Emulador Vista 3270
Emulador Vista 3270
Emulador Vista 3270
Overview
Features
Connecting
Functions
Options
Keyboard
Toolbar
Keypad
Transfer
File Transfer
Macros
Variables
Control
Messages
Error messages
Support
Restrictions
Vista Limitations
Notes
Overview
Vista tn3270 is a Microsoft Windows application designed to emulate IBM standard 3270 series
terminals in a TN3270 (TCPIP) environment provided by a standard winsock interface. Vista tn3270
version 1.20 (and above) runs on Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000.
Vista is designed with one specific purpose in mind: To provide a terminal emulation connection to IBM
mainframe computers running such programs as TSO, CICS, CMS, etc. See the Restrictions section
in this document if you are not sure Vista is right for your environment.
If this program is what you need, then you may find Vista can do the job as well as many commercially
available TN3270 emulators, and may even do some things they havent implemented yet.
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Defaults
It can be frustrating at first to try out a new terminal emulator simply because you dont know where all
the keys are and what all the functions do. If you dont plan to immediately explore and alter some of
the Vista defaults listed below, you may save yourself some trouble by at least taking a look at the
settings as supplied:
Keyboard Defaults
Toolbar Defaults
Keypad Defaults
Features
Vista has the following features and more. Certain items that you may not find on other emulators are highlighted
in green italics below:
Easy Connect/Reconnect
Quick connection to various hosts, without needing a separate configuration program
Easy reconnect, and easy terminal model alteration
Up to 26 multiple host sessions (labelled A through Z)
Assign an Alias to a host name or IP address
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International Support
Code pages supplied for various countries
Keyboard layout options with escape key functions for accented characters
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Connecting
There are 2 methods to start Vista: Manual and Automatic. After installation you should see two Vista icons.
The one marked "Vista" is for Manual startup. The one marked "Vista Standard Session" is automatic.
Manual Startup
When Vista starts with no command line parameter, it will show the Start a New Terminal
Session window, which looks like this:
To start a session, you will need to select (or type in) the Host IP Name of the TN3270 session
you wish to establish, and optionally select a Terminal Model for the session. You can also
select a pre-established Session File, which contains a saved set of Vista options, or just let it
default to standard.ses.
Then press the Connect button to attempt to establish a TN3270 session.
Session window options are explained on another page
Automatic Startup
Starting a Vista session with a command line parameter pointing to a session file will bypass
the Session window and attempt to establish a connection automatically. For example, setting
the target command to:
C:\VISTA\VISTA16.EXE STANDARD.SES
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...will startup Vista with the standard session file and attempt to connect to the host specified in
that file.
Other command line parameters and INI variables are available if needed.in special cases
Additionally, Vista may be started by clicking on a hypertext link in a web browser that specifies a target URL
of TN3270://hostname. Before this will work, however, you must tell Windows to use Vista for that particular
process. Here are some instructions for Windows 95, which I believe should also work with other versions of
Windows:
1) Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel
2) Click the View/Options menu item, and press the File Types tab.
3) Find URL:TN3270 Protocol in the resulting list, and double click to edit that item.
4) In the resulting actions window, double click open to edit that action.
5) In the text box titled Application used to perform action, specify the drive, directory, and
program name where you have Vista installed. By default this should be:
C:\VISTA32\VISTA.EXE
Close all the windows you just opened, and you should now be able to double click a TN3270 webpage URL and cause a new Vista session to open and automatically attempt to connect to the
hostname specified in the URL.
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A host name can be a name resolved by a Domain Name Server (DNS) such as tn3270.company.com, or a
dot address such as 206.85.100.23
Rows x Columns
Model 2
Model 3
Model 4
Model 5
User
24 x 80
32 x 80
43 x 80
27 x 132
variable, up to 72 x 200
A session file contains most of the parameters (screen size, font, colors, etc.) for a particular Vista
session. The default standard.ses is setup at installation time, but you can create your own by
typing a new Session File name in the startup window.
Multiple Vista windows can use the same or different session files, as specified at startup or by
command line parameter.
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/m macrofilename
/h hostname
TN3270://hostname
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INI Variables
Most of Vista's settings are stored in a session file (typically standard.ses), and in other files such
as the keyboard and toolbar files. However, a few are stored in an INI file so they will be common
to all sessions. The file name is VISTA.INI and is usually in your windows default directory
(usually c:\windows or c:\winnt). Note: If VISTA.INI is found in the same directory as
VISTA32.EXE, then that one will be used.
INI variables in the list below are created by Vista. You won't normally need to change these
here, since they are updated automatically at each connection attempt:
LastSession
HostNames
A list of host names (really Alias names) that will appear in the
Connection window. Don't change the order of this list, since
it is related to other INI variable lists.
PortNums
IPNames
TN3270E
LUNames
The following INI variables are not set by Vista, but can be used in special cases if required.
You'll need to type them in yourself and restart Vista to activate.
CopyBufferSize
RecordWait
PatBltCursor
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HostnameFocus
NoResetClock
NoMacroOnReconnect
This option disables the Startup Macro when autoreconnecting after a disconnect. Startup Macro will
still be executed at the initial connection, and after any
reconnections caused by functions like Reconnect or
ReconnectAsk .
Example: NoMacroOnReconnect=1
TermTypeUser
BeepPitchLow
BeepDurationLow
BeepPitchMedium
BeepDurationMedium
BeepPitchHigh
BeepDurationHigh
These INI options set the pitch and duration for the
various PC speaker beeps (low, meduim, and high)
which can be set for PCs without sound cards using
the Set Sounds button in the Display options window.
Pitch is specified in Hz, Duration in milliseconds.
Examples are shown below with their defaults:
BeepPitchLow=500
BeepDurationLow=300
BeepPitchMedium=1000
BeepDurationMedium=300
BeepPitchHigh=1500
BeepDurationHigh=300
FontAlreadyLoaded
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KeepAliveTime
CloseOnDisconnect
ShutDownMacro
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Session File
Select an existing session file, or type a new name. A session file contains most of the
parameters for a session such as font size, screen colors, and other options. Multiple Vista
windows can share the same session file, but remember that each window stores parameters
at close time. This means parameters will be set to those of the last window closed.
IP Port
Each Host IP Name has an associated IP Port number, which you can change in this field.
Normally, TN3270 is defined to port 23, but in some cases your connection may need to use a
different port number.
Delete Host
This button can be used to delete the selected Host IP Name if you want to clean up the list a
bit.
Terminal Model
Vista can emulate 5 standard IBM 327x models:
Mod 2
Mod 3
Mod 4
Mod 5
User
24 lines by 80 columns
32 lines by 80 columns
43 lines by 80 columns
27 lines by 132 columns
Variable up to 72 x 200
Because of Host restrictions, a session needs to be stopped and restarted in order to change
the Terminal Model
For each terminal model other than Mod 2, you may need to specify a LOGMODE parameter
when logging on to the host. For example, to logon with a User specified size such as 56 x 127
(nice for viewing syslog), you might try something like:
LOGON APPLID=TSO,LOGMODE=D4A32XX3
Ask your local VTAM System Programmer to be sure.
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descriptive name, such as "Main Computer" in the Host IP Name or Alias field, and then press
the Assign Host to Alias button to relate the alias name to a real DNS name or dot address.
TN3270E
Set Vista to use TN3270E protocol instead of the default TN3270 standard mode. See Notes
about TN3270E for more information.
LU Name
When in TN3270E mode, you have the option of specifying a VTAM 8 character LUNAME to
be used when establishing the connection.
Connect Button
When this is pressed, Vista attempts to connect to the specified Host IP Name. If there is a
problem, you may see an error window, such as:
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Status Bar
The Status Bar is the text at the bottom of the Vista window that looks something like this:
Terminal Status
Last Transaction Time
Date
Julian
Time
Host Name
Macro Status
Copy Buffer
Shifter Key
Numeric Lock
Caps Lock
Insert Mode
Row, Col
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These show status during a data transfer, mostly these are only
useful if the transfer fails and you need to know where it was at.
See System Variables for a list of available system variables, such as &trantime and
&hostname.
See Date/Time Variables for a list of variables available for data/time substitution, such as
%m and %d above.
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Functions
Vista functions are divided up into the 5 groups shown below:
Action Functions
Action Functions cause instructions and/or data to be sent to the host. These functions
include, Enter, PA1, PF1, Clear, Attention, and others.
Edit Functions
Edit Functions modify the screen locally, without sending any data or notification to the host.
Examples of these include Home, NewLine, EraseEndOfField, etc.
Character Functions
These just type a particular character on the screen. Any character can be assigned to any
key.
Operator Functions
Operator Functions include items such as SendFile, ExitEmulator, Printscreen, etc, that do not
fall into any of the categories above.
Macros
Macros are *.MAC files in the Vista directory, and can of course issue keys and function calls
as needed to do the work required - such as logon automatically to a host at startup. Macros
can also be setup to do functions not available in any of the other types, such as calling
WinExec to open a notepad window or view the clipboard.
The Vista functions can be executed by various methods, including:
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Action Functions
Action Functions cause instructions and data to be sent to the host. By default, most action keys are
setup to be saved in the type-ahead buffer if issued when the screen is locked. The action keys
Attention, and PA1-PA3 however, default to be issued immediately since we assume the user needs to
interrupt the current process.
Attention
Clear
Enter
PA1-PA3
PF1-PF24
SysRequest
Attention - Can be used to interrupt a currently running TSO command, for example, or signal the host for
various other items. Attention sends a xFFF3 (IAC BREAK) to the TN3270 server.
Default key - Escape
Enter - Sends an AID (Attention identifier) of x7D to the host, along with any fields on the screen the user may
have modified.
Default keys - Right Ctrl, Ctrl-Enter, NumPad-Enter
Clear - Clears the local screen and also sends an AID (attention id) of x6D to the host, telling it that the screen
has been cleared. Typically the host sends some data back or takes some other action.
Default key - Pause
PA1 through PA3 - typically used to interrupt the host in various ways. They send an AID of x6C, x6E, and
x6B, respectively to the host.
Default keys - Ctrl-Insert, Ctrl-Home, Ctrl-PageUp
PF1 through PF24 - typically used to control various activities on the host, and can change their function
dynamically depending on the host application. They send an AID (attention id) to the host to indicate which key
was pressed.
Default keys - F1 through F12, and Ctrl-F1 through Ctrl-F12 for PF13 through PF24
PageUp and PageDown keys are also set to F7 and F8 respectively, for ISPF scrolling.
SysReq - Sends xF0 to the host, which is usually interpreted by the tn3270 server as a SysReq interrupt.
Default key - Shift-Esc
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Edit Functions
Edit Functions modify the screen without sending any data or notification to the host. By default, almost
all of these are set to be saved in the type-ahead buffer if typed on a locked screen.
