Monday, September 10, 2007

Better way to send Break messages to all Active users:

If we want to send a message to all signed-on interactive 5250 users, asking them to perform a specific function (i.e., get off the system, exit a program, etc). The requirement is to send only to signed on users occurs because some i5/OS functions, such as the Send Break Message command (SNDBRKMSG), will deliver the message to every system workstation message queue even if there is no signed on user accessing that device. Delivering messages to all terminal message queues can cause confusion when users sign on to an unused terminal at a later time and find an old message that is no longer relevant to the system. The goal is to avoid confusion by only sending break messages to currently signed-on users.

The message must also be delivered as an immediate message which each user will receive in break mode (where the message will automatically display on the user's screen, regardless of what the user is doing). This is required so that the user will see the message as soon as it is received. IBM offers the following two ways to accomplish this task in i5/OS.
By Menu: The OS/400 Operational Assistance Menu (GO ASSIST) provides a Send Message option to send messages to individual users, to all users enrolled in the system, or to all active users.
Send a Message

Type information below, then press F10 to send.

Message needs reply . . . . . . N Y=Yes, N=No

Interrupt user . . . . . . . . . Y Y=Yes, N=No

Message text . . . . . . . . . . Type your message here

Send to . . . . . . . . . . . . *ALLACT Name, F4 for list

F1=Help F3=Exit F10=Send F12=Cancel

By API: i5/OS includes the Send Message (QEZSNDMSG) API, which allows to embed a program call within another program or a command, so that the message can automatically be sent without manual input.

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