This section describes distribution lists and how to create and maintain them. It covers the following topics:
A distribution list is a list of users who are to receive a particular report. It allows easier report distribution.
A distribution list can contain individual users or other distribution lists.
Users and lists can be grouped into a distribution list to create a distribution hierarchy that reflects your organization's structure. You can then use a distribution list as an addressee when defining report processing by entering the list name in the Distribute To field.
Any modifications in the contents of a distribution list are automatically reflected in all reports using this list.
A distribution list can also be used to grant authorization to a group of users. For more information on authorization, see the section Authorizing User Access to Objects.
To list all defined distribution lists:
Enter 4
in the command line of the
Main Menu.
The Distribution List Maintenance screen is displayed, listing all available distribution lists (in alphabetical order).
10:25:46 **** ENTIRE OUTPUT MANAGEMENT **** 2015-03-01 User ID XYZ - Distribution List Maintenance - Cmd List Authoriz Description Members Part Of ___ ________ ________ ________________________________________ _______ ______ __ ALLUSERS ADMIN Reports for all users 3 __ DRO-MAIL ADMIN Dro's Dokumentverteiler 6 __ FINANCE ADMIN Reports for Finance Department 3 * __ LIST-1 ADMIN list 1 2 * __ LIST1 ADMIN Only Test * __ NOM141 ADMIN Test list for NOM141 5 * __ NOM211 ADMIN Test list for NOM211 4 * __ PERSONEL ADMIN Reports for Personnel Department 5 * __ SAGBDL1 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 5 __ SAGBDL2 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 __ SAGBDL3 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 2 __ SAGBLIS2 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 __ SAGBLST1 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 __ STEVELST ADMIN * __ TEST1 ADMIN Test API distribution list 1 Top Of Data Command => ___________________________________________________________________ Enter-PF1---PF2---PF3---PF4---PF5---PF6---PF7---PF8---PF9---PF10--PF11--PF12--- Help Add Exit Flip - + Menu |
From this screen, you invoke the functions for the maintenance of distribution lists as described below.
Fields | Explanation |
---|---|
List Name | Enter selection criteria for the name of the list. You have the option to enter selection criteria ending with an asterisk (*). |
Description | A short description of the list. |
Members | The number of members in the list. |
Part Of | An asterisk (*) in this field indicates that the list is part of another distribution list. |
To create a new distribution list:
Press PF2 (Add) on the Distribution List Maintenance screen.
The Define Distribution List window is displayed.
It contains the following fields:
Field | Explanation |
---|---|
List Name | Enter a name for the distribution list. |
Description | Enter a short description for the distribution list. |
After entering the data, press ENTER to validate the data.
Press PF5 (Do) to save your modifications.
A member in a distribution list can be either an individual user or another distribution list.
The following function are available:
To list the members of a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command LI
next to the distribution
list.
The Distribution List Members screen is displayed, listing all members of the distribution list:
10:40:16 **** ENTIRE OUTPUT MANAGEMENT **** 2015-08-01 User ID XYZ - Distribution List Members - List Name PERSONEL Cmd Member List Description / User name __ DDE Denise, Debbie __ DRI Rio, Del __ RBE Bear, Rastus __ VGE Gemini, Vera __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ All Command => ___________________________________________________________________ Enter-PF1---PF2---PF3---PF4---PF5---PF6---PF7---PF8---PF9---PF10--PF11--PF12--- Help Add Exit Flip - + Menu |
Members can be added to or deleted from the list as described below.
To add a member to a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Members screen, press PF2 (Add).
Or:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the the line command AD
next to the list to
receive the new member.
The Add a Member to a List window is displayed.
Enter the ID of a user or the name of a distribution list.
Or:
To select an ID/name from a list, enter a question mark (?).
A window is displayed, prompting you to press a function key:
To select a user, press PF4 (User-list).
To select a distribution list, press PF5 (Dist-list).
A selection window is displayed, in which you mark the desired user/list with any character.
When you press ENTER, the user ID / distribution list name is written into the Add A Member To A List window.
Press ENTER again.
A message confirms that the user/distribution list has been added to the distribution list.
Press PF3.
To delete a member from a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Members screen, enter
the line command DE
next to the member you want to
delete.
A window is displayed, prompting you to confirm the deletion.
