Customizing Predict with Profiles

The way Predict works can be changed to a certain extent with session parameters.

Session parameters and parameters that determine how functions work are usually set differently, depending on who uses data dictionary functions and for which purpose. Sets of parameter settings (User Defaults) can be stored in user-specific profiles. Different types of profiles are distinguished.

Predict Profile

The Predict Profile has different sections containing a wide variety of parameters ranging from Maintenance Options to Colour Definition for colour terminals. The currently active profile is indicated in the upper right corner of Predict input screens.

LIST XREF Profile

The LIST XREF profile allows the user to define PF-keys and the scope of the functions Report Programs and Verify All. See the section LIST XREF for Natural in the Predict Reference documentation for more information.

Editor Profiles

Predict editors can be customized with profiles. The use of editors is described in the section Editors in Predict in the Predict Reference documentation.

This document covers the following topics:

Maintaining User-specific Profiles

Users documented with an object of type user in Predict can define their own profile with the command PROFILE, which displays the Add User Defaults menu. A user-specific profile is created as soon as one of the functions in the Add user profile menu has been executed successfully. A user-specific profile is used automatically after logging on to Predict.

Using the Default SYSTEM Profile

Users who have not yet defined their own profile use the DEFAULT system profile. Values in the DEFAULT system profile can be changed for the current session. Changes to the DEFAULT system profile do not remain after a Predict session has been quit.

To activate the DEFAULT system profile explicitly, enter:

PROFILE SYSTEM.

Using the Profile of Another User

To activate the profile of another user, enter command PROFILE <user-id>.

Modify User Defaults Menu

Profiles can be modified via the Modify User Defaults menu that is displayed by entering the PROFILE command without <user-id>.

The following rules apply when changing a profile:

  • It is not allowed to modify the profile of another user.

  • Changes to a user-specific profile cannot deactivate restrictions specified in the default profile (SYSTEM) or with functions of the metadata administration. Example: if the metadata administration parameter EDIT description is set to F (force), this setting cannot be deactivated in a user profile.

  • Parameter settings contained in the profile sections Restrictions and Output options can be changed temporarily or permanently when using retrieval functions. See the section Retrieval in the Predict Reference documentation.

The Modify User Defaults menu offers a selection of different sections of the profile. Each section contains a different type of default. After choosing the type of default by entering one of the codes, one or several input screens are then displayed to specify the default values. All options are described in the following sections. 

    13:55:33             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2009-05-31
    Plan   3                   - Modify User Defaults -                Profile HNO
   
   
                        Function
   
                        M  Maintenance options
                        R  Restrictions
                        O  Output options
                        H  Handling
                        P  PF-Keys
                        C  Colour definition
   
   
    Function ..........
   
   
   
   
   
    Command ===>
    Enter-PF1---PF2---PF3---PF4---PF5---PF6---PF7---PF8---PF9---PF10--PF11--PF12---
          Help  Next  Stop  Last  LnkEl Flip  Print Impl  AdmFi SelFi Prof  Main

Maintenance Options

The Maintenance Options screen is called by entering code M in the Modify User Defaults screen. 

16:14:14             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2007-05-31
                           - Maintenance Options -                             
                                                   Modified 2007-05-31 at 13:47
Profile ......... SYSTEM                                 by SYSTEM               
 
Edit owner                                 Edit description                    
  Add/Modify ............* O  Optional       Add/Modify .........* O  Optional 
  Copy ..................* O  Optional       Copy ...............* O  Optional 
 
Edit default associations                  Edit additional attributes           
  Add/Modify ............* O  Optional       Add/Modify .........* O  Optional 
  Copy ..................* O  Optional       Copy ...............* O  Optional 
 
Workplan commands                          Protect extended description        
  Position of storage ...* E  End            Start character .....             
  Add task for dummy ..... Y  (Y,N)          End character .......             
 
List action .............. Y  (Y,N)                                            
Purge mode ............... Y  (Y,N)                                            
Full maintenance check ... N  (Y,N)                                            
Current virtual machine .* HOME                                                
SQL Server ..............*                                                     
For HELP enter '?' in the first field.     MORE Type dependent options N (Y,N)
General Maintenance Options
Edit owner, description, default child association

The values specified in these fields are used as default values for the fields in the Additional attributes / Associations line. The Additional attributes / Associations line is displayed at the bottom of Add/Copy/Modify functions. Settings in this line determine whether the owner list, extended description or the child list of an object is to be created or changed.

