Problem:

We have recently migrated from Micro Focus Workbench to Mainframe Express. We have some MFEXTMAP.DAT files that use the PRINTER option defined in our MFEXTMAP.DAT file. This is not working in Mainframe Express. The file is not being translated. We have this coded:

outfile   c:\\apps2\\test\\mayrpt.dat(PRINTER)

Resolution:

  The PRINTER option was added near the end of the Workbench life cycle. It was used to convert an EBCDIC output report file into an ASCII text file 'on the fly' as it was being written by a Cobol program using a CHARSET(EBCDIC) definition (normally one that used a host dialect such as VS Cobol II, Cobol/370, etc).

Mainframe Express does not support this feature of Workbench. Instead the customer has the option of using a CLIST or REXX that defines the DDNAME and DSNAME of the output file which has been defined in the Mainframe Express Catalog using catalog attributes of DSORG=PS, RECFM=F or RECFM=FB and some LRECL (121 or 133 ?) and a character set of 'A' for ASCII. When the Cobol program WRITEs to the output file, the Mainframe Express runtime will automatically convert the EBCDIC data to ASCII text.

The intent of this feature was to allow for report output in a PC format. When using a CLIST or REXX in Mainframe Express to do this, one should remember that we intend for the output to be in report format (DISPLAY output).