instructions. DDE/EHLLAPI is enabled by default.
Start ZipPrint before you start any display sessions. The ZipPrint menu is added to the menu bar of the specified session window; then you can use it from the menu bar the same as with the other functions.
Start ZipPrint by selecting the ZipPrint icon in the Personal Communications program folder. This starts ZipPrint for Session A only.
You can also start ZipPrint by placing it as the first command in a Personal Communications batch file.
For more information about ZipPrint, including information about using ZipPrint for additional emulator sessions, search for ZipPrint in Help.
Keep the following consideration in mind when using ZipPrint.
ZipPrint uses the Personal Communications File Transfer function to print VM/CMS notes and files. On slower communication lines such as SDLC, Async (IIN), or Home3270 attachment, or when using a large packet or block size, you might experience a file transfer timeout. If this happens, you should increase the timeout delay as follows:
When using ODPS (Japanese PROFS or other DBCS PROFS), ZipPrint uses the Hankaku (SBCS) font. So when using a ZENKAKU font, such as KANJI or HIRAGANA, the font setting should be changed as follows:
For Hebrew and Arabic sessions, Personal Communications supports the following ZipPrint functions.
For bidirectional sessions, the bidirectional-specific parameters for File Transfer also define the functionality of ZipPrint.
To disable the reversal of numerals if preceded by bidirectional characters, use the Typing Arabic font for Arabic ZipPrint sessions and Cumberland Hebrew font for Hebrew sessions.
Note: In order to use the Typing Arabic font for ZipPrint, you must specify code page 1008 in the File Transfer settings.
Use IBM5585.PDT for PDT mode printing with the IBM 5586-H02 printer.
To provide Japanese PDT printing support for Konica Minolta PCL 6 printers for both 3270 and 5250 sessions, use the KMPCL6.PDF and KMPCL6.PDT files.
You can edit the contents of your session window using the Windows clipboard and the Edit menu.
You can control how text is pasted before and after protected fields, and how tabulated text appears after it is pasted. The following Paste functions are available.
The default setting is to replace each tab character with one space.
You can control the size of the copy area and how +/- signs behave with signed numeric fields (5250 only).
You can control the behavior of the trim rectangle.
Linking to Windows application programs supporting Paste Link lets you paste session-window data to the windows of those application programs. You can run Copy Link when DDE/EHLLAPI is usable.
To check whether DDE/EHLLAPI is currently set to usable status, do the following:
If the box is checked, DDE/EHLLAPI is set to usable status. Continue to step 4.
If the session window is already linked with an application program, Copy Link appears in gray and cannot be selected. In this case, force the application program to end the linkage, or stop the application program. Then you can select Copy Link.
The contents of the marked area are pasted into the specified location in the window of the application program.
Copy Link is now completed.
When the contents of the marked area in the session window are updated during linking, the contents of the area pasted to the window of the linked application program are also updated.
See the online help for more information about the Copy Link and Paste Link functions.
You can use the Cut, Copy, Copy Link, or Copy Append choices in the Edit menu to copy data in the session window to the window of a Windows spreadsheet application program.
To use Copy, select the Paste or Paste Link choice in the application program window into which data is to be copied.
Data in the marked area can be copied in the following three data formats, depending on the format supported by the spreadsheet for the window to which data is to be copied:
Individual items of data in tables of the session window are divided automatically such that they are suitable for spreadsheets, and they are copied into individual cells of tables in the application program.
To paste data in the marked area per line, without dividing it into individual cells, add the following lines to the workstation profile:
[Edit]
Sylk=N (If Sylk format data is not divided into cells)
Biff3=N (If Biff3 format data is not divided into cells)
Wk3=N (If Wk3 format data is not divided into cells)If data in the marked area contains signs, such as +, -, =, or |, the signs are regarded as being ruled lines of the table. Once they are removed, only numeric data is copied.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1990 | 60 | -63 | 71 | +58 |
| 1991 | +69 | 69 | 90 | 80 |
| 1992 | 71 | +80 | 80 | -30 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1990 | 60 | -63 | 71 | 58 |
| 1991 | 69 | 69 | 90 | 80 |
| 1992 | 71 | 80 | 80 | -30 |
To copy these signs without replacing them with null characters, add the following lines to the workstation profile:
[Edit]
MaskGridCharacter=NData in the marked area is treated as numeric data by default. Therefore, currency symbols, such as $, and punctuation marks, such as commas, are removed before copying. To copy data containing such signs and marks as text data rather than numeric data, add the following lines to the workstation profile:
[Edit]
ConvertToNumeric=NData in the marked area containing signs and marks is then copied as text data. In addition, all numeric data that does not contain signs and marks is also copied as text data.
