Everyone deals with reports, but different IT departments have different needs and concerns. Help/Systems offers three products to help you manage your System i reports. This article looks at five common business needs and describes how ESEND, Robot/REPORTS, and Robot/TRANSFORM handle them. You’ll discover that there is no “one size fits all” solution.

1. I need to generate PDFs from i5/OS spooled files and e-mail them to users.
You can use ESEND to generate a PDF from a spooled file. The PDF it creates from a *AFPDS file is a graphical representation of the data and is not searchable. The PDF it creates from a *SCS file, with or without image overlays, is searchable. You can have ESEND e-mail the PDF to an individual, or to a list of recipients.

Use Robot/TRANSFORM to create PDF output from a spooled file or a PCL file. You can create a PDF from *SCS, *USRASCII, or *AFPDS spooled files. It will work with overlays on the *AFPDS spooled files. Robot/TRANSFORM lets you choose whether the PDF it creates is searchable or non-searchable. To e-mail the PDF, you need Robot/ALERT.

You can use Robot/REPORTS to create searchable PDF output from *SCS spooled files, including overlays. To e-mail the PDF, you need Robot/ALERT.

2. I want to split my report so sales reps are getting only the information they need.
You can use ESEND to burst a report based on a “rule set” that you define. You can select from PDF, RTF, HTML, TXT, and spooled file output. If you choose spooled file output, ESEND sends the complete spooled file to the user’s output queue, but prints only the pages that fit the requirements of the rule set. (Note: If the user displays the spooled file, they may see more of the report than you intended.) ESEND can e-mail PDF, RTF, HTML, and TXT files to an individual user, or to a list of users.

Robot/REPORTS provides two ways to split your report. You can define “bursting instructions” to burst reports by specified criteria. Or, you can use OPAL segmenting for reports that are more complex. Robot/REPORTS can output the segment different ways: PDF, HTML, .CSV file, Microfiche, Print, View, or Robot/TRANSFORM. (Note: Robot/TRANSFORM is not a bursting tool.) Regardless of which output form you select, only the segment of information you have selected is available to the recipient.

3. I don’t want to print my reports. I want users to view them online.
ESEND doesn’t have a online viewer, but it does allow users to display spooled files using the WRKSPLFE command, and many ESEND and System i spooled file options. You can specify the spooled files a user can see. You can specify whether a user can access:

• Only their spooled files
• Spooled files on a particular output queue
• Spooled files based on the spooled file name

Robot/REPORTS has an online viewer that allows users to view their reports as soon as Robot/REPORTS finishes processing them. Users can decide if they would like to save a copy of the report in a different format (PDF or HTML), and whether to print the report on demand.

Robot/REPORTS lets users define and save their own views of report, to display certain columns and change the order in which columns appear. While viewing reports online, users can add public or private notes to the report.

Another Robot/REPORTS online viewing option is the Robot Browser Interface. This interface uses Portals for single-point access to multiple types of information and services. Portals let users access information located throughout a network, quickly and easily, from a single location using any device—PC, laptop, or PDA—that can read HyperText Markup Language (HTML).

Portals also reduce the load on an IT department because there is no software to install or update on a user’s computer. A Web server pulls information from the System i and processes requests, so the administrator performs all software maintenance on the Web server. This makes Portal software easy to use, easy to maintain, and especially helpful for people who connect to work over the Web. Because, Portals are browser-based, they are familiar, which translates to less training time and fewer Help Desk calls.

The main reason people have Robot/TRANSFORM is to create PDFs. If you have a Java interface, you can view spooled files through the Robot/TRANSFORM spooled file viewer, but this is not really meant for online viewing of end users.

4. I want to archive my reports and access them later.
You can use ESEND to create PDFs and e-mail them or place them in the IFS.

You can use Robot/TRANSFORM to create PDFs that you store in the IFS or e-mail using Robot/ALERT.

Many people find that the IFS is an adequate report archive. However if you need more, Robot/REPORTS has it. Robot/REPORTS is a robust tool for archiving. You can define an archive (retention) strategy for each report using three different archive stages: online, short-term, and long-term. (Short-term storage can be on disk, tape, or optical volume; long-term storage can be on tape or optical volumes.)

5. I want my PDF to have an overlay or form with it.
Use ESEND to create a PDF with an overlay. It can process *AFPDS and *SCS spooled files with overlays.

Use Robot/TRANSFORM to create a PDF with an overlay from an *AFPDS spooled file.

You can use Robot/REPORTS to create printed output containing an overlay, but it cannot create a PDF with an overlay.