BackNewLine
Backspace
BackTab
BottomHome
CapsLock
ClearBuffers
Copy
CopyAppend
CopyFields
Cut
Delete
DeleteWord
Down
Down2
Dup
End
EraseEndofField
EraseInput
FieldMark
Home
Insert
Left
Left2
LeftField
NewLine
NullKey
NumLock
Paste
PasteContinue
PasteField
PasteInsert
PasteJCL
PasteOverlay
PasteRepeat
PasteWindow
PopupMenu
Reset
Right
Right2
SelectAll
SelectField
SelectJCL
SelectLine
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SelectLocation1
SelectLocation2
SelectText
SelectWinDown
SelectWinLeft
SelectWinRight
SelectWinUp
SelectWord
Tab
Undo
Up
Up2
WordLeft
WordRight
BackNewLine - Moves the cursor to the leftmost field above the current cursor location. This is the opposite
action of the Newline key.
Default key - Shift-Enter
Backspace - Moves the cursor one position to the left. If the Display option Destructive Backspace is set, the
previous character is also removed from the screen.
Default key - Backspace; Default option - Destructive Backspace is Off
BackTab - Moves the cursor back to the previous field. Note, this field may be up and to the right of the current
cursor location.
Default key -Shift-Tab
BottomHome - Moves the cursor to the lowest left field on the screen. This is useful for applications that insist on
putting the command line at the bottom (SAA standard, need I say more?)
Default key - Alt-Home
CapsLock - Makes the capslock key function normally. However, you can edit the capslock key to something
else (or disable it with the NullKey function) if you want.
Default key - Caps Lock (this function cannot be used with any other key)
ClearBuffers - Clears all the copy buffers, and also clears the clipboard
Default key - Alt-F12
Copy - Copies currently selected text to the clipboard and to copy buffer 1. All other active copybuffers (if any)
are shifted right and the oldest buffer is lost. Text is selected by holding down the left mouse button, or by any of
the Select* functions. If no text is selected, this function is ignored.
Default key - Ctrl-C
Default toolbar button is
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CopyAppend - Appends the currently selected text to the clipboard and to copy buffer 1, similar to the Copy
function. If no text is currently selected, CopyAppend will select text that is on the screen using the previously
used selection area. This is so you can do the following series of commands to copy a large amount of data to
the copy buffer (up to 64K):
Use ISPF option 2 to edit a dataset
Scroll up 1 line to get the Top of Data line off the screen
Use the mouse to select the entire visible edit text area
Press the Copy key (default Ctrl-C)
Move the cursor to the command line and press F8 to scroll down
Press the CopyAppend key (default Ctrl-A)
Repeat F8/Ctrl-A until all the data is copied or you fill up the 64K buffer
Default key - Ctrl-A
CopyFields - Copies selected text to the clipboard just like the Copy function, but Copyfields places tab
characters (hex 09) between horizontal fields. This is useful when copying fields to an Excel spreadsheet, for
example.
Default key - None
Cut - Copies the currently selected text to the clipboard and then deletes it from the screen. Deleted text is
replaced with spaces or nulls depending on the Cut/Paste option Replace with Nulls or Replace with Spaces. If
Nulls are used, the data to the right of the deleted area typically collapses left since nulls are not sent back to
the host. If no text is selected, this function is ignored.
Default key - Ctrl-X; Default option - Replace with Nulls
Default toolbar button is
Delete - Deletes the character at the current cursor position, and moves any characters to the right of that
location left 1 position.
If a selection window was drawn on the screen, the delete function will remove all text within the selection
window. Selected text that is deleted is replaced with spaces or nulls depending on the Cut/Paste option
Replace with Nulls or Replace with Spaces. If Nulls are used, the data to the right of the deleted area typically
collapses left since nulls are not sent back to the host
Default key - Delete; Default option - Replace with Nulls
DeleteWord - If cursor is on a word, that word is deleted and words to the right of the deleted word are scooted
left as needed to replace the deleted text. If this function is used without the cursor on a word, then a single
character is deleted.
Note: A word is considered to be a string of characters bounded by spaces.
Default key - Ctrl-D
Down - Moves the cursor down one character position. If the cursor was at the bottom of the screen, it wraps to
the top of the screen.
Default key - Down-Arrow
Down2 - Moves the cursor down two character positions. If the cursor was at the bottom of the screen, it wraps
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Dup - Types an overscore asterisk on the screen indicating the Dup character (x 1C), and also tabs the cursor to
the next field.
Default key - None
End - Moves the cursor past the last text in the current unprotected field. If this new position results in the cursor
being on a protected field or field character, the cursor is tabbed to the next field on the screen. If this command
is used while the cursor is in an unprotected field, the cursor is first tabbed to the next unprotected field, and then
the End is executed.
Default keys - Ctrl-E, Shift-End
EraseEndofField - Replaces the character at the cursor position with nulls, and all characters to the right of that
cursor position. The function only works in unprotected fields, of course.
Default key - End
EraseInput - Erases all input fields (to nulls) and marks them as not modified so data will not be sent to the host
even if data was previously typed in those fields. In some applications, such as ISPF that remembers what
was previously on the screen, this function can cause very unusual results.
Default key - none
FieldMark - Types an overscored semi-colon (x1E) on the screen at the cursor position. This character is
typically used to stack TSO commands together, among other things.
Default key - none
Home - Moves the cursor to the uppermost and leftmost field on the screen. Usually this is at the command line
unless youve installed some of those fine SAA compliant applications.
Default key - Home
Insert - Sets the input mode so that any characters typed on the screen will scoot any existing characters over to
the right instead of overlaying them. Note that once a field is full you cannot insert any more characters Character keys will be inhibited.
The Display option Toggle Insert Key causes insert mode to be turned on and off with each press of the Insert
key, like the typical Windows program usually does. But real 3270s dont reset insert mode until you press the
Reset key (default left Ctrl) or press an Action key such as Enter.
Default key - Insert; Default mode: Toggle Insert Key is Off (acts like a real 3270)
Left - Moves the cursor left one position. If the cursor was at the left side of the screen, the cursor wraps to the
right side of the screen.
Default key - Left-Arrow
Left2 - Moves the cursor left two positions. If the cursor was at the left side of the screen, the cursor wraps to the
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LeftField - Moves the cursor to the beginning of the leftmost field on the current line.
Default key - none
NewLine - Moves the cursor to the leftmost field on the next line with a field on it.
Default key - Enter
NumLock - Sets the Num Lock key active. This allows the Num Lock function, while still allowing you to edit the
Num Lock key to something else (or disable it with NullKey)
Default key - Num Lock (this function cannot be used with any other key)
Paste - Pastes text from the current copy buffer to the screen at the cursor location. This function actually will do
a PasteOverlay or PasteField function, depending on the Paste settings in the Cut/Paste option panel. See notes
on those two functions for actual pasting logic.
Vista supports up to 9 (64K) copy buffers (default is set to 3). Doing a Paste the first time will paste buffer 1 (the
contents of the clipboard) to the screen. Pressing Paste again with no other intervening activity will then paste
buffer 2 on the screen, and so on, until the end of the copy buffers is reached or an empty buffer is seen. Paste
then circles back to buffer 1 and continues until you find that data you thought you had lost. Pressing any key
other than Paste ends the cycle and leaves the last copy buffer on the screen.
If you run into trouble, press the Undo (default Ctrl-Z) function and the screen should revert back to the last
transmission from the host, assuming that is what you want.
Default key - Ctrl-V; Default options: Overlay Input Fields, Number of copy buffers = 3
Default toolbar button is
PasteContinue - If the total contents of the buffer you previously pasted with PasteOverlay, PasteField, or
PasteWindow did not completely fit in the designated area, PasteContinue will continue pasting data from where
the previous command left off. Also, the previous command paste style (overlay, field, or window) will be used
for any continued pastes.
Default key - Ctrl-B
PasteField - Pastes each line of input to each field on the screen. Each line will be pasted to the beginning of
each field, regardless of the location of the cursor within the first field. Author s note: Im still trying to find a use
for this function.
See the Paste function for a description of multiple copy buffers, which also work with this function.
See PasteContinue for a description of how to continue pasting a buffer larger than the screen area.
Default key - None
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PasteInsert - Pastes each line of input as if the clipboard buffer was a block of text at the cursor position.
Existing data is moved to the right as needed. If this process would result in data loss at the right of the screen,
the user is notified. This notification can be disabled if desired, on the Cut/Paste option panel.
See the Paste function for a description of multiple copy buffers, which also work with this function.
See PasteContinue for a description of how to continue pasting a buffer larger than the screen area.
Default key - Ctrl-Q (so you can easily hit this key with your left hand)
PasteOverlay - Pastes each line of input as if the clipboard buffer was a block of text at the cursor position which
overlays a block of screen data the same size. Screen fields that are protected are not modified, of course, even
if there happens to be data in the block at that location.
See the Paste function for a description of multiple copy buffers, which also work with this function.
See PasteContinue for a description of how to continue pasting a buffer larger than the screen area.
Default key - Ctrl-V; Default options - Number of copy buffers = 3
PasteRepeat - Pastes the contents of the current clipboard to the current cursor location, and then repeats the
paste over and over again (moving down the screen) until the bottom of the screen is hit.
Authors note: This is more useful than it may appear at first.
Default key - Ctrl-R
PasteWindow - This function is designed to take an unformatted string (a string with no CRLFs in it, such as text
from an e-mail window), and paste the text to a selected rectangular area on the screen. Text will be broken at
spaces and commas (like a word processor) to fit as well as possible within the selected area.
PasteWindow requires that you select the area to paste with the mouse (or macro) before pasting. Once this
selection is done though, you do not have to respecify the area for any subsequent PasteContinue functions.
You can, however, select a new area for PasteContinue if you want to, and, for example, make columnar data out
of a long unformatted text string.
Default key - Ctrl-W
PopupMenu - If you want Vista to look more like a typical Windows application, you might want to edit your right
mouse key to PopupMenu (although you really should examine the default SelectJCL function before doing this).
PopupMenu pops up the typical menu in the middle of the screen that allows you to Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste,
Delete, and Select All
Default key - Shift-Right-Mouse-Single-Click
Reset - Resets the keyboard. If you are running with the default Display option Auto Key Unlock on, then you
wont be using Reset nearly as often as you did on a real 3270 terminal. However, with Auto Key Unlock off,
youll be needing it a lot.
Reset also sets the Insert key off, regardless of the Display option setting Toggle Insert Key
Default key - Left Ctrl
Right - Moves the cursor right one position. If the cursor was at the right side of the screen, the cursor wraps to
the left side of the screen.
