Access to i Series Navigator Spool files from Windows PC

[Al Rice]

Hello All:

I would like to know if anyone has had success reading iSeries Navigator Spool files (text reports) directly from Navigator. I know there are ways to download or ftp such reports, but I would like to avoid moving these reports, since they are frequently refreshed under the same file names. So creating a direct link using ODBC, OLEDB or shared directory would be the best approach.

Note that I running models against these reports using the data analytics tool Altair (formerly Datawatch) Monarch.

Any recommendations for accessing Navigator spool report files directly using Monarch would be very helpful. Code examples would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Al Rice

[jtaylor___]

I assume you're asking about viewing spooled files like you can do with the System i Navigator app. That functionality is included in iAccess Client Solutions under "Printer Output".

[Al Rice]

Thanks j for your response. I apologize as I am not very familiar with the AS400/System i Navigator. I am a data analyst working remotely and am in touch with the AS400 support person who is on site at my client. IT has granted my access to the AS400/System i Navigator using Client Solutions. I am not sure it is the same "iAccess Client Solutions" you are referring. Might this be an add on to the basic Client Solutions which I already have access? Is there an additional investment to enable "iAccess Client Solutions" on the AS400?

I just need to be very clear with the AS400 resource as to what I am asking for. When I log into System Navigator, ALL the spool reports I need access to are in the "Printer Output" folder under the "Basic Operations" folder. If I could link my tool "Monarch" to the "Printer Output" folder as if it was a regular Windows Explorer folder (eg, C:\Navigator\Basic Operations\Printer Output\SpoolFiles.txt"), then I would be all set. Would "iAccess Client Solutions"allow me to configure such access to System i Navigator?

Hopefully I am clear. Please help me frame the question to the AS400 support person so I can get the access I require.

I really appreciate your help... Thanks.... Al

[jtaylor___]

System i Navigator is a part of IBM's iAccess for Windows, which is an obsolete product. iAccess Client Solutions is the replacement product. https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ib...ient-solutions

That being said, I don't know of any way with either to automatically map server spooled files to show up in a Windows Explorer folder.

[EmmanuelW1]

Perhaps this?:

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/IBM%20i%20Technology%20Updates/page/SYSTOOLS.SPOOLED_FILE_DATA%28%29

Cheers,

Emmanuel

[Al Rice]

Thanks Emmanuel... I forwarded the link to my AS400 support person....

While waiting for a solution for direct access to Navigator, would anyone have a Batch file (.bat) file with the DOS or other script to ftp spool files from Navigator "Printer Output" folder to a Windows PC folder. Hopefully your script allows me to transfer files using a "wildcard" as there are several spool reports with the same name. I can edit your script for my purpose.

It would be great to bring over the "last modified date" since these spool files are refreshed often, but not daily, so the "last modified date" may allow for some error checking on date.

Thanks for your help
Al

[JimKerr]

Hello All:

I would like to know if anyone has had success reading iSeries Navigator Spool files (text reports) directly from Navigator. I know there are ways to download or ftp such reports, but I would like to avoid moving these reports, since they are frequently refreshed under the same file names. So creating a direct link using ODBC, OLEDB or shared directory would be the best approach.

Note that I running models against these reports using the data analytics tool Altair (formerly Datawatch) Monarch.

Any recommendations for accessing Navigator spool report files directly using Monarch would be very helpful. Code examples would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Al Rice

What we do is use printer emulation (e.g. Mochasoft TN3812) on the PC side to print to a .txt file (as opposed to an actual printer) and import the .txt file into Monarch.

[Al Rice]

Hi Jim:

Thanks for your response. As I am trying to automate frequent (daily) Monarch access to a list of over 40 spool reports in Navigator, can Mochasoft TN3812 .txt/.pdf print be built into an automation script (vbScript, VBA)?

[mjhaston]

What are you looking to do with these reports? Do you just need them locally in .txt format so your tool can compare them somehow?