When you use the Home3270 attachment, the following edit functions are restricted:
When you perform the Cut or Clear function, specify only the minimum area required (for example, some words or one field in one line), and then confirm that the frame exists in an unprotected field.
When you use the paste function, paste the shortest character string possible (for example, a character string, but excluding CR/LF). Confirm that the area to be pasted is in an unprotected field.
[Edit]
IgnoreInvalidChar=Y The session default is IME auto-start, which means when the cursor moves to DBCS field, the system selected IME is invoked automatically. In PCSWIN.INI, a switch flag is added into [DBCS] section to disable this function.
[DBCS] IME_AUTO_START=N The default is Yes. When N is specified in the .INI file, the IME would not be invoked automatically. User needs to invoke IME by pressing system keys.
The GAIJI-editor J can only process GAIJI files that were created with the Windows 3.1 GAIJI editor. It cannot process DOS GAIJI files. The GAIJI-HENKAN-HOJO tool (GAIJICNV.EXE) can be used to convert DOS GAIJI files as follows:
A dialog box to specify source file and target file appears.
For each file, you only need to convert either the 24x24 font or the 16x16 font with GAIJICNV.EXE, not both.
You can capture the user-defined font (GAIJI) defined on iSeries, eServer i5, or System i5 into Windows by using IBM Personal Communications Tools/400 (PCT/400), IBM Personal Communications, and the Gaiji editor of Windows.
The capturing is done as follows:
This command is executed on iSeries, eServer i5, or System i5. It copies the user-defined font image from DBCS font table to a file. Please refer to the PCT/400 documentation for details of the command.
This facility transfers the file member that is copied by the copying user font (CPYUSRFNT) command.
This program is executed on Windows. It converts the file copied by the copying user font (CPYUSRFNT) command to a Windows 3.1 format GAIJI file so that it can be captured by the Gaiji editor of Windows.
By using the facility to capture the Windows 3.1 format GAIJI file, the file converted by the GAIJI-HENKAN-HOJO tool (GAIJICNV.EXE) program is captured.
a. ADDLIBLE QPCT (Add QPCT library to the library list)
b. CPYUSRFNT (Copying fonts, using default parameter)The physical file USRFNT is created in library QTEMP and user-defined fonts are copied to member USRFNT from the DBCS font table.
(This command runs GAIJICNV.EXE.):
Personal Communications enables the transfer of one or more files between a host system and workstation. You can define file transfer options in advance to help you transfer a variety of files quickly and easily.
PCT400 was withdrawn from marketing 3/98.
With Personal Communications, you can perform the following file transfer functions:
You can also send files by using an EHLLAPI or DDE application or a macro that invokes file transfer.
You can also receive files by using an EHLLAPI or DDE application or a macro that invokes file transfer.
When you export a file from the host, your workstation receives the file you exported and an interchange document profile (IDP) file. Before you can import a file to your workstation, you need to create an IDP file with transmission information.
To create an IDP file, select Transfer from the Appearance menu.
When you are transferring files between two computers, specific protocols must be followed. Files can be transferred only when your PC uses the same protocol as the host. Personal Communications supports the XMODEM and YMODEM public domain protocols.
For XMODEM, Personal Communications uses the XMODEM and XMODEM1K protocols. XMODEM is a block-oriented, error checking protocol that is a single file, half duplex protocol. XMODEM1K is the same as XMODEM, except that it uses larger 1024 byte (1K) packets.
The YMODEM protocol is similar to the XMODEM1K protocol in that it transfers data in 1K packets, but it also allows multiple files to be sent in one transfer.
The YMODEMG protocol transfers multiple files like YMODEM, but performs no error detection or error correction. It can be much faster than YMODEM, but requires an error-free data connection.
With Personal Communications, you can perform the following data transfer functions to or from ASCII hosts:
You can use the following functions to define the appearance of your session window. These options are in the Settings -> Appearance menu.
Personal Communications enables customization of program sounds through the Windows Control Panel. You can configure specific program sounds using sound files included with the Personal Communications product.