Default key - Right-Arrow
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Right2 - Moves the cursor right two positions. If the cursor was at the right side of the screen, the cursor wraps to
the left side of the screen.
Default key - Alt-Right-Arrow
SelectAll - Draws a select window around the entire text area, and waits for a Cut, Copy, or Delete function.
Default key - Ctrl-S
SelectField - Draws a select window around the 3270 field indicated by the mouse or macro row/col position.
The field may be either protected or unprotected, and all field positions (including spaces or nulls) are included.
Default key - Ctrl-F
SelectLine - Draws a select window around the line indicated by the mouse or macro row/col position. The line
may consist of either protected or unprotected fields, and all characters (including spaces or nulls) are included.
SelectLine always selects a rectangle as wide as the screen.
Default key - Ctrl-L
SelectLocation1 - Marks the first corner of the select rectangle at the current cursor position, or the row/col
indicated by a macro. Designed mainly for macro processing
Default key - None
SelectLocation2 - Marks the second corner of the select rectangle at the current cursor position, or the row/col
indicated by a macro. Designed mainly for macro processing
Default key - None
SelectText - Selects all the text in the field pointed to by the cursor or mouse, but trims leading and trailing
blanks.
Default key - None
SelectWinDown - Moves the lower right-hand corner of the select box down one position. Draws the selectbox
on the screen if not already active.
Default key - Shift-Down-Arrow
SelectWinLeft - Moves the lower right corner of the select box left one position. Draws the selectbox on the
screen if not already active.
Default key - Shift-LeftArrow
SelectWinRight - Moves the lower right corner of the select box right one position. Draws the selectbox on the
screen if not already active.
Default key - Shift-Right-Arrow
SelectWinUp - Moves the lower right corner of the select box up one position. Draws the selectbox on the screen
if not already active.
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SelectWord - Draws a select box around the word at the current cursor location. If cursor is pointing to a space,
this function does nothing.
Note: A word is considered to be a string of characters bounded by spaces.
Default key - Ctrl-Right-Mouse-Single-Click
Tab - Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next input field on the screen. Note, on an unformatted screen (a
screen with no fields), this command moves the cursor to the top-left position.
Default key - Tab
Undo - Resets the screen back to the way it was when the last transmission was received from the host, or if
already pressed, does a Redo to put the screen back the way it was at Undo time.
Default key - Ctrl-Z
Default toolbar button is
Up - Moves the cursor up one position. If the cursor was at the top of the screen, the cursor wraps to the bottom
of the screen.
Default key - Up-Arrow
Up2 - Moves the cursor up two positions. If the cursor was at the top of the screen, the cursor wraps to the
bottom of the screen.
Default key - Alt-Up-Arrow
WordLeft - Moves the cursor left one word, regardless of if the field is protected or unprotected.
Note: A word is considered to be a string of characters bounded by spaces.
Default key - Ctrl-Left-Arrow
WordRight - Moves the cursor right one word, regardless of if the field is protected or unprotected.
Note: A word is considered to be a string of characters bounded by spaces.
Default key - Ctrl-Right-Arrow
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//INPUT
DD
DSN=SYS1.TCPIP.LOAD(MEMBER1),DISP=SHR
1 23 45 6 7 8 9 ab
c
d e f
Click
Data Selected
Comments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
a
b
c
d
e
f
DSN=SYS1.TCPIP.LOAD(MEMBER1)
DSN
DSN=SYS1
SYS1.TCPIP.LOAD(MEMBER1)
SYS1
SYS1.TCPIP.LOAD
TCPIP.LOAD(MEMBER1)
TCPIP
LOAD(MEMBER)
LOAD
(MEMBER1)
MEMBER1
DISP=SHR
DISP
SHR
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Selecting any space or null character will select the entire field.
Note:
Selection will not wrap beyond one line. For example, if you select the first tick of a quoted string,
but the closing tick has wrapped to the next line (typical in syslog and JCL), the smart selection
fails and only the first tick character will be selected.
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DSN=TEST.INPUT.DATA(MEMBER),DISP=SHR
DSN=USER2.OUT.FILE,DISP=SHR
But today you want to sort the input dataset in place, so you ll need to copy the first dataset name down
to the second DD card. Try this:
Move the mouse to the first part of the word TEST in the input dataset name, and right click to
do a SelectJCL (or ctrl-J on default keyboard). This should select the entire dataset name,
including the member name.
Now move the mouse to the first part of the word USER2 in the output dataset name. Hold a
control key down and right click to do a PasteJCL function (ctrl K on default keyboard). The
output datasetname should be replaced with the contents of the clipboard, scooting the
DISP=SHR out to the right as needed.
The way PasteJCL decides what to replace is based on the SelectJCL logic previously described. As
with SelectJCL, the mouse position and screen content determines what text gets selected for replace.
Heres another example:
Original text:
//SORTIN DD
//SORTOUT DD
DSN=TESTID1.INPUT.DATA(MEMBER),DISP=SHR
DSN=USER2.OUT.FILE,DISP=SHR
This time, right-click the first part of the word INPUT. SelectJCL should select the dataset name, but
without the high-level qualifier.
Now hold ctrl and then right-click the first part of the word OUT. PasteJCL will replace OUT.FILE with
the clipboard data, leaving the USER2 high-level qualifier intact.
Some Restrictions:
PasteJCL can only paste a single line of text.
When replacing data with longer strings, data to the right of the string is moved to the right as
necessary - sometimes even off the edge of the screen (where it is lost ).
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Characters
Character Functions simply type the specified character on the screen at the current cursor location.
The keyboard, mouse, toolbar buttons, and macros, can all issue characters.
Any one of 224 printable ASCII characters can be specified. They are translated to their appropriate
EBCDIC equivalent when sent.
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Operations
Operations allow the user to assign functions like SendFile, PrintScreen, etc. to a key, toolbar, or call
them from a macro. Operations include:
Capture
Cascade
CascadeFromHere
DebugFile
Disconnect
EditKeyboard
EditKeypad
EditProfile
EditToolbar
ExitAll
ExitEmulator
FontLarger
FontNarrower
FontSelect
FontShorter
FontSmaller
FontTaller
FontThicker
FontThinner
FontWider
HelpContents
HelpIndex
LocateCursor
MaximizeAll
MinimizeAll
MoveCursor
MoveCursorEnter
NewSession
NewSessionAsk
NextSession
Pause
Play
PlayStartUp
PrevSession
PrintFile
PrintScreen
PrintScreenAsk
ReceiveFile
Reconnect
ReconnectAsk
Record
ResetKeyBuffer
SaveScreen
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SaveScreenAppend
SaveSession
SendFile
ShowAttributes
ShowKeypad
ShowMenuBar
ShowMaximize
ShowMinimize
ShowNormal
ShowRestore
ShowToolBar
Stop
TransferLog
Capture - After each screen is received from the host and the screen is unlocked, send the entire screen to the
current file specified in the Save Screen to Disk option. This function toggles screen capture on and off. Capture
is always turned off at Vista startup.
When capture is on, the leftmost character on the status bar changes from "M" to "C".
Default key - none
Cascade - Cascade all open sessions at the top left of the screen. Each session remains its normal window
size.
Default key - none
CascadeFromHere - Cascade all open sessions starting at the position of the current window. Each session
remains its normal window size.
Default key - none
DebugFile - Call up and display a previously saved *.dbg file. Useful for debugging screen image problems
Default key - none
Disconnect - Disconnect the current session from the host, and do not try to reconnect. Normally the Reconnect
function is probably what you really need.
Default key - none
EditKeyboard - Call up the key edit dialog, allowing you to specify functions for any key on a standard 101 key
keyboard, and also mouse key operations.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
EditKeypad - Call up the keypad edit dialog, allowing you to add, remove, and re-arrange keys on the popup
keypad.
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EditProfile - Call up the profile edit window, where you can set various Vista emulator options.
Default key - Alt-Z
Default toolbar button is
EditToolbar - Call up the toolbar editor, where you can drag and drop toolbar buttons to create various toolbars
that meet your needs. Buttons are assigned functions and macros, as with the keyboard editor.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
ExitAll - Disconnect and close any currently open Vista Session windows. If any of these have Ask Before
Closing option set, you will need to reply first.
Default key - none
ExitEmulator - Disconnect and close the current Vista session. If the Ask Before Closing option is set, you will
need to reply first.
Default key - Alt-F4
FontLarger - Find the next larger font, if any where both the height and width of the font are larger than the
current font. If this function seems to have no effect, you are already at the largest font that will fit on the screen
as a window. Try maximizing the window to get a bit larger font, if possible.
Default key - none
FontNarrower - If the current fontname has a font size with the current height but a little bit thinner, then change
the font. If there is no thinner font at the current height, this function does nothing and gives no error message.
Default key - none
FontSelect - Open the font selection profile window where you can specify font attributes, and related screen
windowing options.
Default key - none
FontShorter - Attempt to find a font that is at the current width, but a bit shorter. If not found, this function does
nothing.
Default key - none
FontSmaller - Change font to the next smaller font, where both the height and width are smaller than the current
font. If we are already at the smallest font, this function does nothing.
Default key - none
FontTaller - Change font to the next taller font, where the width is the same as the current font. If no taller font is
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FontThicker - If Vista Thin Fonts are currently selected, change to Vista Thick Fonts.
Default key - none
FontThinner - If Vista Thick Fonts are currently selected, change to Vista Thin Fonts.
Default key - none
FontWider - Find the next font wider than the current font, while keeping the same height as the current. If a
wider font is not found, this function does nothing.
Default key - none
LocateCursor - Flash the cursor so you can find it on a busy screen. This is especially useful when using
functions like the ISPF FIND command. The locator action can be set to blink or explode (see the cursor profile
options).
Default key - none
MaximizeAll - Maximize all open Vista sessions. The "A,B,C" buttons on the default toolbar can be used to select
one of the first 3 sessions, or you can add more buttons as needed. Also, the Window menu item contains a list
of all active windows.
Default key - none
MinimizeAll - Minimize all Vista sessions. To call a session back up, use Windows functions such as the alt-tab
key, the task bar, etc. Windows that are closed while minimized will come back up next time as a normal window
(not minimized).
Default key - none
MoveCursor - Move the cursor to the current mouse position. Normally this function is set to the left mouse
button, but you can also set this to a key (you will still need to move the mouse though).
Default key - left mouse single click
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MoveCursorEnter - Moves the cursor to the mouse position and then simulates pressing the Enter key. This is
very useful for ISPF screen menu items, and other screen hot spots.
