Sending key stroke data

Sending key strokes is the easiest way of sending data.

Your program acts in the same way as the keyboard operator, with FEPI letting the program press keys just as the operator does.

A sample program illustrates the techniques used; see FEPI sample program: Key stroke CONVERSE.

The data can contain any combination of data characters together with manipulative, special, and attention key values representing almost every keyboard key. Data characters are represented as themselves. Manipulative, special, and attention key values are represented by escape sequences, comprising an escape character followed by a 2-character code. For example, using '&' for the escape character, you might send the following sequence to insert AB in one field, type IJKL into another field, and press PF7 to complete the input operation:


&HO&T2&R1&INAB&RS&N4IJKL&EF&07
 
Home
Tab, twice
Cursor right
Insert
AB
Reset
Newline, 4 times
IJKL
Erase—EOF
PF7

If the sequence were in a character string named KEY-SCRIPT, you would send it with:

 EXEC CICS FEPI SEND FORMATTED
CONVID(....)
KEYSTROKES
FROM(KEY-SCRIPT)
FLENGTH(30)

In full, the escape sequences are:

Manipulative keys	Special keys	Attention keys
&HO home &Ln cursor left, n times &Rn cursor right, n times &Un cursor up, n times &Dn cursor down, n times &Tn tab, n times &Bn backtab, n times &Nn newline, n times (n = 1–9)	&IN insert &DL delete &RS reset &EF erase to end of field &EI erase input &FM field mark &DU DUP &ES escape character &SO shift out &SI shift in &MS start secure MSR	&AT attention &An PAn (n = 1–3) &nn PFnn (nn = 01–24, any leading 0 must be specified) &CL clear &CS cursor select (light pen) &EN enter &ME end secure MSR

You can choose an alternative escape character.

Data characters must have values ≥ X'40' , so nulls (X'00') are not supported as such, although they can be generated using the erase or delete keys. Key strokes following an attempt to type into a protected field are ignored until RESET is keyed.

For magnetic stripe reader support, the sequence &MS…data…&ME represents passing a secure magnetic stripe card through the reader. Nonsecure cards have to be simulated by entering the data in the normal way.

The cursor position is set by your key strokes, rather than specifying where the cursor is placed. If your first key stroke is always the HOME key (&HO), you will have the cursor in a known starting position.

You can choose to send all the data with one command, or to use several commands to build up the data. The last (or only) command should have an attention key as its final key stroke, to send the data. There should be no other attention keys.

Alternatively, if you are not interested in the received data, you can ignore it by sending key strokes with multiple attention keys, as described in Multiple attentions.