Example: the Additional attributes / Associations line of Add/Copy/Modify database screens looks as follows:

Additional attributes ..* N Associations ..* N

Note:
The parameters Edit description and Edit owner are also set in the metadata administration and override any settings in a user profile.

  • If disallow has been set in the metadata administration for either Edit description or Edit owner of an object type, this setting will determine that N (no) is set in the respective field of the Additional attributes / Associations line. This setting cannot be changed by values specified in the profile.

  • If force has been set in the metadata administration for either Edit description or Edit owner of an object type, Y is set in the respective field of the Additional attributes / Associations line if an extended description or owner list does not yet exist. If an extended description or owner list exists, Y is set if the respective parameter in the profile is set to Y or to O. If the respective parameter in the profile is set to A or to N, the input field is set to N however.

See Forcing/Disallowing Extended Descriptions and Owner/Child Lists for a more detailed description of the concepts behind these parameters.

The following values can be specified for these parameters:

Y

Yes. The respective fields in the Additional attributes / Associations line are preset to Y (yes).

N

No. The respective fields in the Additional attributes / Associations line are preset to N (no).

O

Optional. If the object already has owners, an extended description or sub objects, the respective fields in the Additional attribute / Associationss line are preset to Y (yes); otherwise, they are preset to N (no).

A

Add. Only applicable to the Add/Modify function. If the object being maintained already has owners, an extended description or sub objects, the respective field in the Additional attributes / Associations line is preset to N (no), otherwise, it is preset to Y (yes).

Note:
If verifications are created with the Natural map editor, the Edit owner parameter has no effect. To ensure that owners are added to a verification that has been created with the Natural map editor, the user exit U-ACMR must be used.

Workplan commands
Determines the position of new workplan commands. Valid values:
Position of storage
B

commands are added to the beginning of the workplan

E

commands are added to the end of the workplan.

Add task for dummy
Y

An entry is added to the workplan for each dummy created when a link is established to an object that has not yet been created.

List action
Y

Messages are displayed on the terminal whenever data dictionary objects are changed.

Purge mode
Y

An additional check is performed before objects are deleted.

The logic of the check is as follows: if a database is to be scratched, its dependent files (linked via Contains FI ) are deleted only if they are not linked to another database via Contained in DA . Similar logic applies to the scratching of systems and programs that are linked via Uses PR concept .

Full maintenance check
Y

Predict will check the validity of all input values on a screen whenever any of them is changed.

N

Predict will only check the validity of input values that have changed.

Protect extended description, Start character, End character Parts of the default extended description (extended description skeletons) can be protected by enclosing them in special characters. These characters are defined with these parameters.
See Extended Description Skeleton in the section Defaults in the Predict Administration documentation.
Current virtual machine

Default for the parameter Current VM. See the section Defaults in the Predict Administration documentation. This parameter is used to determine the target environment for Generate/ Incorporate/ Compare/ Administration Implementation functions.

The virtual machine entered here must be linked to the current network. Enter an asterisk to display all virtual machines linked to the current network. A Default current virtual machine and the Current network can be specified in the second Miscellaneous screen of the General Defaults function.

Note:
After changing the Current virtual machine, implementation plans created with a different virtual machine can only be purged or displayed. See the section File Implementation Plans in the External Objects in Predict documentation for details.

The current virtual machine can also be set with the command: SET VM<virtual machine ID>.

SQL Server When adding or modifying the documentation of a DB2 object, the physical attributes of the object in the denoted server are offered for editing.
Additional Maintenance Options for Files
Modify Adabas attributes Y
With the functions Add/Copy/Modify file for files of type A or U, the parameter Additional attributes is set to Y.
Additional Maintenance Options for Fields
Automatic Adabas names Y
Predict automatically generates Adabas names for fields that are added to the data dictionary.
Automatic null value Y
Predict automatically sets suppression/null value options for fields that are added to the dictionary. The value depends on the type of file:
Parameter File Types
All SQL Types* except X X Other File Types
Unique option = Unique or Desc. type = Primary or Field format = serial R R N
Others U blank N

Note:
SQL file types include files of type A with parameter Adabas SQL usage set to Y.

Copy description
Y

The extended description is also copied when a field is copied from the field list of one file into the field list of another file (using either the SEL command or the .H command of the field list editor).

N

The extended description is not copied.
Ripple abstract

This option defines whether the abstract of a field object is rippled, i.e., whether changes to the abstract of a field are pulled forward from a physical file to a userview. Valid values:

N

Abstract is not rippled.