Default key - left mouse double-click
NewSession - Open a new Vista session window, using the attributes from the current session.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
NewSessionAsk - Open a new Vista session window, allowing you to change sessions, host connection, and
terminal model.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
NextSession - Swap to the next open Vista session window. If no other windows are open, this function does
nothing
Default key - Ctrl-F1, Ctrl-N
Pause - When playing a macro, this function allows you to temporarily pause processing. Press the play key or
button to continue when ready. If you pause while in record mode, recording is temporarily suspended and you
can type or execute functions as needed without recording them. Press the record button to continue recording.
A blinking "P" on the status bar indicates the processing is paused.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
Play - Play a macro. This function will display a list of *.mac files and allow you to choose which one you want to
run. A blinking "P" on the startus bar indicates a macro is currently playing.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
PlayStartup - Play the startup macro, which is specified on the general options window. If no startup macro is
specified there, this function does nothing.
Default key - none
PrevSession - Swap to the previous open Vista session window. If no other windows are open, this function does
nothing
Default key - Ctrl-F2
PrintScreen - Prints the current screen on the default windows printer. If you first draw a select box with the
mouse, only the selected portion of the screen is printed. If the User Name field on the Print options panel is
non-blank, that data will be printed as a header on each print page, to identify who the screen print belongs to.
Default key - Ctrl-P
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PrintFile - Prints the contents of pc$print.txt, which is the file used for the PCPRINT host command. Also can be
used to print other files if called from a macro - for example:
Key(PrintFile,c:\autoexec.bat)
Default key - none
PrintScreenAsk - Same as the PrintScreen function, but allows you to specify printer-related defaults such as
printer name, portrait, landscape, etc. prior to printing.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
ReceiveFile - Display the IND$FILE data transfer screen, allowing you to receive a file from the host to your PC.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
Reconnect - Disconnect and attempt to reconnect the current host session. This is useful for when there are line
problems, etc., and your session becomes locked up for some reason.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
ReconnectAsk - Allows you to change session files, host names, and terminal models for the current session.
This function will of course disconnect and reconnect to the host when executed.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
Record - Select or type in a new macro name and description, then begin recording keystrokes. A blinking "R" on
the status bar indicates recording is in progress..
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
ResetKeyBuffer - When the terminal is locked and Type Ahead is set in the General Options window, keyboard
and other operator input is stacked in the key buffer. When the host unlocks the terminal and waits for input, this
key buffer is sent back as if you had just typed it.
ResetKeyBuffer clears the key buffer at any time, if you decide you really didnt want to send that data to the host
after all.
Default key - none
SaveScreen - Save the text from the current screen in the text file specified on the General Options windowe. By
default, this is set to VISTA.TXT in vista directory.
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SaveScreenAppend - Append the text from the current screen to the end of the text file specified on the General
Options windowe. By default, this is set to VISTA.TXT in vista directory.
Default key - none
SaveSession - Allows you to save the current session as a new name, or as the current name, and also allows
you to create a new icon for the session if desired. Note: Vista saves the current session attributes at various
times during processing, and always when closing a session, so there is really no need to use this option unless
you are going to create a new session file under a different name.
Default key - none
SendFile - Display the IND$FILE data transfer screen, allowing you to send a file from your PC to the host.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
ShowAttributes - Display field control bytes on the screen as dots. This function might be useful when
programming screen images. Issue the function again to turn the dots back off.
Default key none
ShowMenuBar - Toggles the appearance of the Menu Bar on or off. Also, this function is available on the
System Menu , i.e. click on the icon at the far upper left of the main Vista window.
Default key - none
ShowMaximize - Sets the current window to the maximum size allowed by the screen. Note: certain applications,
such as the Microsoft Office toolbar and the Windows task bar will make the usable full screen area smaller than
the actual screen size. This may prevent Vista from using a font that fills the screen as fully as possible.
Default key - none
ShowMinimize - Minimizes the current window as if the user had hit the Minimize button or system menu option.
To restore the window, most likely you'll need to click the Vista button on the Windows task bar.
Default key - none
ShowRestore - Restores the current window to it's previous Normal (sizeable) or Maximized setting. Typically
this function would be used from a macro to restore the main window after a ShowMinimize instruction was
previously executed.
Default key - none
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ShowKeypad - Displays the current Keypad on the screen at the mouse position. To modify the keypad, or
modify options (such as to leave the keypad on the screen), right-click any keypad button, or select the
Options/Edit Keypad menu item.
Default key - none
ShowToolBar - Toggles the appearance of the Tool Bar on or off. Also, this function is available on the System
Menu , i.e. click on the icon at the far upper left of the main Vista window.
Default key - none
Stop - Stop any macro recording or playing. If you were recording, a message appears telling you how many
lines were saved in the previously specified macro file.
Default key - none
Default toolbar button is
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Macros
Macros can be assigned to any key or toolbar button. Macros can be created by recording keystrokes
or editing the macro text yourself. Also, some macros are supplied which do various simple functions:
CLIPBRD.MAC
COPYFLD.MAC
COPYWORD.MAC
COPYLINE.MAC
COPYREP.MAC
HOTSPOT.MAC
NOTEPAD.MAC
SESSIONx.MAC
USERx.MAC
Once a macro is assigned to a toolbar button, you can hold the mouse over that button (with tooltips on)
to see the macro description.
Also for toolbar button macros, you can right-click the toolbar button to bring up a popup menu with
various macro related functions.
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Hot Spots
Hot Spots in Vista are just text strings on the screen that cause certain action to occur. For example,
you may see a screen like this in your daily work:
With hotspots enabled, you can click on the text to the left of each menu item (PF1, PF2, etc.) and Vista
will issue the appropriate key function for you.
Hotspots are not enabled in Vista by default. I've found too many better uses for the mouse keys in my
regular work, such as the SelectJCL and Copy functions set (by default) to the right mouse button.
However, if you need hotspots, edit a mouse key function, such as double-right-click, to call the supplied
macro "hotspot.mac". This will enable the default hotspot functions, making the PF strings active
above.
You can also edit your own hotspot strings and functions into hotspot.mac as needed.
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Options
Vista options are divided up into 8 groups:
General Options
General options, such as session file name, host name and port, keyboard and
toolbar files, etc..
Display Options
Display related functions, such as terminal model, sound, blinking text options, and
other key and display related parameters.
Cursor Options
Cursor and Ruler options.
Font Options
Font type and size, and window handling options.
Colors Options
Color definitions for all text types and styles, and other fields such as status bar and
border colors.
Cut/Paste Options
Cut, Copy, and Paste options, such as the number of copy buffers, and copy box
selection parameters
Print Options
Setup fonts, margins, and other items for screen prints, and the PCPRINT host
command.
Miscellaneous Options
International code pages and keyboard layouts, and various file transfer options.
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General Options
Status Line - default set to show date, time, and other information
User assigned text and variables that will appear in the bottom Status Bar for this session.
Variables can also be included as needed. Click here for a description of the status line fields.
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Select or specify a macro to be used at the startup of this session (typically for logging on). If
no startup macro is used, select (none) from the list
Change Icon
Press this button to change the icon for this particular session.
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Display Options
24 x 80
32 x 80
43 x 80
27 x 132
Up to 72 x 200
Standard
Nice font on 1024 x 768 full screen
Great for editing 80 column text
Nice for sysout viewing
Even nicer for sysout viewing if you have a big screen TV
KeyClick on Error
Update Notification
After xx Seconds
Set Sounds
Press this button to assign WAV files to any of the sound events
listed above. You can also add your own sounds by copying your
*.WAV files to the Vista directory.
For some additional sounds, check the web page at:
http://www.tombrennansoftware.com/other.html
blink the actual text on the screen. This is the default, but will drive
you crazy soon.
Show as Italic
Normal Text
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also the Vista default. However, if you want the Insert Mode to remain on between action keys,
disable this option.
Real 3270 terminals dont let you type anything while waiting for the host, and if you try, the
status area shows that mean little man with his arms out telling you that not only did your typing
get lost, but now you have to press the reset key. All this might be helpful for people who do
data entry, but its a bother for the typical mainframe user.
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Cursor Options
Move Left
Moves the cursor left just like the left arrow would do.
Cursor can be backspaced across protected fields, and
does not destroy or delete any characters.
Delete
Destruct
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option may make certain character colors (such as red), appear more readable when the
cursor is on top of them.
Black with White Text
Similar to the option above, but for use when you have changed the default black
background color to a lighter color or white.
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Font Options
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Colors Options
Bright / Dark
This slider controls the brightness of all Vista colors at once, like the brightness control on a
monitor.
Mid
Sets the Bright/Dark slider back to the middle
Colors
This is a list of 16 colors that can be active on the emulator at any one time.
Modify Colors
These scroll bars and numerical values can be set to choose any of 16M colors available on a
standard Windows setup. Stick with the basic colors as much as possible though when using
the emulator on 256 or less color installations.
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Copy
Vista supports multiple cut/paste buffers, and the number of buffers can be set here, from 1 to
9 (default is 3).
When any cut or copy operation is performed, the data is put into Copybuffer 1, and also into
the clipboard. The previous contents of buffer 1 is copied to buffer 2, etc.
When a paste operation is done, Copybuffer 1 is displayed on the screen. If the same paste
operation is done again with no intervening functions, Copybuffer 2 will be displayed, and so
on.
Copy Box
The option here allows you to specify how many character cells the mouse must move when
holding the left mouse button down, before starting to draw the selection box. Setting it to a
number such as 2 (the default) will prevent the selection box from being drawn accidentally,
such as when you are clicking to move the cursor.
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Print Options
For each terminal model (2 through 5) and for the PCPRINT host command, you can specify various
page formats, margins, fonts, and other items such as two-up printing capability.
Select the terminal model first, and then view or adjust other parameters which will be used for that
terminal model (or PC Print) only.
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Vista prints in regular and bold text, depending on this setting and the intensity of the text on
the screen. The settings are:
hilite - prints intensified text as bold text, and the rest as regular text
regular - prints all text as regular (non-bold) text
bold - prints all text as bold text
Print
Press the Print button (over to the right) to print the current screen. Or if mode PC Print is
selected, the last printed pc$print.txt file will be reprinted.
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Miscellaneous Options
Transfer - default ind$file, DOS code page, listcat, listds, list, 2500 bytes per block
These options allow you to supply a different command name when using Vista to transfer files,
extra transfer parms if desired, a choice of DOS or Windows code page, commands for dataset
listings, and WSF-mode blocksize.
Transfer Program
Indicate the transfer program you want to use for the file transfer. Most likely, this should be
set to IND$FILE.
Send/Receive Options
IND$FILE transfer has various options, which are described below. But please remember that
the following list was obtained by peeking at the IND$FILE load module, since I have found no
documentation on it anywhere. The parameter descriptions below are mostly guesses based
on the parameter name. Most should probably be issued as name(parameter), but who really
knows?