Summary
Each of the three report products we discussed has different capabilities and focus. Take a closer look at the ones that best match your primary business needs.

Contributed by Marie Stangl, Maintenance Software Engineer

In 2008, U.S. Daylight Saving Time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2. Whether you change the time manually or have the system change the time automatically, the most important thing to keep in mind is that Robot/SCHEDULE must be inactive when the time change is made.

Two ways to set up the time change
Basically, there are two ways to accomplish the time change in Robot/SCHEDULE.

1. Create a CL program to end Robot/SCHEDULE, change the time, and restart Robot/SCHEDULE. (You can set up a Robot/SCHEDULE job to call this program.) This approach is explained in the Help/FACTS “Using Robot/SCHEDULE to automate Daylight Saving Time change.”

Note: You can modify the program to restart additional products so they pick up the time change. Products that benefit from this include: Robot/ALERT, Robot/AUTOTUNE, Robot/CLIENT, Robot/CONSOLE, Robot/MONITOR, Robot/NETWORK, and Robot/REPORTS.

2. Use the QTIMZON system value to make the change. With this approach, you need to create two Robot/SCHEDULE jobs to make Robot/SCHEDULE inactive during the time change. Download the Help/FACTS “Using Robot/SCHEDULE with the QTIMZON System Value” to get the details.

Important note: If you use the QTIMZON system value, IBM has issued the following Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs) that add updated time zone descriptions. After you apply the appropriate PTFs for your OS level, you can change the QTIMZON system value to the new value for your region. Continue to check with IBM in the event that future PTFs become available.

* i5/OS V5R4M0: PTFs SI26040 and SI25990

* i5/OS V5R3M0: PTFs SI26039 and SI25991

There are no changes for the QTIMZON system value in V6R1M0.

If your system uses a Hardware Management Console (HMC), you might need to apply additional fixes.

Unless specifically mentioned above, other Robot products are not affected by the time change. In addition, SEQUEL, ABSTRACT, ESEND, and EASY VIEW are not affected by the time change.

Contributed by Jeanne Thiesfeld, Technical Consultant

I am planning an operating system (OS) upgrade. How do I find out what I need to do for Help/Systems products?
Call us before you update your OS to a new level. Some product versions may not be compatible with the upgraded OS. Each product needs to be reviewed to see if it needs updates before you update the OS.

What is the easiest way to set up a Report Set in Robot/REPORTS?
Use Robot/GUIDE. Robot/GUIDE ensures you don’t make typos when defining comparison information and prevents you from missing steps in the setup procedure.

When our System i was put into restricted state, several critical jobs did not run. We have monitor jobs that notify the operator if these jobs are not running, but since Robot/SCHEDULE was not active they didn’t work. How can I make sure that doesn’t happen again?
Robot/SCHEDULE provides two ways of working with jobs that are missed while it is inactive. On the General System Defaults panel there is an option called “Run Autowork at Startup of ROBOT.” When this is set to Y (Yes), Robot/SCHEDULE automatically runs all missed jobs for the current date (since 12:01 a.m.) as soon as it is restarted. If you want more control than running all missed jobs, you can run the Autowork function manually using Option 4 of the Control Menu. If you select the option to display missed jobs, you can control which ones to run and go back to the prior day as well.

I am using Robot/SAVE to back up the IFS. Can I omit QNTC servers from the backup?
Unfortunately, you cannot omit these servers. However, you can use the following command to expedite the process of connecting to the servers for SAV command processing:

ADDENVVAR ENVVAR(QZLC_SERVERLIST) VALUE(’1′) LEVEL(*SYS)

Note: You may want to to check with IBM before implementing this environment variable.

Send jobs Host-to-Host or Node-to-Node with Robot/NETWORK 10.0

If you haven’t discovered Robot/NETWORK packets, you are in for a treat. You can use Robot/NETWORK packets to centrally control and maintain:

* Robot/SCHEDULE job setups

* Robot/CONSOLE message sets, message tables, and message groups

* Robot/REPORTS report sets

Once you start using packets, you no longer have to sign on to multiple systems and create the same objects over and over. Not only do packets save you time, but they also reduce errors caused by repetition. You create an object once and use it many times.

Creating Robot/SCHEDULE packets
To access Robot/SCHEDULE packets, go into Robot/NETWORK 10.0 and click Product Master. Then, right-click Robot/SCHEDULE and select Explore. When the Robot/SCHEDULE 10.0 Explorer (graphical user interface) displays, you can create Robot/SCHEDULE jobs and other objects, such as date objects and OPAL objects, that you may need to complete your job setup. Use the same steps you would use if you were creating the job or object in a production Robot/SCHEDULE environment. Then you can send these jobs to remote Nodes. (Or, if you have a multi-Host environment, you can send these jobs to another Host’s Product Master.)

