Robot/SAVE’s Guided System Restoration process is now even easier to use. If you are using Robot/SAVE 11.15 (or higher), you have access to several improvements:

• Volume ID and Sequence number now display the Guided System Restoration Procedures panel. (Note: You set restoration sequence values on the Library Save Information panel. This allows you to identify which libraries are the most important to get you up and running. Then, Robot/SAVE can automatically restore your core libraries first.)
• Select Sort (function key 9) now allows you to sort by Volume ID.
• Print Report (function key 8 ) is a new option that prints an audit report showing the libraries selected and not selected for restoration and the volume(s) where they reside. You can use the report in advance of a disaster recovery (DR) test to verify the libraries that will be restored. You also can use this report to satisfy your auditors, to practice and fine tune your selection criteria, or to keep track of what is selected in a real Guided System Restoration.
• View (function key 11) is another new option that shows the Volume IDs required to restore each of the libraries in the list. The Volume ID in the Volume column is the volume where the library begins. By pressing function key 11, you can see if the library spans more than one volume.
• Restore Existing (function key 22) selects only the items that were on your system at the time of the last backup for restoration. If you press function key 22 and return to the Guided System Restoration Procedures panel, you can locate libraries with high sequence numbers that should not be restored at the DR site, such as test libraries or other non-essential items. This can save you precious time in the restore process.
• Message clarification. When you back of out the Restore All (function key 21) or the Restore Existing (function key 22) options, the message now reads, “Restore cancelled. Select/deselect items and press Enter to begin.”

The net effect of these changes is that it is easier to modify what will be restored.

Contributed by Theresa Aleckson, Technical Consultant

SEQUEL views can be regrouped or drilled into to provide new insights

SEQUEL ViewPoint allows you to view the data in your databases in different ways. When you create a view by using a function that groups (summarizes) data, you automatically create views that can be “drilled into” to see the supporting detail. Views that include functions, such as SUM(), MIN(), MAX, COUNT(), or AVG() let you drill into the displayed results.

Note: This feature requires fields to be added to the Dynamic Drill Down Field list. This list is stored in a file (SEQUEL/VPTDYNFLTR) that you can maintain easily using ViewPoint Administrator, or a green screen command line with UPDATE, INSERT, or DFU.

Drilling down from the summary level to the detail is easy. When you right-click on a result, you can select from two options: Regroup or Show details.

Regroup
The Regroup option lets you sort the entire result set and re-summarize it by one of the many fields. You can run this process repeatedly without any changes to the view.

The Regroup Data window lists all fields from all files used in the view that are also defined in the Dynamic Drill Down Field List. If no fields from the starting view exist in the Dynamic Drill Down List, a dialog displays allowing you to list all fields for the view. Just place a check next to all the fields for which you want to regroup the data.

Right-click on BMXCARTON and choose to regroup the data.

If you choose to regroup using the state field (left) and press the OK button, a second window opens displaying the new results (right).

Show Detail
This option shows the supporting detail for the selected grouped record, allowing you to drill-into the data that created the summary information. Right-click on a specific line, select “show details,” and select the data you want to see from the detail of that line.

Again, you can run this process repeatedly without any changes to the view.

In this example, right-click on Illinois and choose “Show details” and name to display customer detail.

SEQUEL filters the original data set to display customers in Illinois.

Contributed by Carlo Panzarella, Technical Consultant

Are Help/Systems products compatible with i5/OS V6R1?
Help/Systems is committed to making our products compatible with the new release of i5/OS. We began shipping V6R1-compatible code for most products at the end of April 2008. For more information, download the new Help/FACTS, “Compatibility information for Help/Systems products moving to i5/OS V6R1 (IBM i 6.1)” or contact technical support.

Does Help/Systems hold a User Conference?
Yes, Help/Systems is hosting a User Conference June 17-20, 2008 in Minnesota. If you haven’t received a brochure in the mail, visit www.helpsystems.com/education/camp/ to download a copy and register online.

Are hyperlinks supported in my ESEND e-mail messages?
Yes, if the message type is *HTML. Here are some formatting tips:

• E-mail links: Use mailto:myname@mydomain.com or just myname@mydomain.com.
• Web site links: Use http://www.helpsystems.com or just www.helpsystems.com.
• Document links: Enter the complete HTML reference <A href=”http://www.helpsystems.com/intel/video.html”>a SEQUEL movie page</A>. This will display as a SEQUEL movie page in your e-mail.