Name
APPEND
ASCII
AVBLOCK
BLKSIZE
CRLF
CYLINDERS
FORMAT
LRECL
NBR
NEW
NOTRUNC
PRIMARY
Parameter
Append to the end of the host dataset
Convert to/from ASCII on transfer
Unknown by me
Block Size
Add/Remove CRLF characters on transfer
Indicate new allocation is specified in cylinders
Unknown by me
Logical record length
Unknown by me
Create a new dataset
Do not truncate trailing spaces on transfer
Primary space allocation
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RECFM
SECONDARY
SPACE
TRACKS
Record format
Secondary space allocation
Indicate new allocation number of tracks or cylinders
Indicate new allocation is specified in tracks
PC Codepage
Set to either DOS or Windows, depending on the target PC environment. Note: most other
emulators seem to use a DOS codepage when downloading, so you may want to stick with the
default DOS translations for compatibility.
Transfer Blocksize
Specify the blocksize to be used for WSF (Write Structured Field) mode file transfer.
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The first eight icons are simply color changes, which can help identify different windows.
By default, the terminal window border is also changed to a color matching the colored
icons. This border can also be made wider if desired (see the Border Size option on the
Font option tab). On some full screen sizes though, the border area may disappear
completely.
The other icons are Vistas that you might want to use if you get bored. There is no
screen border color associated with these.
Restrictions
When you have multiple Vista windows open that use the same session file parameters,
there may be some confusion when setting the icon (or for that matter, any other session
file parameters). Basically under these condition, the following things happen:
Parameter changes will affect only the window where you made the changes. Other
open windows will keep their old parameters.
Parameter changes will be saved in the session file, which is common to more than
one open window. This means that any new windows opened with that session file
will contain the newly updated parameters.
The last window closed will save the session file parameters, even though that last
window might not have the parameters you really wanted saved. This may be
confusing.
For these reasons, when using different icons or window border colors, its best to create
multiple session files. Just use the File/Save Session As... function, which has an option
to alter the icon.
For example, at my desk I have standard.ses with the default gray icon and screen
border, and I also have y2k.ses which points to our special Y2K test machine host name,
with a purple icon and large purple screen border to let me know Im on that machine.
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Keyboard Editor
If you just want to find a key function, please see Keyboard Defaults for a list of Vista keyboard default key
settings. Otherwise, follow the instructions below for editing your own keyboard layout.
Then select the function you want the key to perform, using the tabbed Function Area list. In the
example below, weve selected the Action tab, and then selected list item Enter.
Notice when selecting a list item, the Set All and Find buttons become enabled, and the Assignment
Area title changes from Push to Show to Push to Assign, indicating we are ready to assign a key.
Also, the Description Area changes and gives you a quick idea of what the selected function does.
To actually assign the selected function to the selected key, press one or more assignment keys in the
Assignment Area. In the example below, we assign the Normal Enter key (i.e. no shift keys held),
which was previously set to NewLine:
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At this point you can continue editing other keys, and when finished, press the Ok button to exit the
Keyboard Edit dialog. It will ask you if you want to save the key changes for future use, or use them for
this session only.
Immediate
With this option checked, a key will clear the type-ahead buffer, losing keys that were typed
while the screen was locked, and then send this one key to the host immediately, regardless if
the screen is locked or not. This is most useful for keys that interrupt processing, such as the
Attention and PA keys.
With this option unchecked, if this key is typed when the screen is locked it will be sent to the
type-ahead buffer (if enabled), and stored until the screen becomes ready for more input.
Repeat
With this option checked, a key repeat when held down. Unchecked, the key will not repeat if
held, which is useful for Action keys such as Enter and the PF keys.
Note: When changing only the Immediate or Repeat flags of a particular key, you will first
need to re-select the current key function so that the Push to Assign mode goes into effect.
Then change Immediate or Repeat as required, and press the assignment buttons as usual.
Special Keys
Vista is unique among most emulators in the fact that you can edit any key on the standard
101 key keyboard, including such keys as Print Screen, Caps Lock, Num Lock, etc. Also, the
Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys (Shifter keys) can be edited as required, while still maintaining their
original function. There are some restrictions with these special keys though:
Keys such as Escape and Tab have special Windows functions if certain shifter keys
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are used with them. So when editing these keys youll notice some buttons in the
Assignment area are not available.
The shifter keys (Shift, Ctrl, and Alt) can be edited to one assigned function, which is
triggered if the shifter key is pressed and released without pressing any other key.
For these keys, the assigned action does not occur until the key is released. The
Print key also falls into this category.
Also, because the shifter keys need to maintain their original shifter function, they
cannot be set to repeat.
The Mouse
The mouse keys (double or single click, and in combination with shifter keys) can be edited to
anything a normal key can be edited to. There is one thing to be aware of however: When
double clicking the mouse, the assigned single click function also executes just prior to the
double click function.
For example, in the default setup the left single click will move the cursor to the mouse location.
The left double click will move the cursor and press Enter. With this combination, there is no
trouble.
Other Restrictions
Vista of course supports editing a key so that it can be used in combination with any shifter key
(shift, ctrl, or alt), but multiple combinations of shifter keys are not supported. For example, altA is supported, but shift+alt+A is not supported. You will instead get the action of the last
shifter key you pressed.
Although keys such as PrintScreen, Alt, Capslock, and Numlock can be changed in Vista, you
should be aware that using these may in some cases interfere with other Windows processing.
For example, the PrintScreen key in windows copies a picture of the desktop to the clipboard.
If you edit the Printscreen key to do something (like print a screen), the key still replaces the
clipboard contents. You may just want to stick with the default ctrl-P for screen printing.
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Keyboard Defaults
These are the default keyboard settings as provided by Vista at installation time. Of course you can change
them to anything you want. See the Keyboard Editor for information on how to do this.
Obvious key functions, such as F1 or Home, are not listed below since they match the keyboard itself.
Key
Attention
BackTab
"Cent" Sign
Clear
Enter
Erase End of Field
F1-F12
F13-F24
NewLine
"Not" key (for clists)
PA1
PA2
PA3
Reset
SysRequest
Escape
shift-Tab
shift-6
Pause
Right Ctrl key, and ctrl-Enter
End
F1-F12, also pageup and pagedown (F7,F8)
cntl-F1 to cntl-F12, or shift-F1 to shift-F12
Enter key
ctrl-[ (left bracket)
cntl-Insert
cntl-Home
cntl-PageUp
Left Ctrl key
shift-Escape
Key
Description
BackNewLine
shift-Enter
BottomHome
ClearBuffers
Copy
CopyAppend
Cut
alt-Home
alt-F12
ctrl-C,
Right Double Click
ctrl-A
ctrl-X
DeleteWord
ctrl-D
EditProfile
End
Exit Emulator
MoveCursor
MoveCursorEnter
NextSession
Paste
PasteContinue
alt-Z
ctrl-E or shift-End
alt-F4
Left Single Click
Left Double Click
ctrl-F1 or ctrl-N
ctrl-V
ctrl-B
PasteJCL
PasteInsert
ctrl-K
Right Single Click
with Ctrl held
ctrl-Q
PasteRepeat
ctrl-R
PasteWindow
PrevSession
PopupMenu
ctrl-W
ctrl-F2
Right Single Click
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PrintScreen
SelectAll
SelectField
SelectJCL
SelectLine
Undo
WordLeft
WordRight
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Toolbar Editor
If you just want to find a toolbar function, please see Toolbar Defaults for a list of Vista default toolbar
settings. Otherwise, follow the instructions below for editing your own toolbar layout.
Note: The Toolbar can be hidden if desired (usually to gain additional screen space).
Press the Hide ToolBar option on the System Menu (click the icon at the far upper left corner of the Vista
main window).
... or drag a new button from the Standard button area to the ToolBar Edit Area before modification, as
shown here:
Then edit the ToolBar function as you would any key on the keyboard. See Keyboard Edit if you dont
already know how to do this. One interesting item to note here is that ToolBar buttons can change their
function depending on if you are holding one of the shifter keys (shift, ctrl, or alt) or not.
Also, select the Words tab to select buttons with text descriptions for items such as PA1, Enter, and
other functions.
ToolBar Edits
Adding Buttons
As shown above, simply grab a button from the Standard or Words area and drag it to the
ToolBar Edit Area in the desired location.
Moving Buttons
Simply grab the button in the ToolBar Edit Area and move it to the position you want. When
moving it a long distance, you may need to drop it, scroll the edit area, and then continue
moving it. Buttons in the Standard or Words area cannot be moved.
Removing Buttons
To remove a button from the ToolBar Edit Area, grab the button and drag it back to the
Standard or Words area. It will then be removed from the toolbar.
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Restrictions
The Repeat option is not allowed on ToolBar buttons, so it is not shown.
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Toolbar Defaults
These are the default toolbar settings as provided by Vista at installation time. Of course you can change
them to anything you want. See the Toolbar Editor for information on how to do this.
Note: The last 5 toolbar buttons are not visible on a 640 x 480 screen.
Icon
Function
Description
NewSession
NewSessionAsk
PrintScreen
Cut
Copy
Paste
Reconnect
ReconnectAsk
Undo
User1.mac
User2.mac
User3.mac
Record
Play
Pause
Stop
SendFile
ReceiveFile
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EditProfile
EditKeyboard
EditToolbar
Edit a toolbar
ShowKeypad
Clipboard
Note Pad
Runs notepad.exe
Session A
Session B
Session C
HelpContents
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Keypad Editor
The Keypad is normally hidden, and can be brought up by using the ShowKeypad function, which by
default is assigned to the toolbar button shown at left.
If you just want to find a keypad function, please see Keypad Defaults for a list of Vista default keypad
settings. Otherwise, follow the instructions below for editing your own keypad layout.
... or drag a new button from the Words button area to the Keypad Edit Area before modification, as
shown here:
Then edit the Keypad function as you would any key on the keyboard. See Keyboard Edit if you dont
already know how to do this.
Also, select the Standard tab to select buttons with graphical descriptions.
Keypad Edits
Adding Buttons
As shown above, simply grab a button from the Standard or Words area and drag it to the
Keypad Edit Area in the desired location. Scroll the area vertically or horizontally as needed.
Moving Buttons
Simply grab the button in the Keypad Edit Area and move it to the position you want. When
moving it a long distance, you may need to drop it, scroll the edit area, and then continue
moving it. Buttons cannot be moved on top of other buttons.
Removing Buttons
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To remove a button from the Keypad Edit Area, grab the button and drag it back to the
Standard or Words area. It will then be removed from the keypad, leaving a hole.
Restrictions
The Repeat option is not allowed on Keypad buttons, so it is not shown.