Note: Jobs or objects created in the Product Master library of Robot/SCHEDULE are not actually in production in the job setup of any system until you send them to a system.

Changing a packet that has been sent
If you send a job or object using packets and need to make changes to it, go into the Robot/SCHEDULE Product Master, make the changes, and send them. You can send the changes to all systems, or a selected group of systems. And, you can restrict the objects that will be sent with the job. For example, if you made changes to the environment only, you can avoid sending other objects that are attached to the job.

You can use the Product Master to remove or reverse changes you have made to jobs using a packet. If you move a change into production from the Product Master and it doesn’t work as expected, simply reverse that packet. Reversing a packet removes the changes made by that packet and returns the job to the way it was before the packet was applied. You even can delete a job created by a packet.

Sending an active job to the Product Master
Perhaps you have a production job set up on one system that you want to share with many systems. Use the command RBTNETNODE/RBNSNDRBT to send the job to the Robot/SCHEDULE Product Master. Once the job is in the Product Master, you can distribute it to as many systems as needed. In the future, you can make changes to it and distribute the changes to various sites.

Reviewing packet activity
When you send a packet from the Product Master, Robot/NETWORK keeps a record of the event. You can view this history online, or run the Packet History Report to see what objects have been sent from the Host to remote Nodes.

Sending jobs Node-to-Node
Using the Robot/SCHEDULE Explorer on the Robot/NETWORK Host, you also can send jobs Node-to-Node. When you right-click on a job on a Node system, a menu displays. When you select SEND, the job is sent directly to another Node system.

Note: When you send a job Node-to-Node, you bypass the Product Master and its benefits (such as the ability to share the job with other systems and the ability to maintain the job from a central site). Jobs sent Node-to-Node do not show up in the Packet History Report.

Working with green screen products
For green screen Robot products, such as Robot/REPORTS and Robot/CONSOLE, you create and send packets using the Robot/NETWORK 10 Product Master menu option on the Host system. From this option, you can create the Robot/CONSOLE and Robot/REPORTS objects you need to set up these products.

As with Robot/SCHEDULE, you create the object just as if you were in the actual product and distribute it to the remote Nodes from the Product Master. If your Report Set or Message Set contains OPAL, the remote system automatically compiles the code when the packet is applied.

Unlike working with Robot/SCHEDULE, you cannot send Robot/CONSOLE or Robot/REPORTS packets Host-to-Host or Node-to-Node. Distribution is limited to sending packets from the Robot/NETWORK Host to its attached Nodes.

You can send existing Message Sets and Report Sets from a remote system to the Product Master. For Robot/REPORTS, use the command RBTNETNODE/RBNSNDREP, and for Robot/CONSOLE use the command RBTNETNODE/RBNSNDRBC. These commands put the objects in the appropriate Product Master and let you change and distribute them to multiple systems.

Summary
Once you discover how easy it is to use packets, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been using them all along! Packets are a great way to maintain multiple products across multiple systems from a central site. And, with Robot/NETWORK’s security system, you can control access to the Product Master. You can limit access to a single user or a group of users who are allowed to create packets.

Contributed by Terri Preston, Technical Consultant

How do I copy a list of reports from one recipient to another in Robot/REPORTS?
Robot/REPORTS (7.19 or higher) includes the REPCPYDST command to copy distribution from one recipient to another. This command copies both the distribution and its related history, so the recipient sees reports processed in the past, as well as receiving future reports. You must supply three parameters to the command:

• From Recipient (FROM): Enter the name of the report recipient whose report list will be copied.
• To Recipient (TO): Enter the name of the report recipient who will receive the reports.
• Copy Distribution List reports (COPYDIST): Specify whether to copy all of the reports the From recipient receives, including reports distributed from distribution lists.

• Y (Yes): Include the reports the From recipient receives from distribution lists.
• N (No): Exclude the reports the From recipient receives from distribution lists.

Here are some other things you should know about this command:

• You cannot use the name of a distribution list for either the To or From recipient.
• The REPCPYDST command produces a report (REP746) listing which reports will be distributed to the To recipient.

If I have the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) enabled in Client Access, can I use
SEQUEL ViewPoint?
Yes, as long Client Access Certificates have been established for the Sign-On Server, Database Server, Remote Command, Central Server, Data Queue Server, and DDM/DRDA Server. Run the iSeries Navigator SSL Connection test. If it is successful for all but the Network File application, Print application, and Telnet application, you should be good to go.

