Abend-AID Viewer Interface

This topic describes the general format of Abend-AID Viewer screens and the different methods available for accessing them.

Screen Layout

All Abend-AID Viewer screens have the same basic format. As shown in Basic Screen Format (Borders On), a title line, a command line, and a message line comprise the first three lines.

Basic Screen Format (Borders On)

Following the message line is the presentation area, which consists of menu selections or data fields whose arrangement and content differ from screen to screen. In addition, the Abend-AID Viewer dynamically adjusts the information that appears in the presentation area, based on your terminal size.

The last line displays the currently selected entry’s identification number, job name, abend code, and viewing server name. It also identifies the PF key for listing the commands available from the screen. Initially, this default is PF24 for the commands list. For more information, see Modifying PF Key Functions. Additionally, after the PF key setting, More ... appears as the last item in the last line if the screen extends beyond one page.

For complete information about the currently selected dump, use the INFO fast-path command or press the INFO PF key. (PF20 is the default.) See Batch Entry Information Screen and SVC Dump Entry Information Screen for an explanation of the information available using the INFO command or PF key.

The remainder of this section describes the following screen components:

• Screen borders
• Scroll information fields
• COMMAND and OPTION fields
• Line commands
• Screen attribute defaults.

Screen Borders

You can display Abend-AID Viewer screens with a partial border or with a full border as shown in Basic Screen Format (Borders On). The top border is always displayed, but you can choose to display the side and/or bottom borders. The default for the border display is set in the User Profile screen’s Display screen borders field. To override this default for the current session only, type the BORDERS command with the appropriate parameters in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field on any Abend-AID Viewer screen and press Enter. For the BORDERS command’s syntax, see BORDERS. For information on setting the color of the border, see Screen Attributes. For information on setting other defaults on the User Profile screen, see User Profile Screen.

Scroll Information Fields

The presentation area on Abend-AID Viewer screens can contain a fixed data area, a scrollable data area, or both. As shown in the following figure, the fixed data area, if present, appears above the scrollable data area. Further, some screens contain an additional fixed data area that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Data Screen with Fixed and Scrollable Areas

You cannot change the relative position of the fields listed in a fixed data area. In addition, the IBM terminal emulation you are using has no effect on their arrangement

Scrollable data areas, in comparison, automatically expand or contract to fill the available screen space. For example, a screen emulating an IBM 3270 MOD2 terminal displays up to 24 rows of information in an 80-character format (Data Screen with Fixed and Scrollable Areas), but a screen emulating a MOD5 terminal displays up to 27 rows of information in a 132-character format.

Masking and Sorting

The scrollable data area includes a mask line that you can use to tailor the contents of the scrollable data area. The mask acts as a filter, and only the list entries that match each column mask value appears in the scrollable data area. To mask the data in any column, type the characters of the data you wish to display, and press Enter. The asterisk (*) character is the wildcard character.

For example, to display Kernel Task Summary information only for kernel tasks with a transaction ID beginning with the characters CS, enter CS** in the mask line in the TRAN column. To reset the column mask to all wildcard characters for an individual column, clear the column mask using the space bar or the Erase EOF key.

You can also sort the scrollable column data by each of the column headings by using the SORT primary commands. These commands rearrange the column data alphabetically or chronologically in ascending or descending order, depending on which command you use or which column you choose to sort by. New with Release 11.2, the SORTD primary command rearranges the column data alphabetically or chronologically in descending order. See SORTA or SORTD for more information.

By default, Abend-AID does not restore the mask and sort parameters from your last session on the Abend-AID Directory and the Source Program Directory. To enable this functionality in your user profile, see User Profile screen.

Rearrange Column Headings

In addition, you can use the ARRANGE primary command to rearrange the columns on any screen that contains columns for the current session. Your new settings are saved for future use on the Fault Summary, Abend-AID Directory, File Summary, Database PCB Summary, and I/O PCB Summary screens. If you save the rearranged columns, the screen displays Customized View in the bottom-right.

Valid only on Abend-AID Viewer screens with left-right scrollable columns such as the Abend-AID Directory, the ARRANGE command lets you rearrange the position of the columns on the screen where you enter this command. In the pop-up window that is displayed, you can enter the following line commands next to the desired column in the list of screen column headings:

• M (Move column)
• A (After column)
• B (Before column)
• L (Lock/Unlock column toggle)
• H (Hide/Show column toggle)

After you’ve made your changes, type END (or press the PF3 key) to save your changes, CANCEL to exit the pop-up window without saving, or RESET to restore the screen column defaults. See ARRANGE for more information.

Row Field

Screens that have an up/down scrollable area include a Row field in their title line. This field lists two numbers: the row number of the first row currently displayed and the total number of rows in the scrollable area. For example, in the following figure, Row 00001 of 00015 indicates that the first row currently displayed is also the first row of 15 total rows.