To display cross-reference information for a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command XR
next to the appropriate
list.
The XREF of Distribution List window is displayed:
+------------------------------------------------------+ ! - XREF of Distribution List - ! ! LIST-1 ! ! ! ! M Relation Type Number ! ! _ ___________________________________ ________ ! ! _ Authorization Report ! ! _ Authorization Bundle ! ! _ Authorization Printer ! ! _ Authorization Distribution List ! ! _ Report Definition (Distribute to) 216 ! ! _ Member of a Distribution List 1 ! ! ! ! PF3 = Exit ! +------------------------------------------------------+ |
To list the objects of the relation type, mark the input field in the "M" column preceding the appropriate type.
A window is displayed, listing all objects of the type selected.
Key | Name | Function |
---|---|---|
PF7 | Top | Scroll to the top of the list. |
PF8 | Down | Scroll one screen forward. |
PF9 | Ext | Toggle between display of long and short report/bundle names. |
PF11 | Sort | Sort objects in alphabetical order. |
To modify a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command MO
next to the distribution
list you want to modify.
The Define Distribution List window is displayed for the distribution list you have selected.
In this window, you can modify only the Description field.
Enter a new description. Then press PF5 (Do) or ENTER to save your modifications.
Depending on the COMMIT
option (see
SET command), you may be
prompted to confirm the modifications.
To add or delete members, see Maintaining the Members of a Distribution List.
To rename a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command RN
next to the distribution
list you want to rename.
A window is displayed in which enter the new name of the distribution list.
To delete a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter line command DE
next to the distribution list
you want to delete.
Depending on the CONFIRM
option (see
SET command), you may be
prompted to confirm the deletion.
See Listing the Members of a Distribution List.
To display log information for a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command LO
next to the desired
distribution list.
The Log Display screen is displayed for the distribution list selected.
You can display more information about a log entry by entering the
the line command IN
next to the entry.
For further details, see the section Displaying Log Information for an Object.
To authorize user access to a distribution list:
On the Distribution List Maintenance screen,
enter the line command AU
next to the distribution
list for which you want to grant authorization.
The Authorization List window for distribution lists is displayed.
To grant authorization to a user, proceed as described under Authorizing User Access to Objects.
If in your organization large numbers of reports are sent to a large number of users, this may cause performance problems. In this case, "virtual" users can be used instead of distribution lists, as outlined in this section.
When Entire Output Management creates an active report, it sends it to
the #Inbasket
folders of all users specified in the report's
distribution attributes. With a large number of users, this may cause a
considerable CPU workload for the Entire Output Management monitor and also
require considerable space in the Adabas database containing the Entire Output
Management system file, because a so-called "mail record" is created for every
user. The same is true if an active report is not sent to a large number of
individual users, but to a distribution list containing a large number of
users.
If this causes performance problems in your environment, you may consider using a "virtual" user instead of a distribution list.
Imagine the following scenario:
A distribution list FINANCE
is defined, which contains
as users all staff members of the Finance department (defined users
USER01
to USER50
).
A report is defined with the distribution list FINANCE
specified as the recipient of the report (in the Distribution
Attributes).
As a result, the active report will be sent to every
#Inbasket
folder of every single user (USER01
to
USER50
).
Another aspect is that a new employee joining the Finance department
and added to the distribution list FINANCE
can only see the active
reports sent to the distribution list after he/she was added to the
distribution list. However, it may be desirable that all employees in the
department see all active reports, including older ones.
The alternative scenario with a "virtual" user instead of a distribution list would be this:
You define a user UFINANCE
.
In the Authorization Definition of this user,
you specify PUBLIC
as Granted User ID.
In the Distribution Attributes of the report,
you specify UFINANCE
as the recipient of the report.
You link all users to the #Inbasket
folder of
UFINANCE
:
For the user USER01
, you create a folder, and in its
Folder Definition you specify as Linked
Folder User ID UFINANCE
and
Folder Name #Inbasket
.
Repeat this for the users USER02
to
USER50
.
As a result, the active report will be sent only to the
#Inbasket
folder of UFINANCE
(with only one "mail
record" being created), and all users USER01
to
USER50
can see it.
If a new employee joining the Finance department is later defined as
USER51
in the same manner, he/she can see also all active reports
contained in#Inbasket
folder of UFINANCE