FILE-AID - A Quick Reference for Beginners

INTRODUCTION

File Aid is an interactive, full-screen system for editing, browsing, defining,

copying VSAM & Sequential files. File Aid’s functions enable us to significantly
reduce the time required to perform day-to-day data file manipulation tasks such
as creating and modifying test data, resolving production data problems, and
performing ad-hoc file conversions and comparisons.

Some Key Features about File Aid are,

• File Aid provides on-line editing of BDAM, ISAM, and VSAM files using
formatted, full-screen displays

• File Aid eliminates file size restriction by using selection criteria to limit the
number of records to be edited.

• File Aid superimposes COBOL record layout over raw data and brings
meaning to that data

• File Aid has powerful, easy to use, copying and reformatting capabilities
which exist in both batch & on-line modes.

File Aid can be invoked by typing “FA” from START screen. This can also be
invoked by typing “TSO FASTART” from any ISPF screen. When we exit from File
Aid, the suspended screen is restored.

Upon typing “FA” or “TSO FASTART” you will arrive at the following primary option
menu. (Command for invoking FILEAID might be different for different
projects.)
As you see in the above screen, we have 0-C options in File Aid. But we are very
much interested in the following options, i.e., Option 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 10 as
these are the widely used ones. So only these options will be dealt in detail.

Option 0:

This option consists of the ISPF-provided parameter option screens and several
screens to specify File-AID default parameters.

Option 1:

This option is used to display but not change the contents of files using any of
four display modes - character, formatted, vertical formatted, and unformatted.

Browse Mode should be one of the following.

• C (Character) - Full screen ISPF like display of records, one
record/line.
• F (Formatted) - Display of one record with each record layout field
on one line alongside of the record data for that field.
• V (Vertical format) - Requires single record layout. Data is normalized &
arranged in columns underneath field name headings.
• U (Unformatted) - 70 characters of data is displayed per line until all
data for the record is shown or the screen is filled.
Specify the dataset name/File name within quotes in Dataset Name field.

You can browse between different browse modes by typing “CHAR”, “FMT”,
“VFMT”, and “UNFMT” on the command line as shown in the following figure.
Option 2:

This option is used to create, display and change the contents of files using any of
four display modes - character, formatted, vertical formatted, and unformatted.
You can go to edit screen by typing 2 in the File Aid menu screen. Edit screen
looks like this.

Browse modes are same as specified in Option 1.

Option 3:

This option accesses a menu of dataset management utilities. Utilities screen is

shown below.
Though there are many options in utilities, we are going to concentrate on the
frequently used ones.
3.2 Dataset: This is almost like the option 3.2 in ISPF screen which is used to
display/allocate Sequential files. We can also create Generation data groups using
this option. Screen sample is shown below.
3.3 Copy: This is used to copy the entire SEQ/VSAM datasets. We can even copy
the selected records in the datasets to other dataset. Copy screen is shown
below.
After specifying the “FROM” & “TO” Dataset, specify “Selection criteria usage”.
Pressing Enter now will take us to the following screen wherein you specify record
length, key length if needed.
Pressing enter after specifying Key length, Record length will copy the records to
the new file.

3.5 VSAM: This is used to display, allocate & delete VSAM Cluster. It is also used
to allocate and build alternate index.

Step by step process for allocating alternate index is shown below.

First allocate the VSAM cluster. Screen for allocating VSAM cluster is shown
below.
Specify the dataset name and press enter.
Specify the record length, key length, key position, primary & secondary cylinders
and press enter. VSAM cluster is allocated.
Once VSAM cluster is created, specify “X” on the command prompt and specify
the alternate index dataset name as shown in the following figure
Press enter will take you thru the following screen.
Specify the base cluster name and alternate key information and press enter.
Alternate index for the specified base cluster is created.

Option 5:

This option is used to print data file contents, the selection criteria and Record
Layout XREFs created in options 6 and 7 of File-AID, formatted record layouts,
and audit trail datasets created while editing a data file in option 2 (Edit) or 3.6
(Update) of File-AID.
Option 6:

This option is used to create and maintain selection criteria for use in the Browse,
Edit, Copy, Print, and Compare functions. The screen is shown below.
Option 7:

This creates and maintains existing File-AID Record Layout Cross References. This
is used to view complex data files which use more than one record layout in
them. This information acts as a cross reference between the data file records
and the corresponding layout for that record.

Option 8:

This option is used to display the contents of COBOL Record Layouts as

interpreted by File-AID. The figure shows the record layout for
PROD.PAN.SOURCE (CPSDMCTL) member.
Option 9:

This option gives you a tool to copy all or selected records of any input file to an
output file. While copying, you can reformat the records in the dataset. Record
reformatting is based on matching the fields in two record layouts (source and
target). Use this function when you need to add, change, or delete fields from
the record(s) in any file, or to create a new file containing only a few fields.

Option 10:

This option allows us to compare two data files and report the differences
between them. Entering 10 at the command prompt will take us to the following
screen wherein the old dataset specification has to be specified.
Pressing enter will take us to “New Dataset Specification screen”. Specify the new
dataset which has to be compared with the old dataset.
Pressing enter will take us to “Execution Options screen” wherein execution
option (Online/Batch) has to be specified. On pressing enter will take us to the
following screen where we need to specify the compare type as any one of the
following.

• S à Sorted/Keyed (default for a keyed file).

• R à ReadAhead (default for a non-keyed file).
• 1 à 1 -to-1. File-AID compares "OLD" record 1 to "NEW" record 1,
"OLD" record 2 to "NEW" record 2, etc.
Option: C

This option documents changes made in the various releases of File-AID.

This concludes different options available in File Aid.