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PREFERENCE Writer
KEYWORD COMMANDS THAT CAN BE USED AT THE WRITER
MAIN MENU
| Keyword |
Function |
Description |
| BLOCK |
Block |
To copy, move, delete, or clear chapters,
topics, and sections. |
| CAPT |
Capture |
To access the Capture TID facility in order
to add or remove terminal ID. |
| CH |
Change |
Searches a series of items for characters,
words, or phrases that are identified and changes them as
indicated. |
| CLEANEND |
Clean-end |
Cleans and resets the writer's index tables. |
| END |
End |
Ends session. |
| FI |
Find |
Searches a series of items for characters,
words, or phrases that are identified so one may examine them. |
| FORCETOC |
Force-toc |
Rebuilds the table of contents. |
| FORCEOPT |
Force-opt |
For group volumes Æ optimizes a group volume. |
| INDEX |
Index |
Reconstructs the reader's index files. |
| MOVE |
Move |
Brings up the "block" panel where block
moves can be performed. |
| RE |
Resume |
To return to the last item that was edited. |
| RULES |
Rules |
Rebuild rules table. |
USING 'BLOCK' KEYWORD
FROM PREFERENCE MAIN MENU
You can copy, move, delete, or clear chapters, topics, and sections
using the BLOCK keyword from the Main Menu. The associated chapter,
topic, and section titles are copied, moved, deleted, or cleared
along with the text, so your volume's table of contents is automatically
updated.
To use do the following:
1. Type the keyword 'block' at the keyword
prompt which is located at the bottom of the Writer Main Menu;
press 'enter'. The block table below will be displayed.
===============================================================================
| |
| COPY SOURCE TARGET |
| Chapter _ ......................... OVER Chapter _ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ ................ OVER Chapter _ Topic __ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ ... OVER Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ |
| |
| MOVE SOURCE TARGET |
| Chapter _ ...................... OVER Chapter _ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ ............. OVER Chapter _ Topic __ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ ... OVER Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ |
| |
| DELETE CLEAR |
| Chapter _ Chapter _ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ Chapter _ Topic __ |
| Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ Chapter _ Topic __ Section _ |
| |
===============================================================================
Enter a block to COPY, MOVE, DELETE, or CLEAR.
Then press ENTER. F3 End
Fill in the fields according to the function
you want to perform.
EMBEDDING
REFERENCE MATERIAL
The embedding process enables writers to embed reference material
at the chapter, topic, section, and item levels.
To embed chapters, topics, and sections between
different volumes, you must set the writer embed security volume
control option for the volume from which you want to embed from
to 'Y'. You must also be a registered writer with the same sign-on
number to each of the volumes involved.
Once the preliminary security issues outlined
above have been resolved, the following steps outline how to embed
chapters, topics, and sections. Refer to the PREFERENCE Writer
Guide for information regarding embedding at the item level.
EMBEDDING CHAPTER
From Writer Main Menu, select the 'Write Chapter
Titles' (F2) option.
Opposite the chapter letter where you want
to embed, type the name of the volume in the 'volume' column and
the letter of the chapter in the 'chp' column.
EMBEDDING TOPIC
1. From Writer Main Menu, select 'Write
Topic Titles' (F10) option, or from the chapter titles screen
press (F5) to display the topic titles screen.
2. When prompted, enter the letter of the chapter in which the
topic will be embedded.
3. Opposite the topic number where you want to embed, type the
volume name containing the topic material in the 'volume name'
column, the letter of the chapter containing the topic in the
'chp' column, and the number of the topic in the 'top' column.
EMBEDDING SECTION
- From the Writer Main Menu, select the 'Write
Section Titles' (F11) option, or from the chapter titles or
topic titles screens press (F6) to display the section titles
screen.
- When prompted, type the letter of the chapter
and the number of the topic in which a section will be embedded.
