Getting Started with the Abend-AID Viewer
This section describes the following procedures:
- Logging onto the Abend-AID Viewer from ISPF/PDF, CICS, VTAM, or the Abend-AID Web Browser Interface.
- Selecting a viewing server
- Displaying server information
- Selecting an entry from the Abend-AID Directory
- Exiting the Abend-AID Viewer
- Accessing via the Abend-AID HOTKEY Command.
Logging onto the Abend-AID Viewer
The Abend-AID Viewer supports the following access methods:
ISPF/PDF | Select the option defined for the Abend-AID Viewer on your ISPF/PDF Report (or other) Menu, or execute the CLIST defined for the Abend-AID Viewer. |
VTAM | If your site uses a session manager, the Abend-AID Viewer may be defined as an option that you can select from the application selection (or other) menu. |
If your site has not defined the Abend-AID Viewer as a menu option, enter the following logon command: | |
LOGON APPLID(applid-name) | |
The parentheses are required as shown. | |
Once you enter the logon command, the Abend-AID Viewer displays the Server Logon screen, which shows your terminal ID in the Userid field by default. Enter your user ID in this field if you want to use the settings established in your user profile. See Setting-User-Controls for additional information. If your site is using external security, you must enter your user ID and password. | |
CICS | Enter an AADF transaction command directly from CICS on any blank screen. The following AADF transaction commands are valid: |
Your site must be licensed for and have installed Abend-AID for CICS to enable CICS access. | |
Abend-AID Web Browser Interface | Enter your site’s URL for the Abend-AID Web Browser Interface in the following format:
|
For the steps required to establish these access methods, see Abend-AID Advanced Configuration space.
Selecting a Viewing Server (ISPF Access Only)
If you are accessing from ISPF and your site has only one active viewing server, Abend-AID automatically logs you onto that viewing server and displays the Fault Summary screen. However, if your site has more than one active viewing server, Abend-AID displays the Server Selection screen. As shown in the following figure, this screen lists the viewing servers currently active on your system.
Server Selection Screen
To select a viewing server, place the cursor on the appropriate application ID (APPLID) and press Enter. After you select a viewing server, its APPLID is retained in your ISPF profile. To select this same viewing server in the next session, simply press Enter from the Server Selection Screen.
To bypass the Server Selection screen and reselect the last viewing server you accessed, type X.P in the Option field on the ISPF/PDF Primary Option Menu, where X is the site-defined option for the Abend-AID. The Fault Summary screen, which is described in Fault Summary is displayed.
Displaying Server Information
The Server information screen, shown in the following figure, displays information about the Abend-AID viewing server and the identity and number of active users. Access this screen from any Abend-AID screen by entering the SERVINFO fast-path command.
Server Information Screen
To access detailed information about the Abend-AID release currently running on this server use the cursor point-and-shoot feature to position the cursor on the RELEASE field and press Enter. To display information about the Common Shared Services release currently running on this server, use the cursor point-and-shoot feature to position the cursor on the CXRELSMP field and press Enter.
Selecting an Entry
The Fault Summary is the first screen displayed when you access from ISPF or VTAM. See Working-with-Dumps for a detailed description of this screen. You can also automatically reselect the last dump you were viewing by enabling this functionality using the User Profile screen, as described in User Profile screen.
Tab to a field on the summary that reflects the directory entries you want to see, and press Enter to display the Abend-AID Directory. You can select an entry from the Abend-AID Directory in one of three ways:
- Type an M next to the entry you want to select and press Enter. This line command selects the entry and displays the Report Menu. A system message on the menu confirms the current entry number.
- Type an S next to the entry you want to select and press Enter. This line command selects the entry and displays the diagnostic summary that Abend-AID has generated for it. A system message on the diagnostic summary confirms the current entry number.
- Place the cursor next to the appropriate entry number and press Enter. Like the M line command, this action selects the entry and displays the Report Menu.
Regardless of the method you use, all Abend-AID functions that are dump-dependent become available once you have successfully selected an entry.
Note:
The following Abend-AID functions are available only after you have selected an entry from the Abend-AID Directory:
- Batch Entry Functions
- Diagnostic Summary
- Program Information
- File Request Summary
- IMS Information
- Abend Re-creation
- Db2 Information
- IDMS Information
- MQSeries Information
- Language Environment Information
- SVC Dump Entry Functions
- Diagnostic Summary
- z/OS SVC Analysis
- Control Blocks/Storage
- MVS Information
- IPCS Command Facility
Exiting the Abend-AID Viewer
To exit the Abend-AID Viewer from any screen, type EXIT or =X in the COMMAND (or OPTION) field, and then press Enter.
