Common and Global Functions

This section describes common functions of Entire Operations GUI Client that perform the same operations for different objects.

In addition, it describes the functions of the General metanode that perform global operations on all objects in your Entire Operations environment.


Canceling Reading

In Entire Operations GUI Client, a long reading process can be canceled by pressing ESC.

Start of instruction setTo cancel reading

  • Press ESC.

Applying Changes

All maintenance dialogs within the Entire Operations GUI Client provide an additional Apply button to save previously entered information without closing the maintenance dialog. The changes take effect just by selecting Apply.

If you create a new objet and select Apply, this dialog changes from a New to a Maintenance behavior.

Listing Objects

Start of instruction setTo view a list of objects

  1. In the object workspace, select a metanode.

  2. Open the context menu and choose List, or press F8.

    Or:
    Use the LIST direct command as described in the Direct Commands documentation.

    A List window similar to the example below opens:

    graphics/List.png

    All objects of the selected metanode are listed.

    In the example above, all jobs of the Job Master metanode are listed for the B60-FLOW network of the owner EXAMPLE.

This section covers the following topics:

Showing or Hiding Grid Lines

The context menu in a List window provides the Grid Lines function with the options Show and Hide to show grid lines in the List window or hide them, respectively. Changes affect the view in the active List window only.

You can set initial values for all List views:

From the Options menu, choose Grid Lines and select Show or Hide. This setting is stored between sessions in user XML profile and is used as the default value for all List views.

Refreshing Object Lists

Start of instruction setTo refresh objects listed in the object workspace

  • In the object workspace, select a metanode and choose Refresh from the context menu, or press F5.

    The list of objects of the selected metanode is updated immediately.

Start of instruction setTo refresh objects from an open list window

  • Open a window that contains a list of objects and press F5 or choose the Refresh button, if available.

    The list is updated immediately.

    Or:
    Open a window that contains a list of objects and choose Auto Refresh, if available.

    In the Automatic Refresh window that opens, select the Automatic refresh check box. If required, change the time interval (the default is 30 seconds) in which you want to update the list.

    Choose OK.

    The list is updated automatically in the time interval specified.

Filtering Objects

You can define a filter for the objects to be shown by default in the tree view nodes of the object workspace and listed in an object List window.

If a filter is defined for a set of objects, the following applies:

  • The default values set in the Filter option of the user profile (see the Administration documentation) are ignored.

  • The icon of the folder that contains the filtered objects changes from graphics/folder_icon.png to graphics/filter_icon.png in the object workspace.

Start of instruction setTo filter objects

  1. In the object workspace, select a metanode.

  2. Open the context menu and choose Filter.

    Or:
    Press F3.

    A Filter window similar to the example below opens:

    graphics/filter_network.png

    The input fields provided in the window depend on the type of objects contained in the selected node. For example, the field Version is only available for objects of the type network master and symbol table master.

  3. You can define a filter or choose a predefined filter from a template (common named filter). Choose either option:

    Leave the Named filter Name field blank and enter the required filter criteria in the remaining input fields.

    You can use an asterisk (*) and a question mark (?) as wildcards at any position in the identifier string.

    The question mark (?) indicates a single position not to be examined.

    The asterisk (*) indicates any number of positions (zero or more characters) not to be examined.

    In the example above, all networks with names starting with E6 are to be selected for all network versions.

    Or:
    From the Named filter Name, select the name of a defined filter with predefined filter criteria related to this object type.

    You must have appropriate access rights to read, modify and delete common named filters. See also the default Filter settings for user profiles described in the Administration documentation.

  4. Choose OK.

    Now, only objects which satisfy the selection criteria are listed in the tree view and List window as shown in the following example:

    graphics/filter_list.png

    The filter criteria used for the list is indicated in the window title (here: Filter: NetworkMasterID=E6*).

    A filter remains active until you explicitly Reset it.

  5. The Filter window provides the following functions:

    • Choose Reset to reset all filter criteria and deactivate a filter.

    • Choose Save as… to save the current filter criteria as a named filter.

      A window opens where you can enter the filter name.

      Choose OK to save the new filter.

    • Choose Delete to remove a selected named filter.

      A window prompts you to confirm the deletion.

Saving a List View as a Report File

The context menu in a List window provides the Save View as File function to save the content of a List window as a report file containing columns and column headings and filter information. For detailed information, see Report Output Options in the section Reporting.

Drag & Drop

The drag and drop function is used to specify and perform a preferred menu function on all objects in a node or a node instance contained in the object workspace.

This can help perform frequently used functions more easily and avoids having to search through context menus.

Start of instruction setTo execute a function with drag and drop

  1. From the tree view in the object workspace, drag a node or a node instance and drop it onto the empty content pane.

    Or:
    Select the required node and choose Set Drag and Drop Function from the context menu.