A Mute function can be used to silence all program sounds. This option is available from the Settings -> Appearance -> Display Setup -> Sound dialog.
The tool bar displays under the menu bar in your session window to allow quick access to the Personal Communications functions, commands, and defined macros.
Use the tool bar pop-up menu to quickly and easily create, edit, and delete tool bar items, as well as to save and load customized tool bars. When you customize the tool bar, you can change the order of items, add and delete items, change the function, title, or graphic associated with any item, change the fonts, colors, and other tool bar visual style elements. The settings are stored in a .BAR file.
To customize your tool bar, select Tool Bar -> Tool Bar Style from the Settings menu, or display the Tool Bar pop-up menu by clicking on the right mouse button while pointing at any part of the tool bar.
For information about customizing the tool bar, refer to the online help.
If you want to hide the tool bar, see Showing or Hiding the Menu Bar, Status Bar, or Tool Bar.
You can show or hide the menu bar, status bar, or tool bar. If the menu bar is displayed, enable or disable status bar or tool bar from the session View menu. You can also do the following:
For some Windows operating systems, if you clear the Maximized Style -> With Title Bar option in the session Settings -> Appearance &rarrow; Windows Setup dialog, then the Minimize All Windows option on the Microsoft Windows taskbar may not have any effect. To minimize the window, press Alt-Space and click Minimize.
The auxiliary functions described in this chapter let you operate the system more efficiently. Keyboard/Macro/Script Function can be customized from the Actions menu. The other functions can be customized from the Edit menu.
A Keyboard/Macro/Script Function command lets you run scripts, macros or Personal Communications-supplied key functions without using the keyboard. Run the scripts, macros or key functions from the current cursor position in the session window.
You can write, execute, record and terminate VBScripts in the emulator environment. These scripts have access to the HACL automation API. The programming environment includes methods, class descriptions and properties. VBScript is a subset of the Visual Basic programming language.
A macro is a sequence of key or mouse actions and host commands that you can perform with a single action, such as a keystroke. Before you can use a macro function, you need to define it. For more information, see Macro/Script Setup and Use.
Personal Communications provides many key functions that can be assigned to the keys on the keyboard, the mouse buttons, or the buttons of the pop-up keypad. You can also use them to generate macros.
A hotspot is an area of the session window on which you can double-click the left mouse button to perform a command or function. You do not need to use the keyboard. For example, you can double-click a function key number to perform the function.
You can define the following actions for a hotspot:
To use a hotspot:
Personal Communications determines whether you have specified a hotspot function that matches what appears at the position of the mouse pointer. If so, it processes the hotspot. When two or more hotspots are specified for a single character string, the first retrieved hotspot is processed.
Hotspots are retrieved in the following order:
You can use Keyboard Setup to modify the function defined for each key on the keyboard, except some reserved keys.
You can define the following functions for the keys.
When you specify a key, you can save the new keyboard layout in a file (.KMP). If you create two or more keyboard files, you can alternate between them as required.
To assign a function to a key on the keyboard:
You can reset either the entire keyboard or specific keys to defaults:
If you are using a VT emulator session, you can represent ASCII control characters in the character strings that you define for your customized keyboard.
Use the # character to represent the CTRL key, following it by any character from the following list (only upper-case alphabetics are allowed):
@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_Use ## to represent an actual #. For example, 123##45 represents 123#45.
If you follow # with any other character than those shown, you will get an error message:
PCSKBD160 - Unrecognized key-action: "character stringFor example, the error for the string "#a is
PCSKBD160 - Unrecognized key-action: "#aThe set of control characters is as follows:
| Character pair | Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| #@ | Control-@ | NULL |
| #A | Control-A | |
| through | ||
| #Z | Control-Z | |
| #[ | Control-[ | ESC |
| #\ | Control-\ | |
| #] | Control-] | |
| #^ | Control-^ | |
| #_ | Control-_ |
Because the *.KMP file can be edited, there is a run time check to ensure that the character string is correct. If "### is processed, then # will be displayed, followed by a beep to signify that the entire character string was not played. If "123#a456 is processed, then 123 will be displayed, followed by a beep.
A macro is a sequence of key or mouse actions and host commands that you can perform with a single action, such as a keystroke. You can edit an existing macro or create a new macro by selecting Macro/Script from the Appearance menu.