Pressing the END PF key backs you out, one screen at a time. PF3 is the default END PF key. Pressing the RETURN PF key returns you to the Fault Summary. PF4 is the default RETURN PF key. Press the END PF key to exit from either of these screens.
If you want the Abend-AID Viewer to display a confirmation window before exiting the product when you press the END PF key from the Fault Summary, enable this functionality by using the User Profile screen, as described in User Profile screen.
Accessing via the Abend-AID HOTKEY Command
The Abend-AID HOTKEY command access feature allows you to view an Abend-AID report by pressing a keyboard function key anywhere within the ISPF PDF development environment. You can hot key from your job log to the report in the Abend-AID report database. This function is context-independent and works from any ISPF screen display. The function merely depends on a new message, AB400A, written at dump capture to the job log.
One-key access also allows you to initially display the Diagnostic Summary of the Abend-AID report, which can then be navigated using the Abend-AID Viewer mainframe interface. See Abend-AID-Viewer-Interface for more information about using Abend-AID Viewer screens, navigation options, and commands.
Initial Setup
During Abend-AID installation, a site command was set to invoke the HOTKEY command access program; for example, AAHOTKEY. Determine which program function (PF) key to assign to the AAHOTKEY command (for example, PF6), and then set up both the non-keylist PF key definition and the keylists definitions.
To set up the non-keylist definition, select option 0 from the ISPF primary option menu and pull down the Function keys menu from the menu bar.
Assign Command to PF Key
To set up the keylist definitions (keylists are associated with applications), enter the KEYS command in the command input field of each application's panel display and make the appropriate PF key assignment.
If a site command was not set up during Abend-AID installation to invoke the HOTKEY command access program, you can do one of the following to access the report while viewing the AB400A message:
- Enter the TSO command TSO EXEC 'AC.FDBDCLST(AAVIEW)’ on the Command Input line to access the Abend-AID Viewer. You (or your site’s installer) can define the TSO HOTKEY command as an ISPF system command. See the IBM Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) documentation for the procedure to define an ISPF system command.
- Equate the TSO HOTKEY command to a PF key and thus provide hot-key access to the report. Display the ISPF panel by selecting option 0 from the ISPF primary option menu and pull down the Function keys menu from the menu bar. This panel enables you to equate a PF key to the command used to link to the Abend-AID Viewer. You now have one-key access to the Abend-AID report from SDSF or a SYSOUT archival package.
If your site plans to use the optional HOTKEY pop-up window functionality, installation library hlq.CTL member JCLONEKY was executed during Abend-AID installation to perform HOTKEY pop-up window initialization. Once pop-up window initialization has been completed, after Abend-AID analyzes a program failure and produces a report, an entry for the failing job is made in Abend-AID's table of abends.
When you press the key assigned to HOTKEY command access, this feature queries the table of abends for entries corresponding to jobs submitted by the user who invoked the HOTKEY command access. The entries are removed from the table of abends and added to the list of jobs to be displayed in a pop-up window.
The list is sorted in descending order by date and time of program failure. The most recent entries therefore appear at the top of the list. Before the list is displayed, the number of entries specified by the optional RETAIN pop-up window command are saved in your ISPF profile dataset. See RETAIN Commandfor more information. This command provides persistence across log-on sessions.
The next time you press the key defined for HOTKEY command access, the list of job names includes any new entries from the table of abends and the saved profile entries.
How HOTKEY Command Access Works
If you select a job using a utility to view the job’s message log and then press the key defined for HOTKEY command access, the current display screen image is searched for an AB400A message. This message is written to the job’s message log by Abend-AID at the time your program failed.
If an AB400A message is found, the report number and report dataset name are extracted from the message, and the Abend-AID Viewer is invoked to display the Diagnostic summaryfor the associated Abend-AID report. When you exit the Abend-AID Viewer, the following original screen is redisplayed.
Executing the TSO HOTKEY Command
If more than one AB400A message appears on the screen, select the report by positioning the cursor anywhere within the message for the report you want to view. If the cursor is not within a specific message, you are prompted to cursor-select one of the messages.
If an AB400A message is not found, a pop-up window displays a list of the most recent reports that have not yet been viewed. The list is sorted in descending order by date and time of program failure, as shown in the following figure. When you select a job from the list, the Abend-AID report for the job is immediately displayed.
List of Abend-AID Reports
Pop-Up Window Commands
The following panel commands are available for one-key access:
- AUTOSEL Command
- AUTOSAVE Command
- RETAIN Command
- SAVE Command
- MIN Command
- MAX Command
- JOB Command
- PROG Command
- CODE Command
- CLASS Command
AUTOSEL Command
Syntax: AUTOSEL minutes (0 – 1440)
The AUTOSEL command specifies the time, in minutes, that a new entry, retrieved from the Abend-AID system-wide job table, is eligible for auto-selection.
