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Version: v3.0.x LTS

Using CICS resources

Using CICS resources

Expand a CICS profile to see the region name, and expand the region to view its resources.

  • If the CICS profile is connected to a CMAS region that is part of a CICSPlex, the tree shows all of the regions managed by the CICSPlex.
  • If the CICS profile is for an SMSS region, then only one region displays. Inactive regions in a plex display with an empty icon.

Showing and filtering resources in a region

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to a CICS region.

  2. Expand the CICS region to show folders for the Programs, Transactions, and Local Files resource types.

  3. Expand each resource type to view their resources. (The number of resources in a resource tree displays in square brackets next to the tree name.)

    The list of resources is pre-filtered to exclude many of the IBM-supplied resources. This narrows the contents to include only user programs.

  4. Use the Search icon in a resource type to apply a filter.

    Enter an exact resource name or use wildcards. The search history is saved so you can recall previous searches.

    To reset the filter to its initial criteria, use the Clear filter icon in the resource type. To see all resources in a region (including those supplied by IBM), use an * as a filter.

    Zowe CICS Explorer Filter

    ::: Tip

    To apply multiple filters, separate entries with a comma. Append a filter with an * to indicate wildcard searching.

    :::

Showing and filtering resources in a plex

Apply a filter on all region resources in a plex.

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to the Regions tree.

  2. In the Quick Pick, select Regions, Programs, Local Transactions, or Local Files.

    This specifies the resource type to apply as the filter for all regions in the plex.

  3. To reset the filter to its initial criteria, select the Clear filter icon on the Regions tree.

    This displays a Quick Pick menu that gives the option to clear the filter for all the Regions, Programs, Local Transactions or Local Files in the plex, and the option All to clear all filters in the plex.

    Zowe CICS Explorer Plex Filter

::: Tip

To apply multiple filters, separate entries with a comma. Append a filter with an* to indicate wildcard searching.

:::

Showing and filtering resources in an 'All' resource tree

Plexes includes All Programs, All Local Transactions and All Local Files trees that contain all the corresponding resources from all regions in the plex.

To view resources under these trees:

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to the desired tree.

  2. Select the Search icon in the desired tree and apply a filter from the Quick Pick.

    Zowe CICS Explorer All Resource Filter

    If the applied filter results in more than 500 records, change the filter to narrow the search, or click the view X more ... option to retrieve the specified quantity of resources.

Showing attributes

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to a program.

  2. Right-click the program.

    A context menu lists the available actions that can be performed.

  3. Select the Show Attributes option.

    All attributes and their values open in an Editor. Use the filter box at the top of the Editor to search for attributes matching the search criteria.

Zowe CICS Explorer Show Attributes

Enabling and disabling

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to a program, local transaction, or local file.

  2. Right-click a program, local transaction, or local file.

    A context menu lists the available actions that can be performed.

  3. Select the Disable [CICS resource] option.

    The resource is disabled. A disabled resource is identified by a (Disabled) indicator next to its name.

  4. To enable resource, right-click a disabled program, local transaction, or local file and select the Enable [CICS resource] option from the context menu to re-enable it.

Zowe CICS Explorer Disable and Enable

New copy and phase in

Use the New Copy and the Phase In actions against a CICS program to get the CICS region to load a fresh copy of the selected program into memory. This could be useful after you edited a COBOL program source and successfully compiled it into a load library and now want to test your change.

  1. Expand the CICS tree in the Side Bar and navigate to a program.

  2. Select the program and click on the New Copy icon next to it, or right-click a program and select the New Copy option from the context menu.

    The program is applied to the CICS region to use it on the associated transaction, and a pop-up message displays the status of the operation.

    The New copy count for a program is shown next to the program in the CICS tree.

  3. Select the program and click on the Phase In icon next to it, or right-click a program and select the Phase In option from the context menu.

    The program is applied to the CICS region whether or not the program is actively running, and a pop-up message displays the status of the operation.

Zowe CICS Explorer NewCopy Program

Opening and closing local files

To open a local file:

  1. Right-click a closed local file.

  2. Select the Open Local File option from the context menu.

    The openstatus attribute for the file is set to OPEN.

To close a local file:

  1. Right-click an open local file.

  2. Select the Close Local File option from the context menu.

  3. When prompted, choose one of the following options from the pop-up window:

    • Wait for the file/resource to not be in use.
    • No Wait to close the file/resource without waiting.
    • Force to abort any process that was using the file/resource.

    After an option is selected, the local file name is appended with a (Closed) label.

    Zowe CICS Explorer Close a Local File