Location of Scrolling Information Fields

Up/Down Scroll Field

Screens that have a scrollable area also have a SCROLL field listed immediately below the Row field. To scroll through the data, press the UP and DOWN PF keys. (PF7 and PF8 are the defaults.) The number of rows scrolled depends on the SCROLL field’s listed value, such as CSR, PAGE, or MAX. To change the scroll amount, overtype the listed value with a different amount. (The Abend-AID Viewer supports the same scroll amount values used in ISPF.) You also can use the UP, DOWN, TOP, and BOTTOM commands to scroll through the data. For information about the UP and DOWN commands, see Default PF Key Definitions, and for information about the TOP and BOTTOM commands, see Abend-AID-Viewer-Commands.

Left/Right Scroll Field

Some screens have a left/right scrollable area. If so, left (<==) and right (==>) arrow symbols appear immediately below the SCROLL field (Location of Scrolling Information Fields). If the screen scrolls in only a left or right direction, then only the arrow indicating that direction is shown.

To scroll left or right, press the LEFT or RIGHT PF key. (PF10 and PF11 are the defaults.) The number of columns scrolled depends on the SCROLL field’s listed value. You also can use the LEFT and RIGHT commands to scroll through the data. For information about these commands, see Default PF Key Definitions.

COMMAND and OPTION Fields

All data screens have a COMMAND field on their command line, as shown in the following figure. In comparison, all menu screens have an OPTION field on their command line. Though these two fields have different names, they perform the same function of providing a location from which you can execute Abend-AID Viewer commands.

Location of Command Fields

Not all commands are available from every screen, however. To display the entire command list for the Abend-AID Viewer, type CMDLIST or HELP COMMANDS in the COMMAND or OPTION field, and then press Enter. For a description of each command, see Abend-AID-Viewer-Commands. You can also display the description for any command by typing HELP command-name and pressing Enter. For example, typing HELP MAPD displays information describing the function and syntax of the MAPD command.

Line Commands

As shown in Location of Command Fields, some data screens also display single character line commands that you can execute against the entries listed. To execute a line command, tab the cursor to the desired line command entry field, type the character assigned to the command, and press Enter.

For general information about line commands, perform either of the following two procedures:

• Type HELP in the COMMAND field, position the cursor on any line command entry field, and press Enter.
• Position the cursor on any line command entry field and press the HELP PF key. (PF1 is the default.)

For specific information about a single line command, perform one of the following procedures:

• Type HELP in the COMMAND field, position the cursor on the line command or its name, and press Enter.
• Position the cursor on the line command or its name and press the HELP PF key.
• On the general help screen for line commands, position the cursor on the desired line command and press the HELP PF key.

Screen Attribute Defaults

All fields and screen areas have assigned highlighting, color, and interactive defaults. The Abend-AID Viewer uses these defaults to differentiate the types of information it can display. Figure, for example, highlights the colors the Abend-AID Viewer uses to specify field names, field data, and tab-selectable field data.

Data Screen Default Colors

You have the option to change field and screen area defaults to suit your own tastes. For specifics, see Screen attributes.

Screen Access

The Abend-AID Viewer offers a variety of methods for navigating from screen to screen. These methods include selecting screens directly from the menus, using the cursor point-and-shoot feature, or executing simple navigation commands. In addition, several PF key defaults directly access specific screens. This flexibility provides both novice and expert Abend-AID Viewer users with easy access to needed information.

Menu Selections

To select an option from a displayed menu, type the option’s alphanumeric selection character or its mnemonic identifier in the OPTION field and press Enter. For example, to select the Diagnostic Summary from the Report Menu (Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis), type 1 or DIAG in the OPTION field and press Enter. Tabbing the cursor to the option’s mnemonic identifier (DIAG) and pressing Enter accomplishes the same result.

Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis

Cursor Point-and-Shoot Feature

The cursor point-and-shoot feature gives you direct access to specific locations in storage and to detailed information about specific data elements.

Note: By default, tab-selectable fields are green.

To use this feature, execute one of the following procedures:

• In the COMMAND field, type the command you want to execute, for example, DECODE, DISASM, HEXD, or WHERE. Then tab the cursor to the applicable storage address or key data element field and press Enter.

  Important

  By default, tab-selectable fields are green.

• Tab the cursor to the applicable storage address or key data element field, and then press the PF key associated with the command you want to execute. Initial PF key defaults are set for the following commands:
  • DISASM (PF17)
  • HEXD (PF18)
  • DSECT (PF19)
  • WHO (PF21) - Region dumps only
  • MATCH (PF22) - Region dumps only
  • ASSIST (PF24).
• Tab the cursor to a storage address or key data element field, and then press the Enter key. The screen that Abend-AID displays depends on the content of the selected field. If there is no default action, a window appears showing available actions.