- Opposite the section letter where you want
to embed, type the volume name containing the section material
in the 'volume name' column, the letter of the chapter containing
the section in the 'chp' column, the number of the topic containing
the section in the 'top' column, and the letter of the section
in the 'sec' column.
Note: If you embed a chapter, topic, or section,
do not enter a title on the line that the embed is applicable
to.
GROUP VOLUME vs.
RELATED GROUP VOLUME
With PREFERENCE, you can use either a group volume or a related
volumes group to give readers access to multiple volumes.
- You use a group volume when you want the
reader's point of entry to be the group volume list. From this
list, the reader can move into individual volumes.
- You use a related volumes group when you
want the reader's point of entry to be an individual volume.
From this volume, the reader can display a list of other volumes
to access.
The table below summarizes how readers use
group volumes, and related volumes groups.
| GROUP VOLUME |
RELATED VOLUMES GROUP |
Sign-on. Readers sign
on to the group volume.
- Readers with concurrent access press
F4 from the pop-up window menu to display the group volume
list.
- Readers with stand-alone access enter
the group volume name or press an F-key on the sign-on
screen to display the group volume list.
|
Sign-on. Readers sign
on to one volume.
- Readers with concurrent access press
F4 from the pop-up window menu to access a volume.
- Readers with stand-alone access enter
a volume name or press an F-key on the sign-on screen
to access a volume.
|
| F11 (Volumes). After readers
move into an individual volume, this option may or may not
be displayed on the reader menu. If the current volume's 'related
volumes group' option, located in the volume controls, identifies
a group, then F11 appears. Pressing F11 displays the volume
list for the current volume. (This list may differ from the
home group volume list.) |
F11 (Volumes). This
option is displayed on the reader menu. Pressing F11 displays
the volume list for the current volume. Readers can select
another volume from the list.
Note: The volume list screen displays the title of the current
volume. |
| Master Index. If a master
index exists for the group, readers see a Mindex prompt and
can use a master index. |
No Master Index. On the volume
list screen, the index prompt always points to the current
volume's index. |
| Group Volume Controls. Readers
are controlled by the 3 group volume options defined on page
2 in the group volume's controls. |
No Group Volume Controls.
The current volume's settings control readers. |
| PA1. On the reader menu, PA1
(Volume list) is displayed whenever readers leave their sign-on
point. Thus, PA1 returns them to the group volume list that
they signed on to initially. |
PA1. On the reader menu, PA1
(Home Volume) is displayed whenever readers leave their sign-on
point. Thus, PA1 returns them to the table of contents of
the volume they signed on to initially. |
To learn more about using and creating a Group
Volume and a Related Volumes Group, please refer to Chapter 2,
Administering a Volume, in the PREFERENCE Supervisor Guide.
THE HIERARCHY OF
CONCURRENCY RULES PROCESSING
When processing a help request, PREFERENCE performs a sequential
search of the Jobnames Table, the Transaction Descriptor Table,
the Screen Rules Table, and the Decision Rules file, in order
to determine the appropriate help to provide to the reader.
The following table provides a flowchart of
the help process.
| JOBNAMES TABLE (Optional) |
| TRANSACTION DESCRIPTOR TABLE |
SCREEN RULES
TABLE |
BASE FORM
DECISION RULES |
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT
CONCURRENCY RULES PROCESSING
Here are some strategies and hints for dealing with PREFERENCE
rules problems:
- BECOME FAMILIAR WITH RULES TRACE. The trace
table can provide details that would be difficult to determine
by other means. It provides a map of the processing leading
to the display of a help screen. The rules trace option is found
on the Supervisor Rules Administration screen and in any volume's
rules facility.
- BECOME FAMILIAR WITH PREFERENCE'S INTERNAL
TESTING FACILITY. By typing 'test' in option mode of a rule
item (or by pressing pa1), you can test an individual rule or
a series of rule items working together. If rules processing
works within PREFERENCE test, but not with a "live" application,
the problem probably lies with the transaction ID or screen
rule processing.
- BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE 'FLOW' OF PREFERENCE
RULES PROCESSING. The most common sequence of PREFERENCE rules
processing is transaction Id, then screen rules, then data analysis,
and finally help screen presentation.
Here are some specific things that can go wrong
with rule processing:
- RULES VOLUME IS NOT ACTIVE. Make sure the
volume which contains your rules processing is active.
- 'RBUILD' COMMAND NEEDS TO BE ISSUED. The
'rbuild' command reconstructs the internal rules directory and
adds new processing to the directory.
- PREFERENCE IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE APPLICATION
SYSTEM. A quick test of whether PREFERENCE is connected to your
application system is to access PREFERENCE through a capture
session on the application.
- THE WRONG PREFERENCE SYSTEM IS CONNECTED
TO THE APPLICATION. Determine some points of difference between
your PREFERENCE development and production systems, then access
PREFERENCE via the method described above to verify the correct
PREFERENCE system is attached to your application.
- THE APPLICATION SCREEN HAS CHANGED. If your
application has changed, parts of the PREFERENCE rule processing
may no longer match the application, including tranid, screen
rules, and data analysis.
- MORE THAN 1 TRANID WITH THE SAME NAME IS
ACTIVE IN PREFERENCE. Use the TRANID SEARCH function in the
supervisor RULES facility to determine if the tranid is listed
more than once. PREFERENCE processes only the first tranid match.
- CASING PROBLEM WITH TRANID. A TRANID listed
in the PREFERENCE rules tables is case sensitive. So the transaction
ID TEST will not match on 'test'.
- EMPTY TRACE TABLE EXCEPT FOR CURSOR ROW,COL=00,00
indicates a failure to match on a screen rule.
- COMMON SCREEN RULES PROBLEMS include uppercase/lowercase
problems, inadvertent matching on the wrong screen rule, typos.
A screen rule may no longer match on an application screen that
has changed.
- MARKED FIELD PROCESSING MAY FAIL IF APPLICATION
SCREEN HAS CHANGED, especially if fields have been added or
deleted from the screen.
- CASING PROBLEMS WITH DATA ANALYSIS. Uppercase/lowercase
issues affect data analysis processing on rules items.
- INDEX TERM MISSPELLED OR NO LONGER EXISTS.
Help screen processing which relies on index terms will fail
if the index term is misspelled. Similarly, processing will
fail if a term used in rules is removed from the system, or
if its volume is removed from the system.
- INADVERTENT MATCH IN DATA ANALYSIS can occur
when a catch-all (&) group is mistakenly introduced in the
middle of rules processing. This typically occurs when an extra
group is added to a rule ('&' is the default data analysis
match).
- IMS APPLICATION SCREEN IS NOT RESTORED CORRECTLY
when an MOD needs to be recaptured. This is usually a special
case of the 'changed application screen' scenario.
- HIGHLIGHTING IS WRONG ON APPLICATION SCREEN.
When a help window is displayed so that a highlghting symbol,
or an end-of-field symbol is covered, highlighting may disappear
or 'bleed' onto the application screen. To remedy this, position
the help window in a place where it won't affect highlighting.
USING HYPERTEXT FOR
REFERENCE LINKS
Hypertext is a method of providing reference links for readers.
Hypertext lets you link a term or phrase within an item to related
material in the same or different PREFERENCE volumes. When a hypertext
link is created, readers access pertinent information quickly
and easily. Hypertext also lets readers determine their own path
through a body of information. The way you set up a PREFERENCE
volume determines how readers access hypertext links, which can
be from a reference item, a preface or abstract, or pop-up help.
There are two types of Hypertext links, Hypertext/Enter
and Hypertext/PA2. The following table summarizes the two methods.
| METHOD |
LINKS CREATED IN |
READERS ACCESS BY |
LINKS TO |
| Hypertext/Enter |
Edit Mode |
Positioning cursor on highlighted
term and pressing Enter |
Current Volume |
| Hypertext/PA2 |
Option Mode |
Pressing PA2 from linked item
to get related information |
Current Volume
Different Volume
CBT tutorial |
Please refer to the PREFERENCE Writer Guide
for additional information regarding using hypertext links.
