Create Test Report Output

The first thing you should do before defining the report decollating missions is to examine the format of the reports you want to decollate. Normally, the best way to do this is to produce a copy of the report to spool, preferably to a Held output class. You will then be able to view the report and determine where any identifying strings appear. You will also be able to run, test and revise your report decollating missions against the sample Held outputs, until the decollating missions are working as desired. You can produce a copy of the reports to spool by:

• Using a test job to create the output.
• Using the JCL OUTPUT statement to produce a duplicate copy of a report. (See the example in the section Test Decollating Missions in this phase.)
• Using the JES OFFLOAD facility to create a duplicate copy.