Utility Activation

Natural invokes a Natural utility without performing a logon to the corresponding utility library in the FNAT system file. As a result, Natural preserves the global data area (GDA) and/or application-independent variables (AIV). The current user library and the settings are maintained. (To reset the GDA and/or the AIVs, see the profile parameter FREEGDA in the Parameter Reference.)

To preserve the settings of your application environment, do not log on to a utility library. Instead, invoke a utility by using the Natural system command that corresponds to the utility.

After terminating a utility, you will be returned to the library from which you invoked the utility. However, if you explicitly log on to a utility library before invoking the utility, you will stay in this (utility) library after utility termination.

Exception:

The utilities SYSEXT and SYSEXV still perform an implicit logon to the corresponding utility library since object sources can only be edited within an active library.

For information on how to control the use of Natural utilities with Natural Security, see the section Protecting Utilities in the Natural Security documentation.

If Natural Security is not installed, you can control the use of Natural utilities with user exit routine UTI-EX01. The program source for this user exit routine is provided as source object UTI-SX01 in library SYSEXT.

Start of instruction setTo activate UTI-EX01

  1. CATALOG or STOW source object UTI-SX01 under the name UTI-EX01.

    Different names are used to guarantee that the source object (possibly modified according to your requirements) and the cataloged object of the user exit routine are not overwritten by an update installation.

  2. Copy UTI-EX01 to library SYSTEM in the FNAT or the FUSER system file.

For a detailed description of the user exit routine, see the source object of UTI-SX01 in the library SYSEXT.