A script is a VBScript program that is a subset of the Visual Basic programming language. For information on VBScript, see the online help pages.
You can use a macro or script in various ways. Table 8 lists examples of how you can set up and then use macros and scripts.
| If you want to... | Do this... |
|---|---|
| Automatically play a macro or script when your session starts. | Set an Auto-Start Macro/Script. |
| Play a macro or script while attached to a host application. | Start Playing Macro/Script. |
| Play a macro or script with the keyboard or macro function. | Use the Keyboard/Macro/Script Function. |
| Click on a hotspot to play a macro or script. | Set a Hotspot. |
| Assign a macro or script to a pop-up keypad button. | Customize the Pop-Up Keypad file. |
| Press the mouse button to play a macro. | Customize a Mouse file. |
| Press a key on the keyboard to play a macro or script. | Customize a Keyboard file. |
You can create a macro manually or by recording some of your interactions with the host system, such as your logon procedure.
To create a macro manually:
Refer to the online help for detailed information.
When playing the macro, the code page conversion is as follows:
You can use the following statements when you create a macro:
If you use a GOTO and a label in a macro to create a loop, you may experience unpredictable behavior if that loop executes a large number (more than 1000) of iterations.
You can create a script manually or by recording some of your interactions with the host system, such as your logon procedure. Scripts, however, allow a higher level of programming control unavailable with macros.
To create a script:
Refer to the online help for detailed information.
To configure a macro or script to autostart, do the following:
The Macro/Script Setup window appears.
To specify which macro should be started automatically after start of a session, add the PCSWS option /M=<mymacro>, where <mymacro> is the name of the Personal Communications macro or script file. See the following example:
C:\Pcomm\PCSWS.EXE C:\AppData\LAN1.WS /M=mymacro If the specified macro or script does not exist, the following error message will be returned:
To run a Java applet automatically, you can add the function Run Applet to a macro. You can add this function to an autostart macro, so that an applet can be run at session startup.
The Macro/Script Setup window appears.
Refer to the online help for syntax and detailed instructions.
Note: The applet class specified must exist in the same directory path as the .WS file in which the macro is included.
To start macro or script recording, use the following procedure:
If you are recording a macro format file for Express Logon, select the Enable check box and enter the Express Logon Feature (ELF) Application ID.
To cancel macro or script recording, click Actions -> Cancel Recording Macro. The recording operation is canceled, and the macro or script is not saved.
To pause macro or script recording, click Actions -> Pause Recording Macro. The recording operation stops. To restart recording, click Resume Recording Macro.
To end macro or script recording, click Actions -> Stop Recording Macro. Recording ends and the macro is saved in the specified file.
To play a macro or script, click Actions -> Start Playing Macro/Script, select the macro or script, and click OK. The selected macro starts to play.
To stop playing a macro or script , click Actions -> Quit Playing Macro/Script. The macro or script stops playing.
The ThisMacroName property is used to enable a running script to obtain the name of the macro file that is running. This is useful when writing a script that will be using the name of the macro file.
See the following example of ThisMacroName:
[PCOMM SCRIPT HEADER]
LANGUAGE=VBSCRIPT
DESCRIPTION=Example of usage of property ThisMacroName
[PCOMM SCRIPT SOURCE]
OPTION EXPLICIT
Dim sName, sHandle
REM App Main
Main
sub Main()
'Initialize the session
autECLConnMgr.autECLConnList.Refresh
sName = autECLConnMgr.autECLConnList(1).Name
sHandle = autECLConnMgr.autECLConnList(1).Handle
'Connect to the current session
autECLSession.SetConnectionByName(ThisSessionName)
sName = autECLSession.Name
sHandle = autECLSession.Handle
MsgBox("The current session name :")
MsgBox(ThisSessionName)
MsgBox("The macro name is :")
'Should pop up correct macro file name in the message box
MsgBox(ThisMacroName)
end subThe Express Logon Feature (ELF) allows a Personal Communications TN3270E user to logon to a host application without sending the user ID and password. This function is designed to be implemented only in certain circumstances by administrators of Personal Communications. Refer to Administrator's Guide and Reference for detailed information on implementation.