[JimKerr]

I am not really familiar with Monarch, it's a product we used years ago and have since retired except one user who has a very, very old version. What I described in my previous post was the technique we use to get a spool file from the iSeries to a desktop PC using printer emulation software. On the iSeries, the user creates a report, sends the spool file to an OUTQ which "prints" as a .txt file on their PC and the user imports the .txt file into Monarch. It's a manual process. The user may also use Ops Nav to drag and drop spool files from the iSeries to their desktop PC.

If you wanted to automate where a spool file "prints" you just need to have printer emulation running on the target PC and any spool file sent to the OUTQ would print on the PC as a .txt file providing you have the printer emulation software configured to print TO .txt and not to an actual printer.

[EmmanuelW1]

I've automated report conversion to Excel using a different method than Jim's. The user (via a menu option on the "green screen") invokes an interactive program that first retrieves their last job completion message, and parses out the batch job information from the message, then references a file linking job names to report names and Monarch models. The program then copies the report to a shared folder on the IFS, where it's then processed by Monarch into an Excel spreadsheet using Monarch's command-line support - the spreadsheet is placed into the IFS folder, where it's then emailed to user. (Robot Client and Robot Alert are also in the mix.)

Cheers,

Emmanuel

[Al Rice]

Hi Jim and Emmanuel:

The PC is running emulation software. I will ask the AS400 to include in their code to print these reports to the shared folder on the IFS. I am assuming Monarch (data analytics software) and read these files as .txt files directly from the shared folder on the IFS.

Emmanuel: Could you share the code developed for your automated solution. Note that Monarch is reading these reports directly as .txt, without first converting them to Excel spreadsheets. The Monarch model includes reading the reports in there standard format, converting them to a Table and running complex analytics and generating summary reports and in some cases output files (.csv, .xlsx, other).

Thanks for your help. I hope I am getting closer to my goal here.

Al

[Al Rice]

Could someone give me instructions how to map an IFS directory to a folder on a Windows pc. This is the same pc having the 5250 emulator installed.

Thanks in advance

[EmmanuelW1]

Hi Al,

Do you have Robot/Alert and Robot/Client? If not, I don't think my code will be of much help.

If you're running into a specific issue, I'll be happy to let you know how I may have gotten around it.

But the basic idea is that reports are run by the user, so they receive a completion message in their message queue (CPF1241). By retrieving the last message in their queue, the last report run can be determined. From there, passing the name of the IFS text file containing the report, along with the Monarch model used to process it, to a batch file that executes the conversion to Excel using Monarch's command-line support completes the conversion process.

Cheers,

Emmanuel

[Al Rice]

Unfortunately, my client does not have Robot Is it possible to use the SDNNETSPLF or COPYSPLF functions to send spool files to a shared folder in IFS? If so I can use the AS400 Macro facility to automate moving the daily reports using the SDNNETSPLF or COPYSPLF functions, that would solve my problem. I have Monarch command-line (AUTO-COM) and very competent writing VBA scripts to engage the AS400 data if I can just get access to it. My client has an old AS400 and have not invested in tools and talent to leverage the invaluable data generated on the AS400.

So my ask is... is there a reliable, automatable way to move spool files to IFS Shared directory (shared with Windows PC) using SDNNETSPLF or COPYSPLF. The client also uses Client Access, but not i Access.

Thanks for all your help
Al

[EmmanuelW1]

Hi Al,

Yes, absolutely it's possible and quite a simple matter to copy a spool file to the IFS. The more recent versions of the OS allow copying of spool files directly to IFS, or even, if your version of Monarch supports processing PDF files, directly to PDF.

For older versions of the OS, copying the spool file to a physical file first is necessary. Simply create a physical file using CRTPF, with RCDLEN long enough to accommodate the width of the printer file - 199 should be enough. Then use CPYSPLF to copy the spool file to the physical file. Use CPYTOSTMF to copy the physical file to the IFS - the key is to use STMFCODPAG(*PCASCII) so the IFS file is read-able by PC. With the IFS folder shared, the resulting file can be processed directly by Monarch.

Cheers,

Emmanuel