    If the selected node is not yet preset with a drag and drop function, a Maintenance Drag&Drop dialog similar to the example below opens:

    graphics/drag_drop.png

    The functions available for selection depend on the object type (here: Network Master) of the node selected. There are different functions available for node instances and metanodes.

    Select the required function and choose OK.

    The dialog closes.

  2. If the selected node is already preset with a drag and drop function, the selected function is executed immediately.

    If a drag and drop function cannot be performed, the function terminates with an appropriate message.

Start of instruction setTo change or reset a drag and drop function

  1. Open the Maintenance Drag&Drop dialog as described in the previous instructions.

  2. Select the required function or select <None> to remove a drag and drop function and reset the function.

  3. Choose OK.

Displaying Objects

The Display function opens a window that displays information for the currently selected item. You can only view the information, not edit it. If you want to edit the item, you have to use the Open function.

Start of instruction setTo display an object

  1. In the object workspace, select the object.

  2. Open the context menu and choose Display.

    Or:
    Press CTRL+D.

    A dialog appears that displays all available information for the selected object.

    Note:
    For a detailed description of the displayed fields, see the description of the Open function for the respective object.

Copying Objects

Important:
Copying an object always means that the complete underlying structure is also copied into the target destination.

Start of instruction setTo copy single or multiple objects

  1. In the object workspace, select a node instance or an entire node.

    Open the context menu and choose Copy data, or press CTRL+C.

  2. Or:
    In the object workspace, select a node for which you can choose List from the context menu. A Master List window opens.

    From the list table in the Master List window, select single or multiple objects and choose Copy data from the context menu within the table, or press CTRL+C.

    The object data is copied to the clipboard and ready to paste at the required location within the object workspace.

  3. Proceed as described in Pasting Objects.

Pasting Objects

Start of instruction setTo paste objects

  1. In the object workspace, select the node where you want to place the object data previously copied to the clipboard.

  2. Choose Paste data from the context menu, or press CTRL+V.

    A Paste data window similar to the example below opens:

    graphics/paste_window.png

    The Source object namespace table indicates the source location (here: owner EXAMPLE, network B60-FLOW) that contains the objects to be copied.

    The Target object namespace table indicates the target location (here: owner DEMO, network DEMO2) where to copy the selected objects.

    The Object name to paste column in the right table lists the source objects selected for the copy operation (here: jobs JOB-03, JOB-02, JOB-01).

  3. In the Object name to paste field, replace the object name, if required.

    Select the Paste check box next to the object you want to copy. The check boxes are selected by default. Remove the check mark for an object you want to skip. In the example above, JOB-02 is not copied.

    Select the Overwrite check box to replace an existing target object with the same name.

  4. When you are finished, choose OK.

    The objects are added to the specified target location and listed in the previously selected node in the object workspace.

Deleting Objects

The Delete function opens a dialog to confirm the selection for this operation.

Start of instruction setTo delete an object

  1. In the object workspace, select the object.

  2. Open the context menu and choose Delete.

    Or:
    Press DELETE.

    A dialog appears where you have to confirm the deletion.

Importing and Exporting Objects

You can import and export objects using the Import/Export function of the General metanode or the Export function of a selected node or node instance.

For detailed information on using the functions, see Importing Objects and Exporting Objects in the Import/Export Functions documentation.

Functions of the Metanode General

The General metanode provides menu functions that are performed on all objects available in your current Entire Operations environment:

Function Described in Section
Next Activations Viewing next network activations.

See Viewing and Modifying Next Network Activations in the section Schedule Maintenance.

List Active Jobs See Listing Active Jobs in the section Maintaining Active Jobs.
Activity Log See Monitoring Entire Operations Activities in the section Log Information.
Browse Log See Displaying Logged Information - Browse Log Function in the section Log Information.
Monitor Status See Monitor Status.
Determination Date See Determination Date for Report Data in the section Reporting.
Reporting See Report Types in the section Reporting.
Cross References See Types of Cross-References in the section Cross References.
Import/Export Importing Objects and Exporting Objects in the Import/Export Functions documentation.
Show Messages See Show Messages.
Show Workplan See Show Workplan.
Show all Owners See Show all Owners
Show linked Owners See Show linked Owners.
Set Drag And Drop Function See Drag & Drop.

Monitor Status

The Monitor is the heart of Entire Operations. The Monitor is a complex program that wakes up periodically and checks the definitions stored in the master database for any work to do. It activates and processes networks and jobs according to their prerequisites and controls running job networks, even if they reside on the nodes of different computers.

The Monitor Status function of the General metanode is used, for example, to start and stop the Monitor.

Before you can monitor Entire Operations activities, you may have to log on a node.