Using a Mouse with the Point-and-Shoot Feature

Depending on the emulator you’re using to access Abend-AID, you may be able to use your mouse with the point-and-shoot feature. To enable point-and-shoot hotspots with IBM’s Personal Communications for Windows, do the following:

1. From the Edit pull-down menu, select Preferences.
2. Select Hotspots Setup.
3. Under the Point-and-Select Commands section, check the box preceding ENTER at cursor position.
4. Click OK .

You now have direct access to specific locations and to information about specific data elements by double-clicking on the highlighted field. If you are using another emulator to access Abend-AID, refer to its user documentation/help to determine if it supports this feature and for the procedure to enable point-and-shoot hotspots.

ASSIST Function

The ASSIST command displays the commands that are available for the current screen or field. Pressing the ASSIST PF key also executes this command (PF24 is the default). For example, to list the commands available for the current screen, tab to the COMMAND field and press the ASSIST PF key, or type ASSIST in the COMMAND field, and press Enter. To list the commands available for a specific field, tab to the field and press the ASSIST PF key, or type ASSIST in the COMMAND field, tab to the field, and press Enter. If the current screen or field has no commands associated with it, a message appears indicating that the ASSIST function is not available.

Navigation Commands

Most Abend-AID Viewer screens have a unique mnemonic identifier, such as DIAG for the Diagnostic Summary or DB2 for the DB2 Information menu. In addition, every screen listed as a menu option has an assigned alphanumeric selection character. For example, on the Report Menu shown in Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis, the Diagnostic Summary’s selection character is 1 and the File Summary selection character is 3.

Fast-Path Commands

A screen’s mnemonic identifier is also referred to as its fast-path command. You can directly access a screen simply by typing its fast-path command in the COMMAND or OPTION field on any other screen and pressing Enter. For example, entering MAIN or MM on any Abend-AID Viewer screen, returns you to the Report Menu.

To determine a command’s syntax, type HELP cmdname in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field and press Enter. For example, HELP CORE displays a pop-up window describing the CORE command’s syntax.

Jump Commands

Another method for accessing screens directly is to use jump commands. These commands are ISPF-like selection strings that uniquely identify the screens accessible from the menus.

For example, to access the LE Heap Summary screen, which is the second selection on the LE Information menu, type =8.2 or >8.2 in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter. The number 8 starts the command string, because the LE Information menu is the eighth selection on the Report Menu as shown in Report Menu for Batch Abend Analysis.

You can include mnemonic identifiers/fast-path commands in jump command syntax. For example, either of the following jump commands access the MVS Environment Summary screen for an SVC dump: 

By definition, a jump command is preceded by either an equal sign (=), or a greater-than sign (>). Preceding a jump command with an equal sign routes a screen’s access through the Report Menu. As a consequence, exiting the resultant screen with the END command (PF3) displays the Report Menu, rather than the screen from which you typed the jump command. In comparison, using the greater-than sign causes the Abend-AID Viewer to redisplay the screen from which you typed the command.

Primary Commands

Abend-AID Viewer primary commands perform specific functions such as screen manipulation, cursor movement, and dump information access and display. Examples of primary commands are ASSIST, FIND, HELP, PRINT, WHERE, and WHO. To execute a primary command, type the command in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field and press Enter. See Abend-AID-Viewer-Commands for a description of each Abend-AID Viewer primary command and its syntax.

To determine a particular command’s syntax while you are using the Abend-AID Viewer, type HELP cmdname in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field and press Enter. For example, HELP FIND displays a pop-up window describing the FIND command’s syntax.

Command Availability

A small subset of fast-path and primary commands is always available, even when you have not selected a dump from the Abend-AID Directory. A few additional fast-path and primary commands become available once you select an SVC dump entry from the directory. Most commands, however, become available only after you select a batch entry from the directory.

To determine which commands are available, type CMDLIST or HELP COMMANDS in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field and press Enter. A scrollable display appears that lists the commands in alphabetical order.

ISPF/TSO Commands

If you are accessing the Abend-AID Viewer from ISPF/TSO, you can enter ISPF and/or TSO commands without exiting from the Abend-AID Viewer by doing any one of the following options:

• Split the screen and use a different panel.
• Define an IPSF/TSO command to a PF key and use it to execute the command. See Modifying PF Key Functions for more information.
• Type ISPF followed by the ISPF command on the command line and press Enter.
• Type ISPF followed by a semi-colon, and then TSO followed by the TSO command on the command line and press Enter. For example:ISPF;TSO LISTA

Return to the Abend-AID Viewer session by using the END command. The PF3 key is the default.