ISPF Productivity Tool

IBM ISPF Productivity Tool for z/OS turns IBM TSO/ISPF into a centralized, object-oriented control center by consolidating functions, providing new facilities, enhancing existing facilities, and dramatically improving the performance of all of your ISPF users.

ISPF Productivity Tool is an add-on tool for developers, system programmers, technical support, and operations and control personnel alike - all ISPF users! It offers boosts in productivity for users across the spectrum - from those working with ISPF for many years and know their way around the panels quickly, to those who are new to the IBM z/OS environment and were trained in workstation tools and interfaces. Both need tools that offer time-saving advantages and both will find them in ISPF Productivity Tool. (see examples (PDF, 787KB))

What's new in Version 6.1?

IBM ISPF Productivity Tool Version 6.1 contains the following improvements over the previous release:

• Support for z/OS Extended Address Volumes (EAV)

• New partitioned data set (PDS) library deleted members map, browse, edit, and restore (undelete)

• Enhanced quick search string functions to support double byte character set (DBCS) characters, case-sensitivity, hexadecimal, and from-to column settings

• Support for extended-size member name patterns

• New command shortcuts

• Customization wizard improvements

How it works

The ISPF Productivity Tool combines a range of ISPF utilities as well as new functions into the standard ISPF Browse, Edit, View, and DSLIST functions, making them perform more intelligently. It requires no training, and centralizes (with easy, single-screen accessibility) the major ISPF functions. Programmers can keep track of their data sets and invoke virtually any function they need from a "dashboard" panel, without repeatedly calling up different panels for the same library, thereby spending less time recovering from errors. Programmers save a substantial amount of navigation time and can get their work done more efficiently.

Object types

ISPF Productivity Tool extends the functions provided by ISPF for standard data sets to other objects, including Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) files, IBM z/OS UNIX® System Services files, PC files, IBM DB2® tables, as well as other object classes. It supports files stored in source-code library systems, such as IBM Software Configuration and Library Manager (SCLM), CA-Librarian and CA-Panvalet, allowing the extended functions to be available while you manage your source code.

List options

ISPF Productivity Tool provides expanded functions for the Member List option, the DSLIST option and a new powerful object browser called OLIST. OLISTs look and function much like DSLISTs. They can contain references to a wide variety of object classes in the same list, where they can be edited, viewed or browsed using a single command from a single screen. This allows the resulting member, data set and object lists to become powerful platforms, where you can perform many tasks without navigating to other utilities.

Command shortcuts

ISPF Productivity Tool offers a set of command shortcuts that can be entered from a panel. The shortcut names are intentionally intuitive, providing a quick way to invoke most ISPF Productivity Tool functions on the spot. However, to avoid conflicts, each of the verbs for the shortcuts can be either disabled or changed to a different name by the user.

TSO option

An expanded TSO option is available, which can store all TSO commands in one of two user-defined libraries:

• History command list area

• Persistent table library

The library can be dynamically allocated or disabled. The history command list area stores the last 999 commands issued, while up to 999 frequently used commands can be stored instead in the persistent table library. Both command lists can be edited, browsed, saved and restored. Selecting the TSO command option then presents users with a screen, where they can enter a new command or select a previously stored command from command lists.

Search capabilities

ISPF Productivity Tool provides more-extensive search capabilities that are faster and more intuitive than ISPF by itself. You can easily search for volumes, data sets, members and text within members. ISPF Productivity Tool also furnishes automatic drill-down system navigation to pinpoint volumes, data sets and members.

Action prompting

In addition to ISPF point-and-shoot capabilities, ISPF Productivity Tool has facilities that prompt actions upon cursor selection:

• Hotbars (user-defined fields that run commands)

• Field-sensitive areas in MSLs and OLISTs

Additional enhancements

In addition to ISPF point-and-shoot capabilities, ISPF Productivity Tool has facilities that prompt actions upon cursor selection:

• Cut-and-paste allowing up to 200 separate clipboards, which can be saved permanently across ISPF sessions

• Print functions used to control the output destination, group different print requests together and so on

• ISPF dialog development

Use with Rational Developer for System z

For those adopting Rational Developer for System z, ISPF Productivity Tool is also a valuable tool. Often, much of a programmer's time is consumed not by actual programming, but by keeping track of datasets, libraries, and members which they work with on a daily or even hour-by-hour basis. For these highly specific tasks, users can use the Rational Developer for System z Host Connection Emulator support to log on to z/OS directly and manipulate JCL, compress or empty partitioned datasets (PDS), search across concatenated libraries and perform a variety of other tasks in support of the System z environment. Having ISPF Productivity Tool installed will allow users all the additional capabilities of ISPF Productivity Tool, while still enjoying all the benefits of the GUI interface of Rational Developer for System z.

Background

ISPF Productivity Tool was added to the IBM line as a result of the acquisition of the Isogon Corporation in 2005. The product, previously sold as Isogon SPIFFY, was introduced in 1993 by Isogon, has been continually enhanced since then.