Generating customized HTML templates

You can customize HTML templates generated from BMS maps in several ways. For example, you can customize the way HTML templates are generated, add HTML text to the generated map, and so on.

Attention: This topic contains Product-sensitive Programming Interface and Associated Guidance Information.

About this task

You can modify the way HTML templates are generated from BMS maps
You can use your customizing macro, instead of the CICS-supplied DFHMSX macro, to create HTML templates for each of your BMS map definitions. With a customizing macro, you enjoy great flexibility in defining HTML templates.

For CICS® to use your customizing macro, you must specify your macro on the SYSPARM parameter in the DFHMAPT procedure. For general guidance on how to create your customizing macro, see Writing a customizing macro definition.

You can code your macro based on the DFHMSX macro, as described in Customizing with the DFHMSX macro. Examples of DFHMDX provides examples that show how you can use DFHMDX macro keyword parameters to customize the HTML templates.

DFHMSX is used when the SYSPARM parameter does not specify a customizing macro name.

You can add HTML text to generated HTML pages
Use the DFHWBOUT macro in the BMS map definitions to add text to the HTML page generated from a BMS map. The text is displayed only as part of the HTML page. For instructions, see Customizing templates with the DFHWBOUT macro.
You can manually edit the generated HTML templates
  • To override the dynamic changes to attributes that take place when a program issues a MAP SEND command.
  • To use the HTML template outside the web 3270 environment.

In both cases, you change the Frrcccllll variables that are added by the template generation process.

Important:

Do not edit CICS-generated HTML templates unless all your SEND MAP commands use the ERASE option. SEND MAP commands without ERASE result in merging of HTML. Runtime logic is expecting to encounter HTML that was generated by the CICS template generator. In particular, avoid making changes to <tr> tags.

Considerations for CETR:
CICS provides HTML templates for the CICS-supplied CETR transaction, which uses BMS. The templates use the EBCDIC Latin character set (code page 037). If you use a different code page in your CICS system, you must generate your own version of these templates. The following characters used in the CICS-generated heading section have different representations in code pages other than 037: 
! [ ] { }

Use the CODEPAGE parameter on the DFHMDX macro to specify the code page.