11
IBM 5250 Emulation

This chapter describes features of the IBM 5250 terminal emulation.

Introduction

The IBM 5250 emulator provides emulation of 5250 type alphanumeric terminals, both monochrome (green/white plus attributes) and colour. Colours may be modified using the Attribute Settings dialog box. This emulation can be used for connection to an IBM AS/400, System/36 or System/38. A typeahead capability is provided so that you can continue to enter data without waiting for a prompt from the host.

Session Configuration

WBT Mode

This section describes the basic procedure for creating a session configuration when the terminal is in WBT mode. The options available are described in detail in chapter 2.

1. Click the Configure tab in the Terminal Connection Manager then click the Add button to display the New Connection dialog box.

2. Select Terminal Emulation Client and click OK. The Terminal Emulation Client Connection Wizard - Connection Information dialog box will be displayed.

3. Enter a name which will identify this session configuration for future selection in the Connection Name box.

4. Select the IBM 5250 terminal emulation in the Emulation list box.

5. Specify the IBM 5250 Model. This is reported back to the host in response to a terminal identification request. (Note that not all features of the terminal model may be supported.) This also allows you to specify whether the display is treated as monochrome (green for normal characters, white for intense attribute) or colour for attributes. The terminal models currently supported and their display characteristics are listed below.

Model Display Rows x Columns

                       5291_1             Monochrome        24 x 80
                       5292_2             Colour                  24 x 80
                       5251_11           Monochrome        24 x 80
                       3179_2             Colour                  24 x 80 (default)
                       3196_A1          Monochrome        24 x 80
                       3180_2             Monochrome        24 x 80 and 27 x 132
                       3477_FC          Colour                  24 x 80 and 27 x 132
                       3477_FG          Monochrome        24 x 80 and 27 x 132
                       3486_BA          Monochrome        24 x 80
                       3487_HA         Monochrome        24 x 80
                       3487_HC         Colour                  24 x 80
                       5555_B01         Monochrome        24 x 80
                       5555_C01        Colour                  24 x 80

The printer models supported are listed below:

3812-1 Single byte printer
5553-B01 Double byte printer

If double byte character sets (e.g. Japanese) are supported and you wish to use them, then select either 5555_B01 (monochrome) or 5555_C01 (colour) for display, or 5553-B01 for printing.

6. Specify if you want the right or left Control keys to perform the same function as the keypad Enter or Reset keys, respectively.

7. Specify the IBM5250 Monochrome setting. Note that all IBM 5250 models support both monochrome and colour display. When monochrome is selected, characters will be displayed in green and intense fields will be displayed in white. When monochrome is not selected, the settings specified in the Attributes dialog box (described in the Setup Menus chapter) will be used for the display.

8. Click Next to display the Host Information dialog box.

For a TCP/IP connection, click the TCP/IP button, enter the name or internet address of the host computer in the Host Name box, then click Advanced for additional Telnet options. Refer to the TCP/IP Connection Settings section in chapter 2 for details.

For a serial connection, click the Serial button, specify the communications port in the Connect To box, then click Advanced for additional serial options. Refer to the Serial Connection Settings section in chapter 2 for details.

Make the relevant selections then click OK to return to the Host Information dialog box, then click Next .

9. The following four dialog boxes provide further configuration options which are described in chapter 2. Click Next to advance through the dialog boxes.

                                                Automate Login Process
                                          Printer Port Settings
                                          GUI Overrides
                                          Aux Port Settings

10. When you have made your selections, click Finish to return to the Terminal Connection Manager.

11. In the Terminal Connection Manager, display the Connections list, select the session name you specified earlier in step 3, then click the Connect button.

Non-WBT Mode

This section describes the basic procedure for creating a session configuration when the terminal is not in WBT mode. The options available are described in detail in the Setup Menus chapter.

1. Display the Settings menu from the command bar and select Emulation... to display the Emulation Settings dialog box.

2. Set the Alpha Emulation option to IBM5250 then click OK. The terminal will now be in Network Virtual Terminal mode.

3. Display the Settings menu and select IBM 5250... to display the IBM 5250 Settings dialog box.

4. Specify the IBM 5250 Model. This is reported back to the host in response to a terminal identification request. (Note that not all features of the terminal model may be supported.) This also allows you to specify whether the display is treated as monochrome (green for normal characters, white for intense attribute) or colour for attributes. The terminal models currently supported and their display characteristics are listed below.