I am trying to move a Microsoft Access project to SEQUEL ViewPoint and I am stuck on one formula. In Access, I use this formula to add a trailing 00001 to a trimmed field:

Left([eqmfsn],4) & “00001″

How would I do this in Viewpoint?

Here’s a good way to handle this in Viewpoint:

SELECT DECIMAL(CAT(SST(CHAR(cusno),1,6), CHAR(’00001′)),15,2) name(calc1), cusno*100000+1 LEN(15,2) name(calc2)

FROM sequelex/custmast

Just replace the name variables with your own file names.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes important new enhancements that will help you manage your disk space even better than before.

Active Job Storage Monitoring
Robot/SPACE monitors the amount of storage used by active jobs. A looping job or a server communication job can consume a large amount of temporary storage and push your disk storage to its capacity, causing a storage crisis. In addition to the job temporary storage monitor that evaluates temporary storage allocated by jobs, Robot/SPACE 3.0 offers two new monitors: Job QTEMP Monitor and Job Spooled File Monitor.

• The Job QTEMP Monitor evaluates the storage allocated by the QTEMP library for active jobs on your system. It notifies you when active jobs are using excessive storage for their QTEMP library. QTEMP libraries are reclaimed automatically by the system when the owning job ends.
• The Job Spooled File Monitor evaluates the storage allocated for spooled files by active jobs on your system and can notify you when active jobs are using excessive storage for spooled files.

In Robot/SPACE 3.0, job monitors now can track detailed information for every threshold exception, in addition to summary information.

For any job monitor, you can define a default job threshold to notify you of problems. Notification can be through a Robot/ALERT message (to an e-mail address, cell phone, or other device), a Robot/NETWORK status message, or a message to a message queue monitored by Robot/CONSOLE, allowing Robot/CONSOLE to run OPAL code to correct the situation.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 provides a new Robot/GUIDE to help you set up the Job Storage Monitors.

Storage Audits
Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes two enhancements to storage audits:

• The Storage Audit properties panel now supports specifying *ALLAVL for the Auxiliary Storage Pool (ASP) Group in addition to a specific ASP or *SYSBAS. Select *SYSBAS to run the audit over objects from available ASPs from 1 to 32. Select *ALLAVL to run the audit from all available ASPs from 1 to 255.
• The Storage Audit History window now allows you to display job information such as job sttributes, job spooled files, and the job log.

Storage Collections
Robot/SPACE provides “collection groups” to collect statistics for objects on your system (type, size, growth, last used date, and so on). You can collect statistics for native System i objects, IFS objects, output queues, and for clients connected to your System i with Robot/CLIENT.

Robot/SPACE 3.0 includes a number of enhancements to collection groups:

• A new Advanced Options tab includes options for tracking member statistics (logical and/or source members) and using object size filters. Use the object size filters to exclude library object details or IFS file details of objects under a specified size.
• IFS filters now support ASP group restrictions.
• In addition to comparing library and object growth between collection runs, Robot/SPACE 3.0 now can compare members, output queues, IFS files, and IFS directories. You can display these reports from the Collection Explorer, or schedule them in Robot/SCHEDULE from the Collection Reports menu.
• You can create on-demand reports of collection statistics. From the Collection Explorer, you can create collection history reports in PDF, HTML, or text format. Just right-click a library in Collection Group history, select Report, then select All Records or Selected Records.
• You can view job information for collection jobs from the Collection Explorer. Easily look at the job attributes, job spooled files, and the job log for a collection group.

Queries and Reports
Robot/QUERY allows you to create customized graphs and reports from your collection group history by using specific selection and sort criteria. Results are viewable as growth history graphs, growth trend graphs, and/or reports. In Robot/SPACE 3.0 the following enhancements were made to Robot/QUERY:

• A new command, SPCQRYRPT, allows Robot/QUERY reports to be scheduled. Previously, each query had to be run on demand from the Robot/SPACE Explorer.
• The Reports section has additional collection comparison reports that allow you to generate reports to compare members, output queues, IFS files, and IFS directories.

Other Product Enhancements
Robot/SPACE 3.0 also includes the following enhancements:

• The Import/Export function now allows you to move multiple items at one time.
• Role-based product security allows you to create roles (such as administrators, operators, or users) and define what each role is allowed to do. For example, you can define who is allowed to change the setup of collection groups, storage audits, and so on. You also can define those who cannot change, or even view, those functions.
• The Data Filter Manager has been enhanced so you can create, save, and edit filters. When viewing collection group history, the Data Filter Manager makes it easy to view specific data. You can also export filters to other systems using the Import/Export function.

Contributed by Jenny Dischinger and Jeff Pedretti, Technical Consultants