In-Stream AFP Control Statements

A major feature of Control‑D is the automatic insertion of AFP control parameters in‑stream in reports. This feature is especially useful for the following situations:

• when implementing advanced AFP options

  AFP control parameters (structured fields) can be inserted in reports without modifying application programs.

• when AFP control parameters are contained at the beginning of the sysout, and the sysout is decollated into different users’ bundles

  AFP control parameters are normally missing from all but the first user bundle. This feature can verify that AFP control parameters are automatically inserted in each user’s bundle.

  This feature operates as follows:

  • A special library is used to define the AFP control parameters of each report. This library is referenced by DD statement DAAPA of the Printers Control monitor. The original name supplied is OLPREFD.APAPARM.
  • You can define the library as RECFM=V or RECFM=F. By default, it is defined as RECFM=V. You should use this default definition because, if you use an APAPARM library with RECFM=F, you must add four bytes (RDW) before every AFP control parameter and before command IMM/IDM.
  • The APAPARM library contains one member for each job that produces output to be printed on AFP printers. The member name must be identical to the job name. Each member contains AFP control parameters for all reports produced by the job.

  If you use the APAPARM option for Online printing, be sure your online environment (for example, IOA Online monitor, TSO Logon procedure) is referenced by DD statement DAAPA.

• In each member, there must be one line in the following format for each AFP report produced by this job:

  ++++repname (++++ starts in cloumn 1)

  where

  ++++ identifies the line as a report name line

  repname is the name (or mask) of the report (maximum length: 50 characters). repname must be the same as the name of the report specified in Report Decollating parameter DO NAME

  Any number of ++++repname lines can be present in one member (that is, several reports can be produced by the same job).

• Following the ++++repname line, one or more AFP control parameters records may follow.

Any AFP command can be specified in its original AFP hexadecimal format. The following special commands can also appear as AFP control parameter records:

• IMM=copy‑group‑name
  (maximum length: 8 characters)
• IDM=page‑format‑name
  (maximum length: 8 characters)

  These commands are translated to the appropriate hexadecimal AFP structured fields IMM and IDM.

  If you are using APAPARM libraries with RECFM=F, add four bytes (RDW) before every AFP control parameter and before command IMM/IDM.

Consider the following report decollating mission parameters:

JOBNAME=ARINS1

DO NAME=AR-REPORT-1

DO NAME=AR-REPORT-2

Member ARINS1 in the Control-D APAPARM library can contain the following:

++++AR-REPORT-1

IMM=GROUP1

IDM=PAGFM1

++++AR-REPORT-2

IMM=GROUP2

When Control-D prints the report named ar-report-1, the two lines following the ++++ line are written at the beginning of the report.

When Control-D prints the report named ar-report-2, the last line in the member is written to the report.

Sample member APAPARMS is located in the Control-D APAPARM library.

Not every job has special AFP control parameters. The library must contain only members for jobs with in-stream AFP control parameters and not for other jobs.

When the Printers Control monitor or a batch printing mission is about to print a report for a user on an AFP printer, it searches for a member name with the same name as the job that produced the report. It looks for the report name in the member, translates any IMM/IDM commands to hexadecimal, and writes all the report’s AFP control parameters to the printer (through the spool). AFP printers must be defined as APA in member CTDPARM in the IOA PARM library. For more information, see the Control-D chapter in the INCONTROL for z/OS Installation Guide: Installing.