Model Display Rows x Columns

The printer models supported are listed below:

3812-1 Single byte printer
5553-B01 Double byte printer

If double byte character sets (e.g. Japanese) are supported and you wish to use them, then select either 5555_B01 (monochrome) or 5555_C01 (colour) for display, or 5553-B01 for printing.

5. Specify the Monochrome setting. Note that all IBM 5250 models support both monochrome and colour display. When monochrome is selected, characters will be displayed in green and intense fields will be displayed in white. When monochrome is not selected, the settings specified in the Attributes dialog box (described in the Setup Menus chapter) will be used for the display.

Click OK to close the dialog box.

6. Select Save Session in the File menu.

7. Select New Connection in the File menu to display the New Connection dialog box.

8. Select the type of host connection required in the Type list box.

For a TCP/IP connection, select TCP/IP, enter the name or internet address of the host computer in the Connect To box, then click Configure for additional Telnet options. Refer to the TCP/IP Connection Settings section in chapter 2 for details.

For a serial connection, select Serial, specify the communications port in the Connect To box, then click Configure for additional serial options. Refer to the Serial Connection Settings section in chapter 2 for details.

9. When you have specified the required settings in the New Connection dialog box, click the Connect button to make the connection.

10. If necessary, enter the appropriate information to establish an IBM host session in the Network Virtual Terminal mode screen.

11. When an IBM host session has been established, the screen will switch out of Network Virtual Terminal mode and display the IBM 5250 emulation screen.

Note: You will be returned to the Network Virtual Terminal screen when the connection to the IBM host has been closed.

Network Virtual Terminal Mode

Network Virtual Terminal (NVT) mode allows the operator to communicate with a network gateway (in ASCII) for routing, logon etc, before the full IBM terminal emulation protocol is established. NVT mode is indicated by the absence of the symbol in the status line along the bottom of the window. NVT mode displays an unformatted screen for data entry, allowing basic keyboard functionality as a simple ASCII terminal. In addition to data keys, other recognized keys are:

                           Clear                       clears the screen
                           Enter                      sends a CR to the host
                           Newline                  sends a CR to the host
                           Backspace              sends a BS to the host
                           Tab                         sends an HT to the host

Once the appropriate details have been entered to establish an IBM host session (which may be automatic), the screen is cleared and switched into full IBM 5250 terminal emulation mode, as indicated by the symbol in the status line.

The Status Line

The last line in the window is used to display status information in the form of symbols and alphanumeric characters. A coloured line separates status information from the rest of the display. Information is displayed in any of six regions within the status line as listed below.

Region Symbol Colour Column Meaning

1                T                            Blue           1                  Telnet session running
2                                          Blue           18                On line (IBM 5250 mode)
3                M                           Blue           28                Message waiting
4                ^                            Blue           48                Insert mode on
5                                          Red            57                Input inhibited
6                rr/cc or rr/ccc     White         75-80           Row/column cursor position

The meaning of the symbols is as follows:

T Indicates that a Telnet session is running.

Indicates that the current screen is an IBM 5250 screen. This screen will be displayed when you have initiated a Telnet session with the host.

M Indicates that the system has one or more messages waiting for you.

^ Indicates that the keyboard is in Insert mode. Already existing characters to the right of the cursor will move to make room for new characters that are entered. Insert mode can be disabled by pressing the Insert key again, pressing the Reset key, or by performing any action that sends data to the host, such as pressing the Enter, Clear, or PF keys.

Indicates when input from the keyboard or mouse will not be accepted by the host. When this is because an error has occured, as shown in the error line, pressing the Reset key will remove the error. Alternatively, more information can be obtained by pressing the Help key. The only other keys available are Attn, SysReq and Print. Note that the emulation includes typeahead capability so that in most cases you can continue to enter data without waiting for the Do Not Enter message to clear as the data will be stored until the host is ready.

Keyboard Mapping

The following illustration shows where IBM 5250 keyboard functions are mapped to keys on the 101/102 key Enhanced AT keyboard layout. Special key functions that are provided on the IBM 5250 keyboard can be mapped to any key on your keyboard by using the AS virtual key names listed in the Define Keyboard Macros dialog box.

