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z/OS Partitioned dataset access of JCL jobs through Notepad++/any other editors in windows

i want to access the jcl jobs under z/os partioned datasets(pds) from my windows workstation. Editing jcl jobs from ispf editor is taking lot of time and ispf is very old editor. what i tried :I can access,edit z/OS uss files though nppFTP plugin of notepad++. But, when i try to access data members of pds, its failing to retrieve. PDS name given under profile settings of nppFTP - Initial remote directory: //xyz.uvw.abc(job).

Here's a screenshot of my problem:

enter image description here

Solution

  • About WSA

    Have a look at the "ISPF Workstation Agent" (WSA for short), something that is included with ISPF (read: at no extra cost to use it). After you install it on your Wndows workstation, you'll be able to edit zOS files (such as PDSs or SEQ files) on your workstation.

    WSA is probably one of the best kept secrets of ISPF. It runs on your workstation and can be used to download files from the mainframe (using TCP/IP).

    To start using WSA it must be launched using WSA.EXE. After it is launched, WSA will be waiting for connection requests from the mainframe to come in. After such connection request comes in, and after it is accepted by the workstation user, the download (file transfer) will actually start (and it is very fast …).

    When the download is finished, the downloaded file may (optionally) automatically be opened in your favorite viewer or editor on your PC (a browser, a text processor, a spreadsheet application, notepad, etc).

    Installation of WSA

    Installing WSA is a one-time process which takes about 10 minutes to complete. It starts with navigating to ISPF option 3.7.1 (=Download ISPF C/S component), which will display a popup panel (named "GUIINST", and title "Client/Server Component Download"). On this GUIINST panel, I always use “download methods=3 (manual)” and select “workstation type=1” for Windows. This will display another pop-up panel, with instructions about how to (manually) complete the download, here is a sample of what is typically shown on that panel:

    • Copy member: ISPGUINX
    • From data set: 'SYS1.ISP.SISPGUI'
    • To file: ispfinst.exe

    Note the member and DSN to copy from (it is the PDS member on the mainframe where the WSA software can be downloaded from), as well as the “To file” value (which is the suggested filename of the workstation executable to download it to). Note that any “To file” filename would work, as long as it has an EXE extension (so that you will be able to run it on your workstation after download).

    After you have noted this information you must perform a binary transfer (no ASCII/CRLF conversion!!!) to download this PDS member from the mainframe to the suggested “To File” (consider storing this file in a newly created directory, e.g. c:\WSA). To do so, you can use any download method that support binary transfers.

    After the download of this EXE file completed, run the EXE file on your workstation. This self extracting executable will create a set of new files on your workstation (in the same directory), including the program file WSA.EXE. You are now ready to start using WSA (no reboot of your workstation needed).

    More info

    ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/tivoli_support/patches/CIMSLab/documentation/cimsmart/v130/ispfwork.pdf

    PS: yes ISPF editor is "pretty old" (I first used it in the 80s ...), but I disagree with your "no much facilities" ... These days it happens that I sometimes use the SPF/PC equivalent editor of it (in windows), to perform some sofisticated mass edit operations for which I've not found any equivalent Windows editors that can do the same (and for which I've not found any Notepad++ equivalent either). And if you master the ISPF "edit macro's" you can virtually do any edit operations with literally just a few keystrokes ...