Start of instruction setTo monitor Entire Operations

  1. In the object workspace, select the General metanode.

  2. Open the context menu and choose Monitor Status.

    For an inactive node, a Logon Node dialog opens first.

    The fields contained in this dialog are explained in Fields: Node Logon.

  3. Enter your user ID and password and choose OK to log on to the specified node.

    A Monitor Status window opens displaying all Monitor tasks.

    Here you can:

    • Start and stop the Monitor.

    • Hold or release a certain Monitor task.

    • If you want to display the Monitor tasks before the dialog is automatically refreshed, you can refresh it manually by selecting the Refresh button.

    • Select OK.

    For detailed information, see Status of the Entire Operations Monitor in the Administration documentation.

Show Messages

The Show Messages function of the General metanode is used to list mailbox messages and requests as shown in the following example:

graphics/showmessages_general.png

All messages and requests of all mailboxes to which the current Entire Operations user (Owner at Logon) is linked are listed in the table.

The table view is filled dynamically with data if scrolled to the end of the table.

The columns, fields and functions provided in the window are described in Fields and Columns: Messages and Requests and Available Functions: Show Messages and Requests in the section Working with Mailboxes.

Add to Workplan

The Add to Workplan function stores a reference to the currently selected object in a list of activities to be done.

Start of instruction setTo add an object to the workplan

  1. In the object workspace, select an object.

  2. Open the context menu and choose Add to Workplan.

    The object is listed within the workplan for further processing.

    You can view all entries of your workplan by using the Show Workplan menu function of the General metanode.

Show Workplan

The Show Workplan function of the General metanode is used to open the workplan.

The workplan contains a list of Entire Operations objects that are accessed during the current Entire Operations GUI Client user session. This list facilitates repeated access to these objects.

Objects Tab

Invoking the workplan, a Workplan window with an open Objects page is displayed first.

graphics/showworkplan1_general.png

The list of objects contains the following columns:

Column Description
Access Time Date and time of the last user access to this object.

See also Date and Time Formats.

Function Name of the last function executed for this object.
Object Type Type of the object.
Object Name of the object including the superordinate objects that identify it unambiguously within a namespace. The single constituents of the name are separated by slash (/) characters.

Start of instruction setTo refresh the workplan

The workplan is automatically refreshed for local operating actions of users. Otherwise:

  • Choose the Refresh button.

    The workplan is now manually refreshed.

Start of instruction setTo add objects to the workplan

Certain objects are inserted into the workplan during an Entire Operations session automatically if you display or change them. Otherwise:

  • Choose Add to Workplan from the context menu for the required object to add it to the workplan manually.

    The workplan is automatically refreshed by inserting new objects. Adding a new object to the workplan has no impact on the object itself.

Start of instruction setTo clear entries in the workplan

  • Choose the Clear Entry button to delete the selected entry from the workplan.

    Or:
    Choose the Clear Workplan button to delete all workplan entries.

    Deleting object entries from the workplan does not delete or deactivate any objects.

Start of instruction setTo work with objects via the workplan

  • On the Objects page of the Workplan window, select the object you want to process and right-click in the window to open the context menu and select the required function.

Options Tab

The Options tab displays all possible workplan options.

graphics/showworkplan2_general.png

The workplan is transient by default. However, you can make the workplan persistent between sessions by setting the Show workplan after activation option in your user profile as described in GUI General in the Administration documentation.

The number of recent entries saved can be configured in the user profile (see the Session Profile in the Administration documentation). If the workplan lists more than the configured maximum number of saved entries, only the last recent records will be saved for the next session.

Filtering: Preset Group

This selection box allows a preselection for the following individual filters.

All

Display all entries.

Master

Display only master objects

Active

Display only active objects

Custom

The object types become determined via marking them in this dialog. It is automatically activated if you diverge from the standard preselection.

None

Deletes all subsequent individual filters.

Show all Owners

This function of the General metanode is allowed for users with administrator rights only. It allows you to switch to the SYSDBA mode:

  • All existing owners are listed in the Owner metanode.

  • The Owner metanode changes its name to Owner (SYSDBA access).

  • No owners are listed below Owner via Granting.

This function is allowed for users with administrator rights only. This function corresponds to the direct command SET OWNERLIST ALL described in the Direct Commands documentation.

See also the section Using Owners.

Show linked Owners

This function of the General metanode is allowed for users with administrator rights only.

In opposite to the Show all Owners function, this function allows you to switch back from SYSDBA access mode to normal mode:

  • Only linked owners are listed in the Owner metanode.

  • Granted owners are listed in the Owner via Granting metanode.

This function corresponds to the direct command SET OWNERLIST LINKED described in the Direct Commands documentation.

See also the section Owner Maintenance.