For a create request, the CONNECTION keyword identifies a storage area into which XCF is to store the connection token used to represent the connection. The connection token is a required when issuing note requests. Do not lose the connection token. The connection token is only returned by a create connection request. If you lose your token or the token becomes corrupted, you will not be able to process any notes. Furthermore, you will not be able to issue a delete connection request. The connection would persist until the connection is implicitly deleted by XCF upon termination of the connector.

Upon return from the XCF Note Pad Services, the IXCNOTE macro unconditionally stores data in the storage area designated by the CONNECTION keyword. In particular, data is stored even if the create request is rejected. Thus the data stored might not be valid for use as a connection token. The connection token is valid for use if the create connection request is successful. It is also valid for use if the request completes with a return and reason code indicating that the create is pending or that the connection is quiesced.

The connection might not be immediately usable. For example, the create request might complete with a return and reason code indicating that the connection is quiesced. In such a case, the note pad might not be accessible. If you attempt to use the connection to manipulate notes, those requests will likely be rejected due to the quiescing condition. If an answer area was provided for the create request, it might contain detailed information about the quiescing conditions. In some cases, the note pad could still be in the midst of being created, or it could be in the midst of being deleted. More typically, the host structure is in the midst of CF structure rebuild processing. Alternatively, the local system might not have access to the note pad structure or the XCF catalog. Consider issuing a pause connection request to wait for the quiescing conditions to clear.