Working with the graphical view of extract trace files

The Data Visualizer perspective is used to present information about data objects and their relationships, including the objects and events recorded in a File-AID/RDX extract trace file. The perspective includes a Graphical View of extract trace files that presents the selected file as a collection of object nodes, rounded rectangular boxes that display the name of the object. Object nodes are connected by lines representing the extraction events in the extract trace file, with arrowheads indicating the direction of data extraction and connecting line boxes showing your choice of number of Rows Read, number of Rows Extracted, or # of Chase Keys.

Each node in the Graphical View can be moved to a new location by dragging it with the left mouse button pressed. The contents of the entire Graphical View can also be moved either by using the scroll bars or by placing the cursor on an open area then dragging with the left mouse button pressed.

Each extract trace file you open is displayed in a separate tab labeled with the file name. If the extract trace file cannot be visualized for some reason, an error message will appear.

The data displayed in the Graphical View can be limited by using the Extract Hotspot Filter View. For details, see Working-with-the-extract-hotspot-filter-view.

The Graphical View can be zoomed in and out, and the spacing between nodes can be increased and decreased, independent of the zoom level.

Nodes can be arranged top to bottom (the default), left to right, or bottom to top by right-clicking anywhere in the Graphical View and selecting Layout > Top Down, Layout > Left to Right, or Layout > Bottom Up.

Nodes can be collapsed to hide subsequent nodes by right-clicking and selecting Collapse. The collapsed node includes a red indicator in the lower right corner showing the number of levels that have been collapsed. To redisplay nodes hidden under a collapsed node, right-click the node and select Expand, Expand All, or Expand Levels. Selecting Expand expands the collapsed node one level. Selecting Expand All fully expands all nodes under the collapsed node. Expand Levels provides sub-menu choices to expand the collapsed node by 3, 5, or 7 levels. If the node has been collapsed more levels than it is expanded, subsequent nodes that remain collapsed include a red indicator showing the number of levels that could still be expanded. For easier viewing after the desired nodes have been collapsed, the Graphical View can be redrawn without the hidden nodes by right-clicking anywhere in the view and selecting the desired Layout > option.

The type of object node is indicated visually with an icon for MVS, DB2, or IMS.

Clicking on an object node selects it and highlights it with a bold, blue border around the node. Clicking on an event connection line selects the line and the two data sources it connects, while the line is highlighted with a bold, blue dash pattern.

Right-clicking on an object node representing an MVS file or a DB2 table displays a menu with choices for Edit with File-AID and Browse with File-AID. Choosing Edit with File-AID creates a File-AID Data Editor request that can be submitted to edit the selected object, and choosing Browse with File-AID creates a request for browsing the object. For more information, see the BMC-AMI-DevX-Workbench-File-AID-Eclipse-User-Guide.

Hovering the cursor over an object node displays a tooltip listing the object name, the total number of rows read, and the total number of rows extracted for that object. Hovering the cursor over an event connecting line displays a tooltip listing the event number, the extract objects, the direction of the extract, the rows read, and the rows extracted during that event.

The following tasks are described below:

• Locating an event
• Selecting children and parents
• Specifying the value for connecting line boxes
• Viewing event properties
• Visualizing an associated File-AID/RDX request
• Zooming
• Increasing/Decreasing node spacing.

To locate an event in the graphical view

Simply click the desired event in the Extract Trace Events View. The two object nodes connected by the event are highlighted with a bold, blue border, while the connection line itself is highlighted with a bold, blue dash pattern..

To select children and parents of objects in the graphical view

Select one or more object nodes, then right-click the selected node(s) and choose Select > Select Children, Select > Select Parents, or Select > Select Children and Parents. The children and/or parents of the selected object node(s) are added to the selected items in the Graphical View.

To specify the display value for connecting line boxes

Right-click anywhere in the Graphical View and select Show Extracted Row Count, Show Read Row Count, or Show Chase Key Count. Until this setting is changed, the connecting line boxes will display the chosen value for each event.

To visualize an associated File-AID/RDX extract request

Right-click anywhere in the Graphical View and select Visualize RDX Request. The extract request embedded in the extract trace file is opened in the Graphical View of objects and relationships. This provides a convenient way to compare an extract request with the actual results of the extraction process.

To zoom the graphical view

1. Click the toolbar zoom percentage and select the desired zoom level. Choices include Page, Width, and Height, as well as various numeric percentages.
2. You can also Ctrl+scroll to zoom in and out through all of the predefined zoom levels.
3. To zoom larger by one increment, Alt+click anywhere in the Graphical View. To zoom smaller by one increment, use Alt+Shift+click.
4. To view an object name while zoomed out smaller than 100%, hover over the desired node. A full-size view of the node is temporarily displayed.

To increase or decrease spacing between nodes

1. Click the up arrow on the spacing spinner (adjacent to the zoom percentage) to increase the space between nodes in the Graphical View. Click the down arrow to decrease spacing. Spacing is independent of zoom percentage.
2. A spacing value of 0 to 50 can also be entered directly in the spacing spinner.