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Keypad Defaults
These are the default keypad buttons as provided by Vista at installation time. Of course you can change
them to anything you want. See the Keypad Editor for information on how to do this.
Icon
Function
Description
PA1
PA2
PA3
Attention
Clear
Reset
Erase End of
Field
Erase Input
SysRequest
Field Mark
Dup
Enter
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File Transfer
Vista supports IND$FILE transfer. This is not very efficient for medium to large files, but works well for
small files. Vista also supports multiple file transfers, for example, transferring an entire PDS back and
forth by specifying dataset or member names with an asterisk wildcard character.
IND$FILE uses your TSO or CMS address space as a server, and the current Vista window as a client.
This means (as you probably know) that your userid and the Vista session are both unavailable for other
work during a file transfer.
If you have problems using IND$FILE transfer, then by all means get an FTP client going such as
WS_FTP or many other available ones.
PC File
Specify the PC file name you want to send or receive, either by typing the name in, selecting
from the current directory list, or by pressing the browse button to look in other directories. An
asterisk wildcard character can be used for multiple file transfers.
Host File
Specify the Host file name you want to send or receive, either by typing the name in, selecting
from the current directory list, or by pressing the browse button to look in other directories. An
asterisk wildcard character can be used for multiple file transfers.
List
Press this button to read a list of filenames from the current host session into the Host File
selection window, a screen at a time. The button changes to More when this function is
working. Press the More key to continue gathering dataset names from the host, or select one
for transfer.
Members
After selecting a dataset in the list previously added by the List button, use the Members
button to list each member in the dataset. As with List, this button changes to More while
busy. Press the More key to continue gathering member names from the host, or select one
for transfer.
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Auto
If you have a fast connection and dont want to press the More button when creating dataset or
member lists, check this option and the More button will automatically be pressed for you.
List Level
In TSO only, the high-level-index typed here will be used when the List button is pressed. If
this field is non-blank, single ticks will surround the dataset names in the resulting list.
Otherwise, your default (profile prefix) high-level will be used.
Send or Receive
Press the Send or Receive button (depending on if you selected the send or receive dialog) to
initiate the transfer. Status of the transfer is shown in the lower area of the transfer window.
You can also open the log window for a history list.
Exit
Press to exit the transfer dialog. If a transfer is currently running, you will be asked if it s ok to
cancel the current processing.
Options
Displays a screen where you can modify the program used for the IND$FILE style transfer, add
extra parameters to the command, and other items. See Miscellaneous Options for more
information.
Data
Select the style of data you are sending, and whether you want it appended to the end of an
existing file or not. Typically, use Text mode for readable files such as payroll.txt, or
jcl.cntl(idcams). Use Binary mode for just about everything else.
Host
Indicate what operating system you are using on the host - TSO (MVS) or CMS (VM)
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Macros
Macros are Vistas method of doing repetitive or programmatic work with the emulator. The user can
use the Record facility to record simple operations, or use the macro programming language to do more
complex procedures.
Some notes:
The Vista macro language is kind of a cross between the languages Basic and C. This
wasn't really done on purpose - things just turned out that way as the macro processing code
was developed.
Vista macros are designed for small jobs. There are a limited number of variables and other
items that will prevent any kind of large-scale program from running. Also, certain items you
would expect in any language may be missing, such as support for variable arrays.
Sometimes the word "parm" is used in this documentation in place of "parameter" or
"param". Mainframe people are used to this.
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Macro Playing
A Macro can be played (run) by assigning it to a key or toolbar button. A Macro also can be played by
pressing the Play button, or by using the Macro/Play menu option.
In the latter case, you will need to specify the name of the macro each time it is run.
Macro Pausing
A Macro playing macro can be paused, which will stop it s action and still not exit the macro, allowing
you to continue running the macro from where it was paused. Pressing a key or toolbar button while a
macro is running will automatically pause it.
Press the Pause toolbar button, or use the Macro/Pause menu option to pause a running macro. Issue
Pause again (or Play) to continue the macro from where it left off.
Macro Stopping
To stop a running macro issue the Stop function either by key, toolbar, or menu item. Macro s also
have the ability to stop themselves by issuing the Stop function.
If a macro gets into a loop and causes Vista to hang up, you can usually stop the macro by pressing the
Pause or Break key on the keyboard.
Notes:
In some cases, a recorded macro may not play correctly. For example, by default macros will
wait 20 seconds for the host to respond to input, and will fail if that time value is exceeded. In
cases where a long host wait is normal, the user will have to increase the time-out value of the
Wait function in the resulting macro text.
In other cases, the host will unlock the screen more than once before the transmission is
complete, confusing Vista as to the time it should begin sending the next screen input text.
Vista does its best in these cases to wait for not only the screen to unlock, but also for a
particular cursor position to be established. This works in most cases, but may sometimes
require some modifications to the macro text to run properly, such as the manual addition of
some Wait(1) statements.
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Macro Variables
OverView
All Vista variables reside in a memory block which is created at the startup of an emulator session, and
normally never cleared. This allows variables to exist between macro runs (and macro calls, when that
facility becomes available). In programming terms, this means that all variables are global. Variables
are not shared between Vista sessions, however.
Variables are not declared, but if you do attempt to use a variable that has not yet had some data
assigned to it, you will get an error. System Variables, Constants, and Time Variables (through the use
of the TimeDate function) are predefined by the system, and thus can be used without previous a
assignment.
Variable Names
Variable names are 1 to 16 characters in length, must be alphanumeric, and must start with an
alphabetic character. They can also contain (or begin with) the 4 "National Characters" I m sure all
mainframe programmers are familiar with, namely, #, $, %, and @. Also, you can use the underscore
character as an alpha character if you want.
When assigning or referencing a variable name, just code the name itself with no preceding ampersand
or other character. In the Window Title and Status Text strings (in the Option dialog), you must code an
ampersand in front of a variable name. In a macro, coding an ampersand prefix would be considered
the and logical operator and will most likely result in an error.
Variable Types
There are 2 types of variables, numeric and string. The actual variable type can change, depending on
what type of data was last put into it, for example:
var1 = 3
var1 = "3"
When referring to a variable, however, the type must be appropriate for the function, otherwise an error
will occur.
var1 = "3"
a = 2 + var1
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Macro Operators
Operators Types
Vista macro operators generally come in 3 styles, unary, binary, and logical:
Unary Operators
Unary operators operate on a single data element
+
!
Unary Plus has no effect on a data element, but is included for consistency
Unary Minus will negate the data element, for example, a = -b
Unary Not will logically complement the data element, for example , a = !b
Binary Operators
+
*
//
Logical Operators
Operator Precedence
Operator precedence (the order in which operations are performed) follows the generally accepted
standards described below. If 2 or more operators of the same level are seen, the operations proceed
from left to right.
Parenthesis can change the order of the operations, if required. Also, redundant parentheses are
allowed.
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Highest to Lowest
Unary operators +, -, !
Arithmetic operators *, /, // (remainder)
Arithmetic operators + , Logical operations =, ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=
Logical operations &, |, ^, not
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If / Else / Endif
While / EndWhile
Select / Case / Default / EndSelect
For / Next
Break
Continue
Exit
Goto
Call / Subroutine / Return
Run
Note: With these statements, its possible to put a macro into a never-ending loop. If you find your
macro gets into such a loop, try the following:
If an EditBox continues to appear within the loop, just press the "X" (close) button at the top
right of the EditBox window. This causes macro processing to end.
Try pressing the Pause key. This key is checked before each macro instruction is executed,
and should (hopefully) cause the macro to end.
If both attempts above fail, your only alternative is to use the ctrl-alt-delete keys, which calls
up the Windows task list. You should be able to kill the task from that list, but that
unfortunately ends the entire Vista session, not just the macro execution.
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Macro Functions
Every statement other than the flow control items are functions, whether they are used within an
expression, or used alone. Currently supported functions are:
Control Functions
Wait
ShortWait
Session
WinExec
ShellExecute
Screen Functions
Type
Key
Screen
Attribute
Color
Hilite
OnScreen
String Functions
Len
Mid
Left
Right
Instr
Trim
Uppercase
Lowercase
Conversion Functions
Str
Hex
Asc
Chr
Val
TimeDate
File Functions
SendFile
ReceiveFile
Open
Get
Put
Close
Eof
Support Functions
Control
Debug
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DebugWindow
MessageBox
EditBox
PutINI
GetINI
SetOption
GetOption
PlaySound
Defined
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Note: Logical numeric operations take into consideration the sign of the data involved.
Logical text operations ignore case differences when comparing, i.e., the expression "ABCD"
= "AbCd" returns a true value (use the == operator if an explicit case-sensitive compare is
necessary).
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is 1")
is 2")
is 3")
is not 1, 2, or 3")
Note: if more than one Case expression2 matches the Select expression1,
only the first matching Case statements are executed.
Multiple expressions are allowed on a single Case statement, if separated by
commas. For example:
a = 1
While a
a = val(EditBox("Enter a Number from 1 to 20, or zero to stop"))
Select a
Case 10,11,12
MessageBox("You typed 10 or 11 or 12")
Default
MessageBox("You typed something other than 10, 11, or 12")
EndSelect
EndWhile
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Note: If the start count is larger than the end count, the default step
increment will be set to -1, and the for next loop will automatically count
backwards.
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Note: Break exits only the most recent For or While loop. In the example
above, only the column loop is exited, the row loop continues.
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Note: Continue iterates only the most recent For or While loop. In the
example above, only the column loop is iterated, the row loop continues.
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Notes:
Subroutines should be coded at the end of your macro.
All variables are considered global in Vista macros, so there are no
variable parms passed either on the Call or Return statements. Just use
global variables for parms, and be aware that any variables named within
a subroutine are the same variables outside that subroutine.
Subroutines can call other subroutines, but a subroutine cannot be called
recursively. For example, if we attempted to call the check routine from
within the showresult routine above, that would be considered an error.
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Notes:
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Also see ShellExecute if you want to let Windows determine the registered
executable for a particular data file.
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All 5 parms must be supplied, even if they are just null strings as shown
above.
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;*
;*
;*
;*
PrintFile
Key("PrintFile")
Key("PrintFile",filename)
;* prints pc$print.txt
;* prints the specified filename
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;* result is 11
;* result is "CDEFG"
;* result is "GHI"
;* result is "ABC"
;* result is "ABCDE"
;* result is "EFG"
;* result is "ABCDEFG"
;* result is 5
;* result is 3
;* result is 0
Hello
")
;* result is "Hello"
;* result is "00005BA0"
;* result is 65
Note: The mainframe works with EBCDIC of course, but all characters on the
PC (including what you see on the Vista screen) have been translated into
ASCII.