When you press the key defined for one-key access and an entry is auto-selected, the pop-up display of Abend-AID reports is bypassed and the report for the selected entry is immediately displayed.
Each of the following conditions must be satisfied for an entry to be auto-selected:
- The report must not have been previously viewed.
- The current time, minus the time the report was produced, must be less than, or equal to, the auto-select time.
Examples
AUTOSEL 30 | Sets the auto-select time to 30 minutes. |
AUTOSEL 0 | Disables auto-selection. |
AUTOSAVE Command
Syntax: AUTOSAVE ON|OFF
The AUTOSAVE command sets the auto-save function ON or OFF.
The list of jobs displayed includes saved profile entries, and new entries, if any, from the Abend-AID system-wide job table. The new entries appear at the top of the list and the top five entries in the list are saved in your user profile before the list displays.
The AUTOSAVE function applies only if you have explicitly made changes to the list. For example, if you deleted an entry using the D (Delete) line command, or if you added an entry using a field name command, such as JOB or PROG.
In this case, if AUTOSAVE is ON, the top five entries in the list are automatically saved when you exit the panel display and either enter the END/RETURN command or select an entry to view a report.
If AUTOSAVE is OFF, any explicit changes you made to the list are not saved when you exit the panel display. However, you can save changes using the SAVE command.
Examples
AUTOSAVE ON | Sets auto-save on. |
AUTOSAVE OFF | Sets auto-save off. |
RETAIN Command
Syntax: RETAIN nnnn | NONE|ALL
The RETAIN command specifies the maximum number of table entries to be saved in your ISPF profile dataset. You can enter any number from 0 to 9999, or you can specify RETAIN=ALL or RETAIN=NONE.
The list of jobs displayed includes saved profile entries and new entries (if any) from the Abend-AID global table. The new entries appear at the top of the list.
The top entries in the list are saved in your user profile before the list is displayed.
If you specify RETAIN=ALL, all entries are saved in your profile dataset. Note that over time the number of saved entries could be large, which will decrease performance. You can of course manually manage the size of the list using the D (Delete) line command.
SAVE Command
Syntax: SAVE
Use the SAVE command to explicitly save changes you have made to the list of jobs displayed.
When you enter the SAVE command, the top five entries in the list are saved in your ISPF user profile.
The next time the one-key access feature is invoked, the list includes any new entries from the Abend-AID system-wide job table in addition to the saved profile entries.
The new entries appear at the top of the list.
Examples
SAVE | Saves the top five entries in the list. |
MIN Command
Syntax: MIN
Use the MIN command to display the list of jobs in a pop-up window.
When you use the MIN command, if the current display mode is full-screen, the display mode is changed to pop-up. The current display mode is retained in your ISPF profile dataset.
You can assign the MIN and MAX commands to function keys (for example, PF4/PF5) to enable you to quickly toggle between the pop-up window and full-screen display.
Example
MIN | Displays list in pop-up window and changes display mode to pop-up. |
MAX Command
Syntax: MAX
Use the MAX command displays the list of jobs in a full-screen display. If the current display mode is a pop-up window, the display mode is changed to full-screen. The current display mode is retained in your ISPF profile dataset.
You can assign the MIN and MAX commands to function keys (for example, PF4/PF5) to enable you to quickly toggle between the pop-up window and full-screen display.
Example
MAX | Displays list full-screen and changes display mode to full-screen. |
JOB Command
Syntax: JOB jobname {ALL}
The JOB command searches the Abend-AID system-wide job table for an entry with the specified job name. If an entry is found, it is added to the list of jobs displayed only if you have read-access to the associated report dataset.
The entry is not removed from the system-wide job table. Only entries that correspond to the jobs you own are removed from the system-wide job table.
If you specify the optional ALL parameter, all entries in the system-wide job table with the specified job name are added to the list.
Examples
JOB P4890100 | Searches for an entry with a job name equal to P4890100. If found, the entry is added to the list. |
JOB P4890100 ALL | Searches for all entries with a job name equal to P4890100. All entries found are added to the list. |
JOBID Command
Syntax: JOBID Jnnnnnnn
The JOBID command searches the Abend-AID system-wide job table for an entry with the specified job number (JES job ID). If an entry is found, it is added to the list of jobs displayed, if you have read-access to the associated report database.
The entry is not removed from the system-wide job table. Only entries that correspond to the jobs that you own are removed from the system-wide job table.
