It's not new news around IBM-MAIN but I stumbled on this note in the WSC library which says the same thing Ed has said for many years about letting go of the real 3270 screen geometries. It might be useful to help convince others in your organization that this is really a good idea.
Thanks, Sam http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/TD102151 Document Author:Louis Wilen Additional Author(s):John Hutchinson Document ID: TD102151 Doc. Organization: Washington Systems Center Document Revised: 01/24/2005 Product(s) covered: Communications Server for OS/390; Communications Server for z/OS; VTAM; zSeries; z/OS Abstract: Creating dynamic 3270 screen size definitions for increased productivity Legacy IBM 3278 display stations (which many newer users have never seen) were available in several models, with each model supporting one or more fixed screen dimensions. The dimensions that were typically supported are 24x80 (model 2), 32x80 (model 3), 43x80 (model 4), and 27x132 (model 5, which could also be switched to model 2 mode). Workstation-based emulators such as IBM Personal Communications (PCOM) do not have the hardware limitations of real 3278 display stations, and can therefore be configured for more productive screen sizes, such as 50x132. A screen dimension of 50x132 is particularly valuable when using today's larger monitors, which are typically 17 inches or larger when measured diagonally. Screen dimensions of 50x132 can be easily enabled by following these steps: 1. Create a PCOM session and verify that you are able to access and log on to your z/OS system. Exit the PCOM session. 2. Use any common text editor, such as notepad, to edit the PCOM profile (the .WS file) that has been created for your session. The .WS file is normally located in the directory C:\Documents and Settings\<your windows username>\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications\<profilename>.WS, where the items in <> are unique to your workstation. Depending upon the text editor that you use, you may need to temporarily rename the .WS file to another filename with a suffix such as .txt to allowing editing. 3. The .WS file will contain data similar to the following: [Profile] ID=WS Version=6 [Telnet3270] HostName=hostsystem.ibm.com Security=N AutoReconnect=Y [Communication] Link=telnet3270 [3270] ScreenSize=43x80 QueryReplyMode=Auto HostCodePage=1047-U [Keyboard] CuaKeyboard=1 Language=United-States DefaultKeyboard=C:\Documents and Settings\Someuser\Application Data\IBM\Personal Communications\kb.kmp IBMDefaultKeyboard=N [VT] VTCaptureLogFileName=C:\Documents and Settings\Someuser\My Documents\hostsystem.txt [Colors] BaseColorNormalProtected=5BECE9 000000 ExtendedColorBlue=58F0F0 000000 4. Change the ScreenSize entry to a value of your choice, such as 50x132. For example: ScreenSize=50x132 5. Save the updated .WS file. Rename (if necessary) the .WS file back to its original name. 6. Start PCOM in the usual way. 7. Log on to your z/OS system, specifying the LOGMODE of D4C32XX3. For example: LOGON APPLID(MYTSO) LOGMODE(D4C32XX3) Notes: The example shown above may not be applicable for your z/OS system. You may need to specify the APPLID and LOGMODE using another format, depending upon how your VTAM programmer defined the possible logon formats. Your systems programmer or VTAM programmer should be able to quickly tell you the appropriate format for your system. The D4C32XX3 logmode is the dynamic logmode. If this logmode is not defined on your system, your systems programmer or VTAM support person will need to add this logmode to the logmode table. 8. Log on to TSO in the usual manner, then select ISPF option 0 (Settings). 9. On the ISPF Settings screen, set the Screen format value to 3 (Max). The Terminal Type value would typically be set to 4 (3278A), although many other values are acceptable. These settings are retained across TSO sessions and will not need to be set again. 10. TSO applications will now automatically use the larger screen size whenever needed. For example, SDSF will display spool files in their full width of 132 characters while displaying nearly 50 lines of the file. Note: If desired, the systems programmer or VTAM programmer can change the default logmode for any application to D4C32XX3 so that users do not have enter the logmode explicitly as shown in step 7. Adding the entry TELNETDEVICE DYNAMIC ,D4C32XX3 to the TCP/IP profile (normally in SYS1.TCPPARMS(PROFILEx) ), along with other installation specific VTAM definition changes, will allow the D4C32XX3 logmode to be the default logmode for TN3270 sessions. (Ordinary SNA sessions through other transports do not require modifications to the TCP/IP profile.) Classification:Software Category:Installation and Migration Platform(s): IBM eServer zSeries S/W Pillar(s):zSeries O/S:OS/390; z/OS Keywords:3270, 3278, pcomm, personal, communications, green, screen, workstation, pc <> ==================== This email/fax message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution of this email/fax is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all paper and electronic copies of the original message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html