;* result is "0"
Note: The mainframe works with EBCDIC of course, but all characters on the
PC (including what you see on the Vista screen) have been translated into
ASCII.
;* result
;* result
;* result
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1997.354
22:54
Text or Binary
transfer mode
Replace or Append
allocation mode
TSO, CMS
host application
Returns nothing at this time. You will need to check the transfer log for the
results of the transfer (sorry).
Example:
SendFile("vista.txt","'testid1.my.data'","tso","text","replace")
You should specify each of the parms for transfer mode, allocation type,
and host application, otherwise the parameters used will be from the
previous upload. Also, any parms used in a macro will replace those
settings on the file transfer window.
Surround parms with quotes, since they are treated as string constants
(and in fact, could be variables).
Include single ticks within the hostfile name if you want to indicate the highlevel-index for TSO transfers.
As with any file transfers, make sure your application is ready to accept the
IND$FILE command before running the macro (for example, TSO READY
mode).
Text or Binary
transfer mode
Replace or Append
allocation mode
TSO, CMS
host application
Returns nothing at this time. You will need to check the transfer log for the
results of the transfer (sorry).
Example:
ReceiveFile("testid1.my.data","vista.txt","tso","text","replace")
You should specify each of the parms for transfer mode, allocation type,
and host application, otherwise the parameters used will be from the
previous upload. Also, any parms used in a macro will replace those
settings on the file transfer window.
Surround parms with quotes, since they are treated as string constants
(and in fact, could be variables).
Include single ticks within the hostfile name if you want to indicate the highlevel-index for TSO transfers.
As with any file transfers, make sure your application is ready to accept the
IND$FILE command before running the macro (for example, TSO READY
mode).
Note that any numeric variables (such as var4 above) will be converted to a
text string while saving in the INI file.
Variables are stored in the [UserVariables] section of the VISTA.INI file.
There is no Vista macro function to delete them once they are added, but its
easy to just edit the VISTA.INI file directly with any text editor.
Check Boxes:
Check boxes are set or cleared by passing the numbers 1 or 0 (True or
False) to check or uncheck the specified options, such as:
SetOption("General","AskBeforeClosing",True)
SetOption("Display","RowColOnStatusLine",False)
Pulldown Lists:
Pulldown Lists typically allow a text string to be assigned, but in most
cases this string is not checked for validity before plugging it into the
*.ses file. This could cause the session file to become unusable, so be
careful.
SetOption("General","EditKeyboard","good.key")
Radio Buttons:
Radio Buttons are those round buttons that allow a one-of-many
selection. For the SetOption function, you must supply the name of the
box surrounding the buttons, rather than the name of the button itself.
The value is a number (starting with zero) indicating which button to set,
for example:
SetOption("Cursor","Ruler",3) ;* set the crosshairs active
SetOption("Display","TerminalModel",2) ;* set to mod4
Not all options are changeable using the SetOption function. And some,
such as changing the terminal model, require you to reconnect to the host.
Check Boxes:
Check boxes return either numeric 1 or 0 (True or False) to indicate
whether the option is checked or unchecked, such as:
ask = GetOption("General","AskBeforeClosing")
rowcol = GetOption("Display","RowColOnStatusLine")
Pulldown Lists:
Pulldown Lists return the text value of the currently specified entry, such
as:
keyfile = GetOption("General","EditKeyboard")
Radio Buttons:
Radio Buttons are those round buttons that allow a one-of-many
selection. For the GetOption function, you must supply the name of the
box surrounding the buttons, rather than the name of the button itself.
The returned value is a number (starting with zero) indicating which
button is currently set, for example:
ruler = GetOption("Cursor","Ruler")
model = GetOption("Display","TerminalModel")
Variables
Variables can be used in macros, and also in text strings such as the Window Title and Status Line text
areas. There are actually 3 types of variables:
System Variables
Time/Date Variables
Constants
System Variables
System variables can be referenced from macros as listed, and also from the Window Title and Status
Line text strings in the General Options panel as long as they are prefixed with an ampersand (&)
character. Variable names are shown here in upper and lower case for readability, but the names in
actual use are not case-sensitive.
Some variables, such as CursorPos, can be changed within a macro to cause some effect on the
current screen. Others are read-only and cannot be changed. Some variables return a string, and
others return a numeric value.
Column position of the lower right corner of the selection box. See
SelectBoxActive variable for additional information.
EndRow
Row position of the lower right corner of the selection box. See
SelectBoxActive variable for additional information.
FontSize
HostAddr
Host IP Address
HostName
InputLen
IPname
KeyScanCode
LocalAddr
Local IP Address
LocalName
LUname
PassedKey
This is a text representation of the last key typed when certain user
exits are active. See User Exits for more information.
Port
ScreenHeight
ScreenWidth
SelectBoxActive
Set to True (1) if a selection box was drawn on the screen when the
macro was started. If so, StartRow, EndRow, StartCol, and EndCol
variables indicate the location of the selection box. If SelectBoxActive
= False, no selection box was drawn on the screen when the macro
started, and the row and col variables indicate the location of the
previous selection box.
SessName
Socket
StartCol
Column position of the upper left corner of the selection box. See
SelectBoxActive variable for additional information.
StartRow
Status
Row position of the upper left corner of the selection box. See
SelectBoxActive variable for additional information.
String variable indicating the current screen status, which may be one
of the following values:
NOTCONNECTED
START
SESSION
CONNECTING
CONNECTED
UNLOCKED
LOCKED
SYSLOCK
PROTECTED
INSERTOVERFLOW
in field
TR_READY
TR_DATA
TR_MESSAGE
TermModel
TNmode
TpxSwap
TranTime
Version
WindowID
CursorRow
CursorCol
Time/Date Variables
Time and date variables can be referenced in the Window Title and Status Line fields on the General
Options panel, as shown below. For referencing in a macro, however, you must use the TimeDate
function. For time/date variables, character case is important and you must prefix the character with a
percent sign. Also, if you intend to use a real percent sign in your string, you must use 2 percent signs
together (%%).
%a
%A
%b
%B
%c
%d
%H
%I
%j
%m
%M
%p
%S
%U
%w
%W
%x
%X
%y
%Y
%z
is converted to
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Constants
Constants are simply read-only variables that contain a useful constant for macro processing:
True
False
Controlling Vista
User Exits
User exits are a way of adding your own code (in the form of Vista macros) to various spots in Vista
processing.
Host Control
The Host can pass macro statements to Vista to be executed, by running the VSTEXEC command
under TSO.
User Exits
User Exits are various points in Vista processing where you can place your own code for the purpose of
tailoring the product to better meet your needs.
User exits are files named *.ext, and are text files in the Vista macro language. They are named with a
different extension so they wont show up when listing macros for regular use.
To enable an exit, simply include the proper file in your Vista directory. At startup, the program checks for
their existence, and if found, calls them at various points.
PROTECT.EXT
This exit gets called each time the user attempts to type on top of a protected field. To enable this
exit, create a macro file named PROTECT.EXT using any text editor, and place it in the Vista
directory.
Typically, you might use this to cause the cursor to move to an input field if you attempt to type on
top of a protected field. For example, Key(Home) in this macro will cause the cursor to be moved
to the home field. Another option might be Key(Tab) to automatically move the cursor to the next
field on the screen.
Or you could code more elaborate processing, for example, to determine if the command line
happens to be on the bottom or top of the screen, and move the cursor appropriately.
TPXSWAP.EXT
If you are running a program from Computer Associates called TPX, youve probably often
wondered which session you are currently viewing (for example, before issuing a critical command).
The typical way to be sure is to back out to the TPX main menu, and re-select the session you are
interested in, even though you may have already been there.
Ive always wanted a way to display my current TPX session somewhere on the screen. But since
you cant interfere with the actual screen data, the place for this is outside the screen area, for
example, on the emulator title or status bar.
But how can the terminal emulator know what TPX session you are currently viewing? And how
can the emulator know when a session switch has occurred? Well, another CA product, Netspy,
also needs to know this same information. To solve this, the developers have a Netspy option
within the TPX setup parameters which, when enabled, will cause TPX to send the session name
out to the terminal (at session swap time) in invisible text. You can t see this information, but
Netspy - and a terminal emulator - can see it. This option can be enabled for TPX regardless of if
you have Netspy or not.
When you have a Vista TPXSWAP exit active, by creating a Vista macro called TPXSWAP.EXT
and restarting Vista, this exit gets control whenever one of these invisible TPC session switch
messages is received. Vista grabs the TPX session id from the message, places it in a variable
named TPXSWAP, and then calls the exit.
in the exit, of course, you can do what you want with the TPXSWAP variable, such as adding it to
the title or status bar.
The only downside Ive found is that once youve gotten your TPX administrator to enable the
Netspy function, you might notice a short delay while swapping sessions due to the extra data
coming from the host at that time.
LOCKED.EXT
This exit gets called when a user attempts to type on a locked keyboard. Its purpose is to react to
typing on a terminal that is continuously locked, such as an SDSF screen in AUTO UPDATE mode.
For example, the following macro would issue an Attention to unlock the keyboard and allow typing,
when a user attempts to type on the locked screen:
**************************************************
* locked.ext exit
**************************************************
If Screen(2,21,16) = "**** AUTO UPDATE"
Key("Attention")
Key("ResetKeyBuffer")
Wait(20,status="unlocked")
function = Right(passedkey,Len(passedkey)-2)
Select Left(passedkey,1)
Case "C"
Type(function)
Case "A","E","O"
Key(function)
Case "M"
Run(function)
EndSelect
Exit(8)
EndIf
Upon input, this exit is passed the passedkey variable, which is in the format of:
x-function
where:
examples:
Upon exit, you should provide a return code using the Exit statement, as shown in the example
code above.
Exit(0) - default, causes Vista to continue normally
Exit(8) - causes Vista to interrupt normal key processing
Macro errors usually result in a message window containing the line number
where the error occurred and a short description of the error:
Code
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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Description
Unknown Error - Contact Vista Support
Keyword or Variable name is too long
Numeric constant is too many characters
Numeric constant is too large
Special character string is too long
If without Endif was seen
Unknown keyword seen
Unknown parameter seen
Unexpected text seen
While without EndWhile was seen
Variable or function not found
Unknown operator
Unbalanced parenthesis
Incompatible variable type for operation
Operation invalid for text variable types
Unknown function
Invalid number of parms for function
Invalid type of parm for function
Operand seen where an operation was expected
No more available file handles
Invalid open-file action
File open error
File is not open
Record too long
Invalid file handle
End of file
Left parenthesis expected to follow function name
Invalid DebugWindow parm
Variable name is too long
Reserved system variable cannot be altered
Invalid Key Function
Timeout while waiting for condition to be true
Variable table overflow
Cursor move key functions need row,col parms
NextSession parm invalid
Else was seen without a previous If
EndIf was seen without a previous If
Internal error - Invalid scan table address
EndWhile was seen without a previous While
Case was seen without a previous Select
Default was seen without a previous Select
EndSelect was seen without a previous Select
Next was seen without a previous For
Assignment not seen on a For statement
For statement was seen without To parameter
For statement must be all numeric values
Step is the only statement that can follow To
47
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Support
Tech Support
Troubleshooting
Problem Doc
Registration
For Registered Users
How to Register
A Note for Registered Users
Tech Support
Registered or Unregistered users can contact the author at [email protected] for
problems, questions, enhancement requests, or anything else.