T

Abstract is rippled even if the abstract in the real file and the corresponding userview are different.

L

Abstract is rippled only if the entire block of abstract in the real file and the corresponding userview is identical.

See Rippling in the section File of the Predefined Object Types in Predict documentation.

List rippling Y
Messages are displayed at the terminal whenever rippling is performed.
File for select Fields to be linked to a file can be selected from an existing field list by using the SEL command in Link children. The File for select parameter is then used as default setting for the Belongs to FI parameter.

Restrictions

The restrictions screen is called by entering R in the Modify User Defaults Menu. The valid parameters are described in the section Restrictions.

Output Options

  • General output options applying to all object types are specified in the first screen.

    For a detailed description see Output Options Valid For All Objects in the section Retrieval in the Predict Reference documentation.

  • Output options for specific object types can be defined in subsequent screens be entering Y in the field MORE Type dependent options. For a detailed description see Type-specific Output Options in the section Retrieval in the Predict Reference documentation.

See also Using Restrictions and Output Options from Profiles in the section Retrieval in the Predict Reference documentation for the different ways of using output options. 

15:59:56             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2009-07-31
                             - Output options -                                
                                                      Added 2008-09-25 at 11:13
Profile ......... SYSTEM                           Modified 2009-07-21 at 11:56
                                                                               
                       Current   related                       Current and     
                        object    object                       related object  
Type independent                            Type independent                   
  Description .......    Y  (Y,N)   Y         Association attr. .*   Y         
  No. abstract lines     16 (0-16)  16        Mark implementation    N  (Y,N)  
  Keywords ..........    24 (0-32)  24        Show implementation    Y  (Y,N)  
  Extracts ..........    32 (0-32)  32        Display modifier ...   N  (Y,N)  
  Owners ............    99 (0-99)  99        Connecting character   :         
    with users .....*    Y          Y         Cover page .........   N  (Y,N)  
  Attributes ........    Y  (Y,N)   Y         Page size ..........   60        
  Dummy/Placeholder *    D          Y                                          
                                                                               
Miscellaneous                               Conform options                    
  Web Service usage .    Y  (Y,N)             Use Conform ........   N  (Y,N)  
                                                Predict header ...   N  (Y,N)  
                                                User FPROFILE ....   N  (Y,N)  
                                                List error message   N  (Y,N)  
For HELP enter '?' in the first field.     MORE Type dependent options: N
Additional Output Options for Field
Composed fields
Y

Display names of fields hyper/super/subfields are derived from when fields of these types are displayed.

3GL specification
Y

The following 3GL-specific attributes of fields are displayed:

Gr.structur, Justify, Synchronized, Init. value, Indexed by, Depending on, Condition name and Condition value.

DV-field expression
Y

Derived field expressions are displayed.
Natural options
Y

Up to three headers and the definition of the Natural edit mask are displayed.

Sorted by field
Y

Field list is sorted alphabetically by field.

N

Fields are sorted by file. Fields appear in the order they are defined in the file.

For a detailed description of this parameter see Sorting Fields and Files in the section Field in the Predefined Object Types in Predict documentation.

Synonyms

Display language-specific synonyms of field IDs.

#

Display synonyms for all languages.

*

A selection window for language code appears.
Display length

Format in which the length of fields is displayed:

N

Natural Format

P

Physical Format
Additional Output Option for Database
Adabas sizes
Y

Display physical size assigned to a database.
Additional Output Options for Program
Entry points
Y

Entry points are displayed.
Procedure call
Y

Display procedure calls.
Additional Output Option for Verification
Rules
Y

Display rules of a verification.

Handling

   13:09:01             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2007-05-31
                                   - Handling -
                                                      Modified 2007-05-31 at 13:06
   Profile ......... HNO                                    by HNO
   
   Display first screen (logo screen) ....... N  (Y,N)
   Menu type ...............................* F  Function Main Menu
   Use as editor (first choice) ............* S  Software AG Editor
                 (second choice) ...........* C  Natural Editor
                 (third choice) ............*    (none)
     Additional parameters for Word for Windows
       Download PC part ..................... N
       Entire Connection task name ..........
       Predict Word for Windows directory
       (Directory must end with backslash) .. C:\PREDICT\                        -
   
   Stay after modify
     Documentation objects .................. Y  (Y,N)
     External objects ....................... N  (Y,N)
     Special function ....................... N  (Y,N)
     Menu ................................... N  (Y,N)
   
   For HELP enter '?' in the first field.
Handling Defaults
Display first screen (logo screen)
Y

The Predict banner is displayed when Predict is invoked.