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT
INDEX PROBLEMS IN A STAND-ALONE VOLUME
Index terms are stored in two sets of files—one for writer
editing and one for reader display and navigation. PREFERENCE
has special functions to check and maintain the integrity of these
files. Use this sequence of commands as a general first response
to index problems:
1. Enter 'cleanend' at the writer menu.
('Cleans' the writer index files).
2. Enter 'index' at the writer menu. (Reconstructs the reader
index from 'clean' writer files processed with 'cleanend').
3. Enter 'force toc' at the writer menu. (Resets pointers in case
volume has been renamed, and compresses empty spaces from reader
index.)
When embeds are involved invoke the cleanend/index/force
toc sequence on embedded locations first. Then use this sequence
on the volumes containing the embeds.
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT
INDEX PROBLEMS IN A GROUP VOLUME
To maintain a group volume index, instead of deleting and then
re-adding the index of each member volume, rebuild the master
index from scratch after deleting and re-registering the group
volume. This ensures a 'clean slate' as a starting point, and
often saves time by avoiding lengthy 'delete' steps. Invoke the
'cleanend, index, force toc' sequence on member volumes before
reconstructing the group index, should problems occur.
One of the common problems with group volumes
and stand-alone volumes containing embeds occurs when the source
volume or source items are deleted. This results in index terms
'pointing at' an item or volume that does not exist. Writers need
to be careful to monitor changes in volumes upon which other volumes
may depend.
Another set of problems occurs when a volume
containing index terms is renamed. With a renamed stand-alone
volume, a 'force toc' is required to update internal pointers.
A renamed group volume needs the index completely rebuilt.
GROUP indexes and stand-alone indexes that
depend on external volumes can encounter problems when the index
of an external volume changes. Until a group has its index re-added
or a force toc is invoked on a stand-alone volume with embeds,
new index terms or modifications to index terms will not be reflected.
Another set of problems can occur when group volumes or stand-alone
volumes depending on external volumes are moved from one system
to another. Unless ALL volumes in the group (or all embedded volumes
in a stand-alone volume) are moved, an index may end up out-of-sync
with its member volumes.
PREPARING VOLUMES
FOR PRODUCTION
Here are rules of thumb for moving PREFERENCE volumes into full-scale
use:
- Move everything. If a volume with embedded
parts is moved into production move the embedded volumes too.
The same for group volumes (move the member volumes). Otherwise
your volumes may be out-of-sync with their parts.
- Don't rename a 'production volume' on your
production system. If renaming a volume, do so in your test
area, and test thoroughly. A renamed volume needs its index
updated with 'force toc', or, in the case of a group volume,
its index terms readded. If a renamed volume is itself an embedded
volume a member of a larger group, or the target of rules navigation,
another set of problems can occur.
- If concurrency rules have been written for
application screens, periodically check to verify that the application
screens have not changed. Your rules processing needs to reflect
any updates to the production application screens.
- Run PREFERENCE maintenance before moving
to production. If issuing 'force toc', index maintenance, optimization,
reassembly, etc., do so in the test area.
- Make sure rules volumes are 'active' after
moving to production.
GD024 ERROR MESSAGES
AT TABLE OF CONTENTS
If a GD024 error occurs when paging through a volume table of
contents as reader or writer, or when attempting to print titles,
use the following to correct the situation:
- Issue the 'force toc' command. The 'force
toc' command will reconstruct the reader table of contents from
the writer files where titles are stored, including titles of
embedded locations. If this doesn't work...
- Identify the chapter where the error is
occurring. Then access the 'Write topic titles' function and
move to the second page of the topic titles, noting which topic
titles have been defined. Now access the 'Write section titles'
screen for each of the topics and move to the second page of
section titles in each section. When all sections in the topic
have been updated, issue 'force toc'. This reconstructs the
reader index files from 'clean' writer index files.