For problems, please give as much information about the problem you can, and also any of your own
diagnostic results.
Troubleshooting
If you are having a problem, you may want to scan over some of these problems and solutions to see if you
can resolve it yourself. Otherwise please read the Tech Support page. Please note that some of the
proposed solutions listed below may seem obvious to you, but I guess I still have to mention them.
I cant get connected. Ive never gotten connected yet using Vista.
Do you have a valid TCP connection setup on your PC? If not, please talk to your network folks and get
that setup first.
Did you type in your host name or numeric address correctly?
If connecting using a phone line, is your connection dialed up and working properly?
Can you logon to the same host name using another PC, perhaps using another terminal? If so then
possibly the problem is with Vista itself. Please send me a trace file if you dont mind.
If you are not sure of your target TN3270 server, try to logon to ibmlink.advantis.com. Even if you dont
have a userid there, you should still be able to connect and get to their logon screen. If you can connect
to ibmlink but not to your own server, then please send me a trace file of your attempts.
Im connected ok, but my screen locks up when I try to logon, or when I do certain functions.
This obviously should not happen. There is nothing you can do but to send me a trace file, and Ill do
my best to determine the problem and get a fix for you.
Why doesnt my window size change to what I set it to?
While Vista supplies a large set of raster font sizes, there still might not be one that fits your requested
window size exactly, so Vista resizes the window to the nearest raster font. Sometimes this makes it
look like the window resizing is broken. Try going to the Font/Select Font menu item and setting Size
Window to Font off. This will leave the window size setting as you put it, but Vista may have to have
some blank filler space around the screen area to make up for the lack of an exact font match.
The default keyboard map in Vista is setup quite a bit like the IBM emulator. See the Default
Keyboard Mapping help doc for help in finding a key, or better yet, Edit the keyboard to exactly the
way you want it.
Even though I just installed Vista, it keeps telling me my trial period has expired.
Have you installed Vista on this particular PC more than a month ago? Perhaps it was installed once
and then removed? Contact me for an extension code and you should be on your way to testing again.
If Vista has not ever been installed on this particular PC and you are getting the trial-is-over message,
perhaps the date is not set correctly on the PC.
The toolbar icon with the picture of the clipboard doesnt do anything
The clipboard icon executes macro clipbrd.mac, and if you edit that macro youll see it just does a
WinExec function to call clipbrd.exe. Unfortunately clipbrd.exe (a nice clipboard viewer) is not always
available, especially when running windows 95 or NT. If you can find a copy of this program on another
computer, you can copy it to your windows directory. Otherwise just point the clipbrd.mac macro to
another clipboard viewer. Last resort - use the toolbar editor to remove that button from the toolbar.
Ive had enough of this so-called emulator, I want to remove Vista from my computer.
The easiest way is to hit Start/Control-Panel/Add-Remove-Programs, find Vista tn3270 in the program
list, and double click to remove it from your system. If you have created any extra files in the c:\vista32
(default) directory, youll need to delete those yourself. Also, youll need to delete the vista.ini file in
your windows directory for a complete cleanup.
Vista does not install any DLLs or anything else in your windows directories (other than the previously
mentioned vista.ini file).
If you do remove Vista from your computer, the author would really appreciate a note about what you
didnt like, or why it wouldnt work in your environment - if you get the time. Thanks.
Problem Documentation
If you came here, you must be really having trouble either getting connected, or with certain screen data being
sent from or to the host. Please follow these instructions to aid in producing problem doc.
Registration
Vista is distributed as "Shareware", which is a method that gives you a chance to try out features of the
program to decide if it meets your needs and works properly in your environment.
The Vista trial is distributed as a full, completely operational version, with a time limit of 30 days. About
20 days after installation, Vista will begin showing a reminder window with 2 registration options:
Register
This option brings up a registration form for editing. To register, just fill in the fields
and mail it to the indicated address with your payment. Other registration details are
on the form itself. Once registered, you will receive your personal Registration Code
which will remove the time limits from the product.
Enter Code
Select this option when you have received your Registration Code. Youll need to
enter the User Name and Reg Code exactly as listed on the registration note you
received (if received by e-mail, use cut & paste for each field). Also, make sure you
save your registration name and code, in case you change computers or hard disks
and need to re-install the product.
Both these registration options can also be accessed via the Help menu item.
To keep the product as inexpensive as possible, nothing is mailed to the registered user except the
registration code document. You already have the entire product installed from the trial distribution.
Complete product documentation is supplied in the Help system.
Restrictions
Vista was designed for a specific environment, and may not meet your needs in all aspects. Some of the
items Vista does not support at this time are listed below, although support may be planned for the
future:
General Items
Only standard 3278 models 2, 3, 4, and 5 are supported. Vista does not emulate 3279
graphics, or 5250. Just barely enough standard VTxxx terminal support is provided to get you
logged on through a typical firewall.
Only TN3270 and TN3270E communication is supported. Vista cannot talk to any other type of
host attachment device.
Any kind of HLLAPI interface is not supported
Setting up your PC as a VTAM LU for printing is not supported
Display Items
Extended field attributes of Field Outlining, Field Validation, Character Set, and Transparency
are not supported.
Light Pen action is not supported
A Bit of History
Usage Hints
A Bit of History
Since 1983 Ive worked with MVS mainframe computers as a System Programmer, and from
that time until 1991 I used, almost exclusively, a real 3278 mod-4 dumb terminal. Of course, long before
1991 PCs had already been replacing real terminals in our MVS shop. But my mod-4 was about the
last to go. For years I had seen my colleagues struggle with the emulators of that era. Typically they
had large, difficult-to-read text, nobody used NewLine, Attention, or EraseEOF because they couldn t
find the keys, and worst of all, the emulators slowed you down. I remember even in 1990 watching
emulators slowly paint their text and redraw icons, while my trusty mod-4 was still plugging along doing
instant screen updates.
Then came the 486 with an 800x600 NEC monitor. The first time I saw that setup I was
hooked. The machine ran fast, the clear graphics painted almost immediately, and the options and
functions available on the new OS/2 Communication Manager, such as type-ahead and multiple session
windows, were too good to pass up. I finally said good-bye to my old mod-4, got a new 486-33 on my
desk, and ran happily with that for many years.
Then in 1997 word came down from the top that we were to abandon OS/2 and standardize
our desktops with Windows 95 - a logical move, actually. More than 80% of the company was already
on some version of Windows and running a commercial tn3270 emulator. I personally have no real
preference toward either OS/2 or Windows, but the mandate to convert to Windows meant I had to
abandon Communication Manager and use another emulator that I did not like at all.
What better place to look for an emulator in 1997 than on the World Wide Web? Thats what I
did, and I found a commercially available one I liked it a lot. Only $150 and I was up and running with a
first-class program, a knock-off of the McGill University emulator. Within months after buying it though, I
saw some minor problems, and I had some ideas for improvements that I would like to have seen
implemented. I wrote notes to the company, but they must have been a bit too busy to respond to a
lone user. A new version came out with one new function I had requested, but in the process of
programming it they had introduced a related bug. The frustration of that, plus the fact that as a
continuous emulator user I was in a position to think of new useful features I could really use, I decided
to write my own.
Vista is the result, and I hope it works for you as well as it does for me.
Usage Hints
Since I am the person who uses Vista the most, I thought I might try to pass along some general ideas
Ive learned while using it, and see if they might fit into your own Windows emulator environment.
lines as there are on the screen - essentially doing things like the multiple
<newline>d<newline>d... described above.
Vista also supports multiple cut/copy buffers, and overlays full screen input fields properly, so
you can really make use of the Cut and Paste facility and save lots of typing and possible
typing errors.
Put the Julian Date and 24 Hour Time on the Status Bar
Since these 2 formats are often used on the mainframe, it can save you from having to find the
Julian date on a calendar. And if youre like me, I can never figure out if 4pm is 14:00 or 16:00
since I seem to have missed the fun of military life, and can t add or subtract without a
calculator.
For example, the following variables in the Status Text line:
%m/%d/%y.%j %H:%M
... will resolve to something like:
12/19/97.353 21:56
Of course, you can put anything else you want on the Status Text line or on the Window Text
line, as long as it will fit. See Variables for a list of other available variables you can use on the
status line or window title bar.
TN3270E notes
The original TN3270 protocol, sometimes called "traditional tn3270" and described in RFC1576, had
some items not addressed, such as:
Attention and Sysreq functions had no specification
WSF (write structured field) capability was not clear at connection time
3270 class printers could not be emulated
There was no way to pass an LUNAME to the host
The host BIND information could not be passed to the emulator
That first item (Attention and Sysreq functions) was probably the most important item to mainframe
folks. With traditional tn3270, servers supported the functions in various ways, not always compatible
with all terminal emulators. But for the past few years at least, it seems almost all tn3270 servers are
consistent with regard to Attention and Sysreq handling, so this is not really a problem anymore.
Also in traditional tn3270, the second item (WSF ability) is now handled by a specification at connection
time, and although not actually in the RFC standards, like the Attention and Sysreq handling it has
essentially become part of the standard tn3270 server.
So... why am I saying all this? You might have noticed that Vista defaults to traditional tn3270 rather
than the newer TN3270E protocol. This is because I've found the traditional method to work well in
most situations, and avoids the extra header and acknowledgment commumincation required by the
TN3270E protocol (see RFC 1647).
Also, Vista currently does not support 3270 printer emulation, and doesn't care about the BIND
information passed from the host, so there really are no benefits of using TN3270E protocol unless you
need to connect to a specific LUNAME, or you are having trouble with the traditional tn3270 connection.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge the following MVS System Programmers who
helped make Vista what it is today:
Skip
Robinson
User number 1. Many thanks to Skip for putting up with all the
problems of a new program, and especially for all the suggestions and
creative ideas, many of which are in the current product. Also thanks
for having confidence in the product and sticking with it regardless of
any problems encountered.
Tom Dien
Also many thanks to the dozens of people around the world who found and helped diagnose
bugs, made suggestions, and helped with testing.
You know who you are... 8-)
Tom