The easiest way to add an application is with an installation file. An installation file contains all of the information needed to define an application to the Information Center Facility. A new service might come with installation files. Your system programmer might also create installation files to simplify adding a service to the Information Center Facility. After you load and verify these files, the service can be made available to users as an option on a menu panel.

There are three kinds of installation files, one for each type of application. A line near the beginning of the file indicates whether the installation file is for an environment, a function, or a panel. Other lines in the installation file supply the necessary information to define the application.

Figure 1 is an example of an installation file for a function.

*APPLICATION MANAGER INSTALLATION FILE
*SYSTEM              MVS TSO/E
*FUNCTION
*FUNCTION_NAME       ABCLOC
*LANGUAGE            ENGLISH
*KEYWORD             LOCATE
*ENVIRONMENT_NAME    LOCENV
*INVOKING_PANEL      ICQPSTSO
 ENGLISH
 LOC
*POSITION 5
*INVOKING_PANEL      OTHERPAN
 ENGLISH
 1
*AFTER ICQDESCRIBE
 ENGLISH
*ADMIN_DESC          Locate Service
*USER_DESC_1         Find a person's room and floor number
*INVOCATION_COMMAND
 CMD(%LOCATE)
*ISPTUTOR_PANEL      ABCLOC00
*HELP_TEXT
 Select this option to find a person's room and floor number.
 The service prompts you for the person's last name followed by
 the first name or the initial.

When you are adding a service to the Information Center Facility, you will probably have more than one installation file to load. Be sure to load installation files in the following order:

1. Files for environments
2. Files for functions
3. Files for panels

If you do not load files in this order, one of the applications might require a file that has not yet been loaded.