Examples
JOBID J0573079 | Searches for an entry with a job number equal to J0573079. If found, the entry is added to the list. |
PROG Command
Syntax: PROG program-name {ALL}
Use the PROG command to search the Abend-AID system-wide job table for an entry with the specified program name. If an entry is found, it is added to the list of jobs displayed if you have read-access to the associated report database.
The entry is not removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table. Only entries that correspond to jobs that you own are removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table.
If you specify the optional ALL parameter, all entries in the Abend-AID system-wide job table, with the specified program name, are added to the list.
Examples
PROG PAYEXEC | Searches for an entry with a program name equal to PAYEXEC. If found, the entry is added to the list. |
PROG PAYEXEC ALL | Searches for all entries with a program name equal to PAYEXEC. All entries found are added to the list. |
CODE Command
Syntax: CODE completion-code {ALL}
Use the CODE command to search the Abend-AID system-wide job table for an entry with the specified completion code. If an entry is found, it is added to the list of jobs displayed if you have read-access to the associated report.
The entry is not removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table. Only entries that correspond to the jobs you own are removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table.
If you specify the optional ALL parameter, all entries in the Abend-AID system-wide job table with the specified completion code are added to the list.
Examples
CODE S0C7 | Searches for an entry with a completion code equal to S0C7. If found, the entry is added to the list. |
CODE S0C7 ALL | Searches for all entries with a completion code equal to S0C7. All entries found are added to the list. |
CLASS Command
Syntax: CLASS job-class {ALL}
The CLASS command searches the Abend-AID system-wide job table for an entry with the specified job class. If an entry is found, it is added to the list of jobs displayed if you have read-access to the associated report dataset. The entry is not removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table. Only entries that correspond to jobs which you own are removed from the Abend-AID system-wide job table.
If you specify the optional ALL parameter, all entries in the system-wide job table with the specified job class are added to the list.
Examples
CLASS L | Searches for an entry with a job class equal to L. If found, the entry is added to the list. |
CLASS L ALL | Searches for all entries with a job class equal to L. All entries found are added to the list. |
Line Commands
You can use the following line commands on the pop-up window with the HOTKEY command access feature:
- S – View an Abend-AID Report
- D – Delete an Entry from the List
- I – Report Information
- R – Register Report
- E – Edit the Report
- P – Print the Abend-AID Report
S – View an Abend-AID Report
Use the S (Select) line command to view the Abend-AID report for the selected entry.
When you press Enter after an entry has been selected, the one-key access feature invokes the Abend-AID Viewer to display the report. If you specify the SECT optional keyword with a valid report section name, that section of the report is immediately displayed.
If AUTOSAVE is ON, the top five entries in the list are saved to your user profile before the report is displayed.
D – Delete an Entry from the List
Use the D (Delete) line command to delete an entry from the list; it does not delete the associated Abend-AID report.
If AUTOSAVE is ON, the top five entries in the list are automatically saved when you exit the panel display.
If AUTOSAVE is OFF, any explicit changes you make to the list are not automatically saved. To save the changes, use the SAVE command.
I – Report Information
Use the I (Information) line command to display the name of the report dataset that contains an Abend-AID report and the report's internally assigned report number as shown in the following figure.
Report Information Panel
This information is required for printing a report using the Common Shared Services CWDDALLU (formerly, CWDDSUTL) utility.
If you shared the report by using the R (Register) line command with another user and the user is not able to view the report, it is because the user does not have read-access to the report dataset that contains the report.
R – Register Report
Use the R (Register) line command to share an Abend-AID report with another user.
When you enter the R (Register) line command in an entry on the report table display, the Report Registration window is displayed as shown in the following figure. This window highlights the entry that has been selected.
Report Registration Pop-Up Window
Type the user ID and press Enter. The report table entry will be promoted to Abend-AID's system-wide job table with the specified user ID as the key.
When the other user invokes the one-key access feature, the promoted entry appears in that user's display of Abend-AID reports.
E – Edit the Report
Use the E (Edit) line command to edit an Abend-AID report. When you enter the E (Edit) line command, the report is copied to a temporary dataset. The ISPF/PDF editor is then invoked to edit the dataset.
You can analyze the report using familiar EDIT line and primary commands. However, to permanently save changes, you must use the CREATE or REPLACE primary commands to copy the report to a library member or sequential dataset.
P – Print the Abend-AID Report
Use the P (Print) line command to print an Abend-AID report. When you enter the P (Print) line command, the Print Report window is displayed as shown in the following figure. This window highlights the entry that has been selected.
Print Report Panel
Select valid output options for the printed report and press the Enter key. Unless you specify a SYSOUT hold class, the report is immediately released for printing. The output options you entered are automatically retained and display the next time you print a report.