UNABLE TO SAVE ALL
INDICES
Volumes need to be reassembled when receiving 'UNABLE TO SAVE
ALL INDICES' on import, creating a group index, or elsewhere.
If the warning appears often, change processing values to avoid
the error message and the continuous need for reassembly.
- Type 'extend file' at the writer menu...
a string of numbers appears.
- The security formula is as follows: multiply
the 3rd number from the left times the 3rd number from the right.
Add 3 to the last digit of the product and ENTER. So for 4779398464,
7 (3rd from left) times 4 (3rd from right) is 28. 3 plus 8 (last
digit of the product) is 11, which is entered. A menu appears
with Scan, Insert, and Extend values.
- Change the Scan values to 200, the Insert
values to 50, and the Extend values to 200 for both Batch and
Edit. Enter the values and F3 to quit (maximum values are Scan=250,
Insert=50 and Extend=250).
IS IT POSSIBLE TO
MAINTAIN DATA USED TO PROVIDE HELP OUTSIDE OF PREFERENCE AND LINK
TO THE DATA WHEN THE HELP REQUEST OCCURS?
Yes. As an example, several customers in the Banking and Insurance
industries maintain rate information online in DB2 or in VSAM
files. Licensing options are available that enable PREFERENCE
to scan the VSAM files and/or a DB2 database and present the information
to an application user as a popup Help window on the application
screen.
CAN ONE COPY OF PREFERENCE
PROVIDE ONLINE HELP FOR MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION?
Yes, PREFERENCE can provide online help for multiple applications
running in multiple environments. For example, one copy of PREFERENCE
can provide online help for several CICS applications in multiple
CICS regions, as well as other applications running under IMS
or IDMS, or TSO.
HOW
TO PRINT ONLINE PREFERENCE READER/WRITER GUIDES
PREFERENCE Reader and Writer Guides are rguide and wguide. To
print these volumes, which are formatted as PREFERENCE volumes,
access online (as reader) the manual to be printed and select
F19 Print from the reader menu (F7 from second 12-key menu). Choose
F4 Volume to print the entire volume (other F-keys allow printing
of volume segments). After filling in routing information, F2
to start the print.
PREFERENCE customers can also print these volumes
from writer mode. Access the writer menu for the volume you wish
to print and select F16 Print controls. Then choose the F11 Print
option (F12 Export if you wish to print from a dataset). Again,
after filling in routing information, press F2 to start the print.
If you do not know how to access the PREFERENCE
online documentation, contact your PREFERENCE system supervisor.
Supervisors should contact PATHLORE tech support with questions
regarding setup. Additionally, contact the system programmer responsible
for PREFERENCE for print routing instructions.
HOW
TO SETUP PREFERENCE PRINTER ROUTING
Before submitting a print, a Printer ID (PID) needs to be defined
within PREFERENCE. For a Line Printer,
- enter "PID" from the supervisor command line
or select 'Printer' from the main supervisor menu.
- set the Action to "a" for Add
- enter the Printer ID that you want to define
(up to 8 characters)
- set Line Print to "Y" (ensure PSF Printer
and 3270 Printer are set to "N")
- use the default height and width settings
- the SYSOUT class (not shown below) defaults
to "A" (A SYSOUT class that contains routing information may
be available at your site. Contact your systems administrator
to see if such a SYSOUT class has been defined for your system.
- Press ENTER to add the PID (and F3 to Quit)
NOTE: If in doubt, there is a greater likelihood
that your environment supports a Line printer and not a PSF printer.
Below is part of the PID screen, with
values discussed above for Printer ID = testme.
