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Choose Field Mode

When you provide a Single record layout while working with z/OS files, you must select the type of fields you want to use to define conditions for a set.

Warning

Important

When using a Record layout cross reference (XREF), all conditions are implicitly Unformatted mode defined with the User Defined Field dialog.

To Define Conditions for a Set

  1. Access the Choose Field Mode dialog box by clicking Add Set from the Conditions tab of the File-AID Data Editor Request window.

  2. Choose whether to use a Formatted or Unformatted mode in the data editor.

    Formatted mode specifies that you have a layout file for this condition.
    Unformatted mode specifies that you do not have a layout file for this condition and will navigate to the User Defined Field dialog box where you can define your field.

    Warning

    Important

    The choice for formatted or unformatted mode only appears for the first condition that you create for a specific set. If you create a new set, you will again choose whether to use formatted or unformatted mode.

  3. After making your selection, click OK. You will return to the File-AID Data Editor Request window. For more information, see Requesting-z-OS-Datasets.

User Defined Field

The User Defined Field dialog box defines conditions for selecting MVS data without using a record layout.

You can access the User Defined Field dialog box by clicking Add Set on the Condition tab of the File-AID Data Editor Request window. If you have provided a Single record layout, the Choose Field Mode dialog appears. Choose Unformatted criteria to access the User Defined Field dialog box.

To Specify a User-defined Field:

  1. In the Field column, click on <select field>. The User Defined Field dialog box appears.
  2. Enter the Location for this field.
  3. Enter the Field length. This field is required when searching for binary numeric data using the Binary (B) data type and must be either 1, 2, 4, or 8. If a length is not specified with the contains operator, it implies to scan from the specified location to the end of the record.
  4. Select a Data Type: Choices include: 
    • Any Case Text (T) (default): The values entered are used to compare with the data at the specified location and will match any case (upper, lower, or mixed) of the entered strings.
    • Exact Case Text (C): The values entered are used to compare with the data at the specified location and will match only the exact case of the entered strings.
    • Hex (X): The value is expected to be one or more even pairs of hex digits 0-9, A-F. The values entered are used to compare with the data at the specified location and will match the hex values of the data in the record.
    • Packed (P): Typically the value entered is a signed or unsigned decimal integer. It is used to compare with the data at the location in packed format. If the value entered is unsigned or positive, it will match a positive or an unsigned packed number at the specified location. If negative, it will only match a negative packed number at the specified location.
    • Binary (B): Similar to the Packed (P) data type, the value entered is a signed or unsigned decimal integer. A length (1, 2, 4, or 8) is required with this data type. The value entered is converted to a binary value and compared to the binary data at the specified location.
    • Numeric (N): Typically the value entered is a signed or unsigned decimal integer. It is used to compare with the data at the location in zoned numeric format where the sign is in the last byte. If the value entered is unsigned or positive, it will match a positive or an unsigned zoned numeric number at the specified location. If negative, it will only match a negative zoned numeric number at the specified location.
    • Bit Mask (M): This data type tests for individual bits in one byte of data at the specified location. The value specified is a pair of hex digits 0-9, A-F. Example: FF is a binary mask equivalent to 11111111. Special operators are provided when using this data type: is equal to (all ones, all 1s in the mask are on in the data), is not equal to (not ones, all 1s in the mask are off in the data), are mixed ones and zeros (some 1s, but not all, in the mask are on in the data), are not ones (not all 1s in the mask are on in the data). The operators are mixed ones and zeros and are not ones are only used when the bit mask contains more than one 1 and have no meaning if there is only 1 bit to test. When the mask has only one bit, the operator is equal to is the same as are mixed ones and zeros, and the operator is not equal to is the same as are not ones. 
  5. Select the desired Operator. The available operators depend on the data type chosen. Not all operators are available for every data type. For more information, see z-OS-Selection-Criteria-Operators.

  6. Enter the desired Value.

    For the operators is equal to, is not equal to, contains, and does not contain, you can enter a single value or you can enter multiple values separated by a comma. This means that any of the specified values will be a match.

    Since a comma is used to create an OR condition, in order to specify a condition where the value contains a comma, you must enter a double quote (") delimited value containing a comma, for example "find,the,comma". Any data enclosed in a pair of double quotes will be considered one value, not a list of multiple values. When using double quotes, you cannot specify multiple values separated by commas. Using double quotes allows you to search for strings containing commas, apostrophes, and even double quotes. Values beginning with a double quote must end with a double quote. The double quote delimiters at the beginning and end of the value are not included in the search value. For more information, see z-OS-Values.

    If you supply apostrophe (single quote) delimiters in the value, they will be considered part of the value. For example, a value of 'A,B' means 'A or B'. Apostrophes are not required, and if entered are considered to be data you are trying to find.

    For the is between and is not between operators, you must enter two values separated by a colon (:). For numeric data types (P, B, N) the is a valid field and is an invalid field operators do not use a value and should be left blank.

    For Packed, Numeric, and Binary values, no punctuation (decimals or commas) are permitted in the value.

    For Binary, values may be signed or unsigned decimal numbers within the range allowed for the length. For example with a length of 1 you may look for values in the range of (signed) -127 to +127 or (unsigned) 0 to 255. With a length of 2 you may look for values in the range of (signed) -32767 to +32767 or (unsigned) 0 to 65535. With a length of 4 you may look for values in the range of (signed) -2147483647 to +2147483647 or (unsigned) 0 to 4294967295. With a length of 8 you may look for values in the range of (signed) -999999999999999999 to unsigned or +999999999999999999 (18 digit number). 

    For Packed fields, a length is optional when specifying a value. File-AID will attempt to find a packed field of any length at the location specified. If a record does not contain a valid packed field of any length at the specified location, the record will not match the condition and will be counted as an error. If a length is specified, the number of digits you provide in the value must not exceed the length based on the formula digits = Length * 2 - 1. For example a length of 3 means a maximum value of -99999 thru +99999 (5 digits: 3 times 2 = 6 minus 1 = 5).

  7. Click OK to return to the File-AID Data Editor Request window.

Select Filter Field

The Select Filter Field dialog box allows you to select the field to use for the formatted condition you are defining. You can choose only one field per condition.

You can access the Select Filter Field dialog box by clicking <select field> in a new condition or clicking on a field name in an existing condition.

To Access the Select Filter Field:

  1. In the Field column, click on <select field>. The Select Filter Field dialog box appears.
  2. Select the desired field by clicking the desired field name. The search box near the top can be used to quickly find the desired field.
  3. Click OK to return to the File-AID Data Editor Request window to complete your condition.

 

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*

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