Word Processing Mode

The following keyboard functions are available when the IBM 5250 emulation is in Word Processing mode:

                                 Symbols Command          Alt + A
                                 Begin Bold                       Alt + B
                                 Centre Text                       Alt + C
                                 Next Text Column            Alt + D
                                 Half-Index Down             Alt + H
                                 End Attribute                    Alt + J
                                 Find Stop Code                Alt + N
                                 Start New Page                Alt + P
                                 Required Page End           Alt + R
                                 Insert Stop Code              Alt + S
                                 Begin Underline               Alt + U
                                 Word Underline               Alt + W
                                 Half-Index Up                  Alt + Y
                                 Beginning of Line            Alt + Cursor Left
                                 End of Line                      Alt + Cursor Right
                                 Top of Page                      Alt + Cursor Up
                                 End of Page                      Alt + Cursor Down
                                 Insert Carrier Return        Alt + Field Exit
                                 Required Space                Alt + Space
                                 Required Tab                    Alt + Tab

Enhanced AT Keyboard Layout

Record & Playback Keystrokes Facility

The record/playback keystrokes facility enables you to eliminate repetitive operations by using the Fn keys to store, retrieve and display data. The Fn keys can store a total of 1500 keystrokes. A sequence of recorded keystrokes may be interrupted so that keystrokes can be entered manually before continuing with the recording or playback. Note that local Fn key functions cannot be recorded.

The keys used to initiate recording and playback are shown below together with the equivalent virtual key names which can be used to assign the functions to any key on the keyboard:

101/102 Key Keyboard Virtual Key Names

             Record:           Alt + F4                                    AS_RECORD
             Pause:             Shift + Pause                            AS_PAUSE
             Quit:                Alt + LControl (see note)        AS_QUIT
            Play:                Alt + F5                                    AS_PLAY

Note: Quit is Alt + Left Control if Left Control is defined as the Reset key.

Recording Keystrokes

1. Press Record to enter Record mode.

The status line will display RECRD and a number from 0-1500 indicating the number of new keystrokes that may be stored. A series of boxes displayed to the right represent the Fn keys. A solid box indicates that the Fn key in that position is currently storing recorded keystrokes.

2. Press the Fn key which will store the keystrokes. (On 101/102 keyboards you can also use Shift + Fn.)

The status line will display R**** F* where R indicates you are in Record mode, **** is the number of keystrokes that may be stored, and F* is the number of the Fn key pressed.

Note: If you press a pre-recorded Fn key, its contents will be replaced with the following keystrokes. You can also remove the contents of the Fn key before recording by pressing the Delete key.

3. Enter the keystrokes to be recorded. You may pause recording at any time to allow keystrokes to be entered manually when played back by pressing Pause. Pause mode is indicated by R^. To continue recording, press Pause again.

Note: You can cancel the newly recorded keystrokes by pressing the Quit key. This cancellation does not affect the previously recorded keystrokes.

4. To finish and save the recording, press the Record key.

Playback Keystrokes

1. Position the text cursor where the playback is to start.

2. Press the Play key to enter Play mode.

The status line will display PLAY and a series of boxes representing the Fn keys. A solid box indicates that the Fn key in that position is currently storing recorded keystrokes.

3. Press the Fn key storing the recorded data to play back.

Playback will begin immediately, as indicated by a P on the status line. All the recorded keystrokes will be played back automatically. When playback is completed the P will disappear.

If the recorded keystrokes included Pause, then playback will halt at that point to allow you to enter keystrokes manually. Press Play to resume playback from where you stopped typing.

If you want to cancel during the playback operation, press the Quit key.

Error Codes

The following error codes may appear on the status line if an error occurs during recording or playback.

9001 Exceeded the maximum number of allowed keystrokes.

Remedy: Press the Record key to exit Record mode. To record a new keystroke sequence, either:

a) Press the Record key and the target Fn key that has erasable data, then enter the new data.

b) Press the Record key and the target Fn key that has erasable data, then press the Delete key to erase the recorded data for that key.

9003 You pressed an invalid Fn key while performing the Record or Play function.