Date Fields

Format is yymmdd or yyyymmdd.

Time Fields

Format is hhmmss.

Numeric Fields

Leading zeroes are not required. Hexadecimal values must be prefixed with an X (for example, DVLRBA=X01234567 instead of DVLRBA=01234567). The only exception to this is the VER and REP fields.

Embedded Blanks

Use only if the value is enclosed in either single or double quotes.

Quotation Marks (‘ or ")

If the value begins and ends with either single or double quotes, the quotation marks are interpreted as markers of the beginning and end of the value. To include a quote mark in a string (value), use the other type of quote mark to mark the beginning and end of the string. For example, a single quote (apostrophe) can only be included in the value if the value is enclosed in double quotes (").

Null Values

Specify a null value for a field by specifying the field without a value (for example, VOLSER=).

Retention Criteria Fields

Specification of retention criteria requires two fields or values:

• Retention type
• Retention data

If retention data is specified without specifying the retention type, the retention type defaults to DATE.

Fields with Predefined Valid Values

Certain fields have a predefined set of valid values (for example, valid values for field VOLSTAT are ACTIVE, VAULTED).

Valid values for these fields are listed in the appendix to the INCONTROL for z/OS Administrator Guide that discusses logical field names for the Control-M/Tape Repository. Values can also be specified in hexadecimal format (for example, VOLSTAT=X88 meaning Active and Vaulted).

Status Bits

A single status bit can be set in a specific status byte of a volume or data set record.

For example, to turn on status PVLT (Potential Vault) on a volume record, include the following statement:

VOLUPD.... ,VOLIND=+PVLT

To turn off the above status bit, include the following:

VOLUPD.... ,VOLIND=-PVLT