How can I prepare for converting to Robot/NETWORK 10?

You must have the following software installed on your System i:

For more information about converting to Robot/NETWORK 10, download the following Help/FACTS:

• Instructions for converting Robot/NETWORK Version 9.0 to 10.0
• Robot/NETWORK 10 compatibility with other Robot products

I have a report with an account number in the same position on every page. It seems like I could use Robot/REPORTS to burst the report by account numbers. However, I have over 100 different accounts. Can I burst the report that many times?
Yes, you just need to create a bursting segment for each account number.

When you install Robot/REPORTS, it automatically populates its database of recipients with all the user profiles defined on your system. After that, you need to define new recipients (or delete recipients who leave) individually by working with the Recipient and the Recipient Bundling Options panels. Now, with Robot/REPORTS 7.30 (or higher), you also can add and delete recipients using commands!

When to use these commands
Many companies run a CL program to set up new employees on the System i. By using the new Add Recipient command (REPADDREC), you can add the new employee to Robot/REPORTS at the same time.

Similarly, when an employee leaves, companies often run a clean-up program to remove the user profile from the System i. Now they can add the Delete Recipient command (REPDLTREC) to the program to remove the employee record from the Robot/REPORTS database.

These commands also are useful when you need to add or delete a group of recipients, such as a special project team.

Using the REPADDREC command
The REPADDREC command includes much of the information you normally enter on the Recipient and Recipient Bundling Options panels. Here are some tips for entering the parameters:

• The User Profile parameter can be *NONE if the user does not sign on to the System i and receives printed output only.
• For local output on the System i, enter an output queue and library.
• For remote output on a different System i, enter the remote system name and *YES for “Is system an iSeries” to preserve print attributes for the report.
• If you print a packet index, Robot/REPORTS generates a cover page listing all the reports in the packet and page number information.
• If you request page numbers, Robot/REPORTS numbers each page in the packet in the lower left-hand corner to make it easier to find reports in the packet. All of the pages in the packet have a report page number and a packet page number.
• If you request separator pages, Robot/REPORTS inserts a blank separator page between each report in the packet.

Using the REPDLTREC command
The REPDLTREC command deletes a recipient from the Robot/REPORTS database. You can delete a recipient by entering the recipient name or the user profile. You must tell Robot/REPORTS what to do if the recipient is set up to receive a report segment. If you enter *YES to “Delete even if distribution exists,” Robot/REPORTS removes the recipient. If you enter *NO, Robot/REPORTS does not remove the recipient.

These new commands provide additional ways to work with Robot/REPORTS recipients. We hope you will find them useful.

Contributed by Marie Stangl, Maintenance Software Engineer

We are interested in backing up report set definitions. If our primary server fails, we can reinstall Robot/REPORTS and restore the files we need to get started. What files in what libraries should we back up to restore in case of a disaster?
For disaster recovery purposes, back up the RBTREPLIB library. This library holds all of the setup information for Robot/REPORTS. If you are using disk for short-term archiving, you also should back up the REPSHTRMLB library. This library contains the short-term data. In a disaster recovery situation, you want to have this library so you can restore the reports that had gone to the short-term archive.

I want to move Robot/ALERT from one System i to another. Is there a way to save/export the current Robot/ALERT configuration, pager information, broadcast lists, and so on to the new system?
Yes, this is easy to do. End Robot/ALERT on the old system and save the RBTALRLIB library. Then, restore RBTALRLIB to the new system. You must delete and re-create the communication jobs on the new system.

In Robot/CONSOLE, what is the difference between running the command RBCCLNUP and running the history-purge program RBC596?
The RBC596 program cleans up Robot/CONSOLE history based on the age of a message and its severity level. It removes messages from monitored message queues.

The RBCCLNUP command cleans up dangling data queues left by users who do not run the RBCENDQ command.

How can I make sure Robot/SAVE regularly releases tapes to my scratch pool?
To release tapes to the scratch pool regularly, schedule the following command in Robot/SCHEDULE:
RBSPGMLIB/RBSRLSEXTP

How can I check to see if one or all my clients are running and ready to receive tasks from the System i?
You can poll each registered client using the Robot/CLIENT RCLPOLL command. The command determines if the Robot/CLIENT task processor is running and if the client is ready to receive tasks. The RCLPOLL command allows you to check the status of all attached clients at once or to enter up to 50 names of individual clients.

You can view the operational status of the clients on the Client Control Center panel.

To use the command interactively, enter it on a command line and press function key 4 to display the command prompt panel.

