Downloading Print Streams from a Mainframe

To download a print stream from a mainframe for use in Visual Engineer Plus, follow the procedure outlined below.

Step 1: Add record length bytes to the start of each record

You need to add record length bytes to the start of each record if either of the following is true:

  • You are downloading a Metacode print stream
  • You are downloading an AFP print stream that has either padded, truncated, or mixed line data

If neither of these applies to you, skip to Step 2: Transfer the file.

If either applies to you, add record length bytes to the start of each record by running the load module PDRLNADD (or another company's blocking software). You can find the PDRLNADD load module in the PDR.STREAMW.LOAD data set and the PDRLNADD REXX exec in the PDR.STREAMW.EXEC data set. For both of these, PDR is the HLQ under which Enrichment is installed. You must edit the PDR.STREAMW.EXEC(PDRLNADD) member to set the correct HLQ. You only need to do this once.

Note: The procedure below describes running PDRLNADD in an interactive mode. You can also run PDRLNADD as a batch application using the PDRLNADD JCL that is included in the STREAMW.JCL PDS. Follow the instructions in the header of the JCL.

To set the correct high-level qualifier, follow these steps.

  1. Edit the PDRLNADD member in the PDR.STREAMW.EXEC data set.
  2. Change the line loadmod="'PDR.STREAMW.LOAD(PDRLNADD)'" to reflect the HLQ under which Enrichment is installed. For example, loadmod="'SYS3.STREAMW.LOAD(PDRLNADD)'".
  3. Save your change.
  4. Run PDRLNADD on a file by typing the following (with the appropriate parameters) at a TSO command prompt:
    Note: This uses the included REXX exec to handle file allocation. 
    %PDRLNADD PDR.INPUT(SAMPLE) PDR.OUTPUT(SAMPLE) length format include startrec numb

    Where:

    • PDR.INPUT(SAMPLE) is the fully-qualified input print stream name without single quotes.
    • PDR.OUTPUT(SAMPLE) is the fully-qualified output print stream name, without single quotes.
    • length indicates the size of the length indicator on each record: 2 for two bytes or 4 for four bytes. The default is 2.
    • format indicates the order of bytes in the length indicator: M for maximum or P for PC. The default is P.
    • include indicates whether the value of the length indicator includes the length indicator itself: I for include or E for exclude. The default is E.
    • startrec is the starting record number to copy from the input to the output. The default is record 1.
    • numb is the number of lines to copy from the input to the output. The default is 10 million lines or to the end of the input.
      Note: You can invoke the PDRLNADD load module with %PDRLNADD as shown in the example above if PDR.STREAMW.EXEC is allocated in your SYSEXEC DD. If it is not allocated, you can invoke the load module with EX 'PDR.STREAMW.EXEC(PDRLNADD)'.

Step 2: Transfer the file

Transfer the file from the mainframe using the file extension and "download as" setting appropriate for your print stream. Refer to the table below for the appropriate settings.

Print Stream Type File Extension IND$FILE Download As
Line printer data (see note) *.LIN CRLF ASCII
DJDE (see note) *.DJD CRLF ASCII
Metacode *.MET Binary with lengths added to each record by the PDRLNADD utility on z/OS
AFP line data (see note) *.AFL CRLF ASCII
AFPDS *.AFP Binary
AFP mixed-mode *.AFM Binary CRLF
PCL *.PCL Binary
PostScript *.PS Binary
After you download your print stream, you can load it into Enrichment Visual Engineer and define the properties for that print stream.