PRINTER ID ADMINISTRATION
07/25/02 -- 2:27 PM
===============================================================================
| |
| Action .............. A +------------- ACTIONS ----------+ |
| Printer ID .......... testme | Show Add Delete Replace| |
| Screen or page width 80 | | |
| Screen or page height 54 +--------------------------------+ |
| Line printer ........ Y |
| PSF printer ......... N |
| 3270 printer ........ N |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Once a PID is defined, print requests are submitted
through either the Reader or Writer Print menu. The Reader Print
menu appears below and allows routing output to a specific JES
printer. Help has been defined for each of the input fields in
the menu (place the cursor in the desired field and press F1 Help).
Writer Print is accessed using option '16 Set print controls'
from the writer menu, then 'F11 Print' and uses a similar format
to the Reader Print menu:
===============================================================================
| TO PRINT THE CURRENT VOLUME, COMPLETE THE TABLE AND PRESS F2. |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Printer Node .. ________ | Deliver to | F1 Help F4 Reader |
| ________ OR Send to ________ | ________ | F2 Start print print |
| Use PID ________ | Output | F3 End options |
| SYSOUT _ | ________ | |
===============================================================================
To route output to a specific JES owned printer
you may need the help of the systems administrator responsible
for PREFERENCE. Here are some standard options:
- For "SYSOUT=" class routing where the PID
definition "SYSOUT CLASS" is the same as the "SYSOUT=" value
defined for the target printer, enter the PID value under the
"Printer" selection.
- For other "SYSOUT=" class routing enter in
the "Use PID" and the "SYSOUT=" defined for the target printer.
- For node printing the user needs to know
the destination name for the target printer as defined by the
JES system. This name corresponds to the JES OUPUT control card
DEST= parameter. Enter this name in the "Node" field, and set
"Use PID".
- Have a JES OUTPUT statement placed in the
startup JCL for the PHOENIX task that associates the actual
JES DESTination of a printer with a username. The following
is an example OUTPUT statement:
//PHNXPRT OUTPUT DEST=prtname
Using this example the reader would specify the PID under "Printer"
and specify "PHNXPRT" under the "Output" selection.
After following instructions in one of the
options listed above, press the F2 key to Start the Print.
GUIDELINES
TO OPTIMIZE PREFERENCE RULES PROCESSING AT THE TRANSACTION DESCRIPTOR
LEVEL
- Determine what volumes contain active rules
processing. To do this access the supervisor screen rules administration
table and note what volumes are STATUS=ACTIVE.
- Examine transaction descriptor table for
all ACTIVE volumes and delete unnecessary descriptors. For each
active volume access the writer menu and type 'rules' to display
the transaction descriptor table. Delete any transaction descriptors
that are known to be unnecessary for production or testing.
At the same time as part of an orderly clean-up you may wish
to delete any screen rules (F7) and decision rules (F8) associated
with the deleted descriptor.
- Resolve any duplicate transaction descriptors
across the PREFERENCE system. PREFERENCE uses only the first
match on a transaction descriptor within rules processing, so
duplicate transaction descriptors in active volumes simply waste
storage resources. Resolve duplicate entries by making sure
no more than one instance of a transaction descriptor is 'active'.
Duplicate descriptors in active volumes can occur for many reasons
including volume reassembly of an active volume to a new name,
unused test volumes, carelessness, etc.
- Move any descriptors needed for testing or
for some reason other than production into an inactive volume.
There are a number of ways to do this, but keep in mind that
the objective is for active volumes to contain only descriptors
that are being utilized. In other words, test, temporary, and
work-in-progress transaction ids should reside in volumes that
are generally inactive. Transaction descriptors can be moved
manually (copy to another volume and then delete) or by using
the F1 Import function from the descriptors table of the target
volume.
- Inactivate volumes that do not need to be
active. Use the supervisor Screen Rules Administration table
('rules' from the command line) F5 Change Status function for
this.
- INVOKE RBUILD. After rules changes discussed
above are complete issue the 'rbuild' command from the Main
Supervisor Menu or from the supervisor command line. Invoking
this command will rebuild the internal PREFERENCE rules table
used for processing transaction descriptors during help requests.
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