Managing messages

Managing and editing messages is performed through the message browser pane, which displays messages for Local Queues and Cluster Queues. Note that messages for Alias Queues are also displayed, but will depend on the type of the original queue the alias is referring to (for example, if it refers to a remote queue, no messages will be displayed).

The message browser pane contains a range of view and edit options, and specific operations that include copying, moving, saving and additional actions.

For Local and Cluster Queue types, you manage messages through the Summary View, which is available from the Details option of the Generic Operations menu of the queue's Properties View. 

Accessing message managing and editing options

In the procedure below Local Queues is used as an example.

1. Select a Queue Manager and click Local Queues from the Navigation pane to display the list of Local Queues.

2. Identify the queue whose messages you want to view and click the queue icon next to the queue name, or the CurrentQDepth value link. Note that the queue icon is only displayed if there are messages on that queue.

    

   Note

   When viewing messages by clicking the icon next to the queue name, the Current Queue Depth needs to be displayed with the Summary View; for example, this option will not be available when using a user-defined layout where Current Queue Depth was not selected as a displayed property. In this case, you need to either adjust your layout to include this property or you need to edit the queue and invoke View Messages from within the queue's Properties View.

    

   The Messages for Queue <name> pane is displayed, and the most recent messages are shown. This pane also displays the Message Data column, which shows the first 80 bytes of message data for each message.
   You can select from a number of options in the Operations drop-down menu, either above the Messages list or adjacent to each message. These options are described in the following sections.

Generic message pane options

The following options are available from the options menu at the top of the Messages for Queue <name> pane. 

• Operations drop-down menu, which includes the following options:
  • New: Displays the New Message dialog box to create and put a new message onto the queue.
  • Find Messages: Displays the Search Details dialog box in which you can search for specific messages.
  • Details: Displays the Details dialog box in which you can edit and manage multiple messages. 

  • Save: Enables you to save messages as a file (in .json format). Here you can also specify Data Only and then you can save messages in the following, readable formats: 

    • delimited file
    • zip archive
    • multiple files

    If the MQMD Format value is MQSTR, the message data is saved in a human-readable format, with no compression or encoding.

  • Upload/Import: Displays the Upload dialog box, to upload a message that was saved to a file, and import it into the queue. You can upload three types of file: 
    • BMM Administration message file
    • file as a single message
    • file as multiple messages (with each message's data separated on a new line)
  • Delete: Displays the Delete Message dialog box for deleting multiple messages from the queue.
  • Move Messages: Displays the Move Message dialog box for moving messages from one queue to another queue on the same queue manager.
  • Copy Messages: Displays the Copy Message dialog box for copying messages from one queue to another queue on the same queue manager.
  • CSV Export: Creates a CSV file of the messages displayed in the message browser.
• Cancel: Returns the display to the previous Queue Summary view.
• Refresh: Immediately refreshes the contents of the message browser.

Message pane operations

Available operations for each individual message include:

• Edit: Brings up the detailed properties of the selected message. The message properties and body can be modified and saved back to the queue. Refer to the Editing-messages section for details.
• Message Clipboard: Displays the selected message's contents in text format (a JSON representation of the message that also includes all headers), which can then be pasted elsewhere. Use your keyboard to copy and paste as required into other messages.
• Save to File: Displays the Save To File dialog box, which enables you to save the message to a file. Note that the files will be readable in text format if defined accordingly.
• Delete: Deletes this message from the queue after confirmation.
• Move Message: Displays the Move Message dialog box for moving this message from one queue to another queue on the same queue manager.
• Copy Message: Displays the Copy Message dialog box for copying the message from one queue to another queue on the same queue manager.