N

The Predict banner is skipped and the Predict Main Menu is displayed immediately.

Menu type

Predict offers three different main menus. The default menu can be chosen by entering one of the following codes:

F

Function Main Menu

D

Documentation Menu

E

External Object Menu
Use as editor (first, second, third choice)

Definition of the editor to be called. Up to three preferences are possible. At least one editor must be specified. The editor actually used depends on the environment from which the editor is called.

W

Word for Windows is called.

S

The Software AG Editor is called.

C

A Natural-based editor is called.

Note:
We recommend you set your editor preferences in the order given above.

See Defining Editor Defaults in the section Editors in Predict in the Predict Reference documentation for more details.
Additional parameters for Word for Windows
Download PC part
Y

If all prerequisites are met, the Predict-Winword interface is downloaded to your PC.

See Maintaining Extended Descriptions with Word for Windows in the section Editors in Predict in the Predict Reference documentation for more information.

Entire Connection task name The name of a task defined in Entire Connection. See the Entire Connection documentation for detailed information on tasks.
Predict Word for Windows directory

Enter here the drive and directory to which the template file PRD.DOT of the Predict-Winword interface is to be loaded.

See Maintaining Extended Descriptions with Word for Windows in the section Editors in Predict in the Predict Reference documentation for more information.

Stay after modify
Y

ENTER must be pressed twice to confirm input in any Predict menu or function screen.

N

ENTER must be pressed once to confirm input in any Predict menu or function screen.

This option can be set differently for documentation objects, external objects or special function menus. If Y is specified in the field Menu, the setting of Stay after modify applies to all kinds of object types and functions.

PF Keys

PF keys can be assigned in two screens. If applicable, the assignments are also valid in other Predict applications (SYSDICBE, SYSDICCO, SYSDICMA). Change definitions by simply overwriting them. 

    13:35:33             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2007-05-31
                                    - PF-Keys -
                                                       Modified 2007-05-31 at 13:20
    Profile ......... HNO                                    by HNO
   
    Text    PF-nr   Function
    Help     1      CMD ??
    Menu     2      MENU
    Canc     3      STOP
    S-fi     4      CMD SELECT FILE
    E-el     5      CMD EDIT ELEMENT
    M-pr     6      CMD MAINTAIN PROGRAM
    Print    7      +H
    Impl     8      CMD IMPLEMENT FILE
    Last     9      CMD LAST
    FLIP     10     +YL
    PROF     11     CMD PROFILE
    Next     12     CMD NEXT
    Use '+' as control character for assigning Natural terminal commands to
      PF-KEYS (e.g. +H for hard copy)
   
   
    For HELP enter '?' in the first input field.
Parameters
Text Up to 5 characters can be specified as text that is displayed in the PF key line.
Pf-nr PF key number.
Function Command to be triggered by the PF key. The following commands can be assigned to PF keys.
STOP Backs out the current transaction, cancels successive actions and returns (normally) to the last menu that was active. Under some circumstances, it may return to the Predict Main Menu.
CMD MAIN Returns control to the main menu without resetting the session variables.
CMD MENU Resets all session variables (file name, owner ID, etc.). It then returns control to the main menu.
CMD xyz CMD calls the Predict command processor. This program is executed with the parameter xyz, which is any valid Predict command. Predict commands can be abbreviated.
+x (Terminal Command) The plus sign (+) is substituted for the leading percent sign (%) in Natural terminal commands such as "%H".
B-CMD xyz The command processor of the Predict Coordinator. This program is executed with the parameter xyz, which is any valid Predict command. Abbreviations may be used as required.

Colour Definitions

The colours used for the different types of output on colour terminals can be changed with this screen. 

    13:42:23             *****  P R E D I C T  *****                     2007-05-31
                                - Colour Definition -
                                                       Modified 2007-05-31 at 13:20
    Profile ......... HNO                                    by HNO
   
    Colour Definition                  - Valid Colours -
      Normal output ....... TU           BL   Blue
      Intense output ...... YE           GR   Green
      Normal input ........ RE           NE   Neutral
      Intense input ....... NE           PI   Pink
                                         RE   Red
                                         TU   Turquoise
                                         YE   Yellow
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    For HELP enter '?' in the first field.