You also can schedule the command in Robot/SCHEDULE to poll each client on a regular schedule (such as hourly) or you can embed the command in a program.

How do I purge completed tasks in Robot/CLIENT?
The RCLCLEANUP command deletes completed tasks. You must specify the number of days of completed tasks you want to keep. The best way to keep completed tasks cleaned up is to set up a Robot/SCHEDULE job to run the RCLCLEANUP command to purge completed tasks on a regular basis.

Newly centralized data processing relies on the Robot Products

For over 30 years, Tree of Life has provided retailers throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and now Canada, with the products, services and the marketing edge that adds to their bottom line. As the nation’s leading distributor of natural, organic, specialty, ethnic, and gourmet food products, Tree of Life has helped thousands of retailers, from the smallest independent stores to the largest supermarket chains, meet the constantly growing demand for products that help Americans to “live well.”

In the data center at company headquarters in St. Augustine, Florida, John Kinnaird, National Operating Center Manager, is responsible for supporting both hardware and software for their IBM System i. John notes that there’s been a great deal of change in how IT is set up and run at Tree of Life since he was hired. “When I started working for Tree Of Life about seven years ago, everything was decentralized. Each of our distribution centers had its own data center, ran their own AS/400, and ran their own copy of the software.

“Shortly thereafter, we started the Regional Operating Centers project that consolidated all of the processing into two regional centers in St. Augustine and Dallas. Now, we have consolidated all the processing onto a partitioned System i Model 570 in St. Augustine, where we run all of the warehousing, distribution, and financial applications for 12 distribution centers. The System i also hosts a production partition for our Canadian operations as well as a data warehouse partition and a development partition.

“Our core system is a warehousing and distribution system called NTS, the National Tree System that was written in-house. We have several other applications such as JD Edwards World for financials and E3 for purchasing.”

Getting started with operations automation
When the divisions were decentralized, some facilities were using the Robot products and some were not. Among the divisions that were using the products, there were various degrees of success. As Tree of Life began to consolidate the processing to one centralized system at their headquarters, the company soon realized that Robot/SCHEDULE, Robot/ALERT, and Robot/NETWORK would help make the company a true 24/7 operation.

John works with Jennifer Weatherly, Operation Analyst. Jennifer spoke about centralizing Robot/SCHEDULE jobs, “We had several different jobs set up on different partitions. We wanted to convert all jobs from all partitions to a master system [on the Robot/NETWORK Host], where we put the jobs in one location and then send them out to the appropriate partition. [Help/Systems] Tech Support was instrumental in teaching us how to send the existing jobs—including OPAL code, library lists, job environments, date objects, reserved command variables, and so on—up from the Nodes (partitions) to the Host to create the master. Now we set up new Robot/SCHEDULE jobs, and changes to existing jobs in the master, and then send the job or jobs back to the Nodes. This setup helps us work efficiently with jobs that we maintain on a regular basis. At one time, if we had a job that existed on more than one partition, we had to change the job on each partition. Now, we change the job once and send it down to the node or nodes. With 12 divisions running 8,000 jobs on a daily basis, this is a big help.”

The next step: automating report management
Tree of Life also implemented Robot/REPORTS to manage their reports. Jennifer explains, “Tree of Life had Robot/REPORTS, but the company was not utilizing the product when I started six years ago. I began by reading the manual and trying to set up reports. Whenever I ran into a roadblock, I’d just pick up the phone and call Help/Systems Technical Support. I was pleasantly surprised to find someone always available. I didn’t waste valuable time on hold. Even after normal support hours, you usually get a call back in a half hour or less.

“Because of the 12 divisions, we have a lot of reports. We are trying to eliminate printing so many reports. We have about 80% of our reports available for online viewing and we use Robot/ALERT to e-mail reports to users, customers, field sales support, and others.”

John adds, “We have had a tremendous reduction in printed reports since we started using Robot/REPORTS. Not only are we saving paper, but people have a lot better access to the reports now—especially people who are out in the field. We had no way of getting printed reports to a lot of our salespeople. Now they can view the reports online. That’s a big benefit for us.”

Jennifer explains another project they are completing, “We have to get monthly reports out to our customers. In the past, a group of employees would come in on a weekend, print cover statements, and break down a 700-page report by customer for mailing. Now we use Robot/SCHEDULE, Robot/ALERT, and Robot/REPORTS to accomplish the same task. We’re saving on printing, postage, and overtime.”

Jennifer and John prove that the Robot products help them live well in the data center, just as Tree of Life products help people live well at home.

By Barbara Davey