To record an ELF macro, do the following:
As the keystrokes that were recorded during the logon are saved in the ELF macro file, Personal Communications will attempt to identify and replace the user ID and password that you enter with special placeholder strings, )USR.ID( and )PSS.WD(. This automatic recognition requires that the password be typed into the first non-display input field. The user ID is assumed to have been entered just prior to the password.
If you make an error when typing any logon data, you must record the macro again.
During later playback of the macro, the ELF Application ID (stored in the macro) and the secured connection will be used to repeat the logon without the need for user ID and password.
You can also manually configure a macro for ELF. Refer to Administrator's Guide and Reference for more information.
You can visually inspect the macro recording of a host application logon to verify that the user ID and password have been replaced by Express Logon Feature (ELF) tags. The procedure is as follows:
For example, "myUserID should have been replaced with ")USR.ID(.
For example, "myPassword should have been replaced with ")PSS.WD(.
The Mouse Setup command lets you allocate functions to the right and left buttons of the mouse; this enables you to perform the following actions without having to use the keyboard:
You can save the functions defined for the mouse buttons in a mouse file (*.MMP). You can create two or more mouse files and switch between them as required.
To set up the mouseand assign functions to the mouse buttons:
The current settings appear in the Mouse Setup window.
If you want to create or edit a mouse file:
The mouse setup is complete.
The pop-up keypad is a small window in which some buttons are arranged. To display the pop-up keypad, put the pointer anywhere in the session window and press the right mouse button.
You can allocate the following functions to these buttons:
To perform these functions, you only need to click a button on the pop-up keypad with the left mouse button.
To view the description of a short-name key function or macro, click the right mouse button while pointing at one of the function or macro names.
You can specify the number of buttons displayed in the pop-up keypad, the functions allocated to those buttons, and colors of the buttons. You can save the specified pop-up keypad contents in a pop-up keypad file (also referred to as a poppad file).
A pop-up keypad file (*.PMP) contains the information for the number of buttons displayed in the pop-up keypad, the functions allocated to those buttons,and color information. You can define which pop-up keypad file is allocated to the pop-up keypad.
To use a pop-up keypad:
If you want to edit the pop-up keypad file, select Customize and then make your changes.
Tab Setup allows you to define tab stops for your VT sessions.
Web Browser Setup allows you to define a preferred web browser and to use it rather than the one that comes with your operating system.
Personal Communications provides the following functions, in addition to those provided by Windows, for those who work with several open session windows simultaneously. These functions allow you to manage your session windows easily and quickly. The Window menu has the following selections:
You cannot use Jump to switch to a session window that is currently hidden. Instead, select Show Session from the Window menu to display the session window on the screen. Then, select Jump.
You cannot hide all sessions. At least one session is always shown.
Use the View menu to display a previously-saved arrangement of windows, or to save an arrangement of windows.
Personal Communications can save and restore the following information relating to the session window view:
You can save view information for up to eight windows.
For more information about managing session windows, refer to the online help:
Select choices from that list for detailed information.
Emulator sessions started from Session Manager online are displayed with "Online" Tag at end of Session Titles. Dialogs where create/modify or delete opertations for the .ws (Workstation profile),.bch - (Multiple Sessions or Batch),.pmp (Popup-Keypad Configuration).kmp (Keyboard Configuration).bar ( Toolbar Setup), .mmp (Mouse Setup) .xlt (Translation Table) are always online
Personal Communications supports 1390 and 1399 code pages; this allows Japanese character processing capability. For more information, refer to the information about Unicode support in Administrator's Guide and Reference.
You can use the Help -> Detect and Repair function to check the Personal Communications product integrity. The Detect and Repair operation performs a check on the installed Personal Communications files to determine whether the installation has been damaged. A subsequent repair is performed, if necessary.
Note: You should stop all active sessions or SNA nodes before starting the Detect and Repair function.
Check Restore my shortcuts if you want your original shortcuts restored. If you have modified your shortcuts since the original Personal Communications installation, you might want to keep your shortcuts intact--in that case, do not choose this option.
In order to use the Detect and Repair function, you must be authorized in the System Policy. You might be prompted to provide the original Personal Communications installation source.
Personal Communications Detect and Repair can be invoked from the Session Manager or from an emulator session window. Windows Installer repair of the Personal Communications product is invoked from the Windows Add/Remove Programs function. Note the following differences in the operations.
Personal Communications Detect and Repair performs the following operations:
Alternatively, Windows Installer performs the following operations: