Setting session properties

Use the Edit profile Edit profile toolbar button to set connection and security properties for a session.

The Edit profile page contains collapsible sections that you can use to set remote system connection and emulator interface options. For more information about each section, see the following subtopics.

Overview

To edit a connection profile:

  1. Click the Edit profileEdit profile toolbar button.
  2. Expand a section, and modify the properties you want to change.
  3. To save your selections, click Save. This button saves all changes in each section
  4. To revert to default settings, click Reset to defaults. This button reverts only the settings in a particular section.

Connection information

  • Profile name: The Remote Connection Emulator creates profiles with a default name that matches the connection name, but you can edit this field to rename the profile.
  • Hostname: The hostname of the remote system.
  • LU Name: Specify an LU name if supported by the remote system Telnet server configuration. Check with your z/OS system administrator if you do not know valid LU names. You can also specify an LU group name if this is supported by the Telnet server configuration. For more information about the Telnet server configuration file, see The TN3270E Telnet server configuration data set.
  • Port: The default port number is 23. Before changing this value, verify the port with the z/OS system administrator.
  • Autoconnect: Automatically connect to the remote system when the emulator is opened.
  • Enable security: If you connect to the z/OS® system over a secure port, select this checkbox. Selecting this option prevents connecting over a nonsecure port. If you know that the port is secure, selecting this option might improve the connection time.
    Tip: Use the Test connection section to open connection status messages. When you are connected to a secure port, the status messages provide detailed security information. When you are connected to an unsecured port, the status messages display only connection success status. Clicking Test connection disconnects any other open connections.
    Enabling security also enables the remaining fields in this section. Some of the security properties are common to all client platforms and some of them are platform-specific.
    Common Properties
    • Verify host certificate: To verify the host certificate when you connect, select this checkbox. On macOS, leave this checkbox cleared. Selecting this option on macOS might cause the connection to fail.
    • Accept hostname: Specify a hostname to check the identity of the server to ensure that the client is communicating with the correct server.
    Windows Properties
    Client certificate alias: To select a client certificate alias file, click Browse.
    If you configured the z/OS connection to use client certificates, and the profile page displays the message No certificate alias was found. when you try to select a client certificate, do these steps:
    1. Open the workbench Preferences window, and select Client Certificates.
    2. Clear the entry in the hostIdMappings object identifier (OID) field, and then click Apply and Close.
    macOS Properties
    • Certificate file: To select a client certificate file, click Browse.
    • Key file: To select a key file, click Browse.
    • Certificate password: Specify the password for access to the client certificate file.

    For information about how to prepare certificate files for use with the Remote Connection Emulator on macOS, see Preparing a certificate file for secure connections from macOS.

Display properties
The following properties are set by default to these values. you can choose another value from the lists.
  • Session type: 3279
  • Screen size: 24x80
  • Code page: 037 United States
  • Fonts: Courier New, Courier, monospace
  • Keypad location: Left side

Choosing a Hebrew code page adds these functions to the emulator:

  • Correct rendering of Hebrew characters.
  • Bidirectional functions in the secondary keyboard for toggling bidirectional modes.
  • Proper toggling of field reverse and push mode.
  • Bidirectional actions that can be mapped to keyboard keys: Bidi Push Mode, Bidi Auto Push, Bidi End Push, Bidi Field Reverse, Bidi Auto Reverse, Bidi Screen Reverse. These keyboard mappings appear only when a Hebrew code page is specified in the connection profile.
  • Screen Reverse and RTL screen rendering.
  • Proper delete and backspace direction in RTL screen rendering.
  • Toggling between push mode and overwrite mode.
  • Hot keys with Hebrew layout: when you switch to Hebrew keyboard layout and press the Ctrl key plus a letter, it is interpreted as the respective hot key.
  • When Field Reverse is issued, and a cursor is positioned at the beginning or end of a field, the cursor jumps to the opposite end of the field.

Test connection

Click Test connection to test the connection to the z/OS system and generate a trace file that you can use to troubleshoot connection problems. The results of the test connection are displayed in the space below the Test connection button. More recent status messages are displayed at the top of the status area. Scroll this window to see older status messages. A trace file named S3270Trace_dateTimeStamp.txt is generated in the RemoteConnectionEmulatorProjectFiles folder of the Developer for z/OS workspace. No personally identifying information is written to the trace file. You might need to refresh the RemoteConnectionEmulatorProjectFiles folder to see the latest trace files that were generated.

To capture detailed communication error information, enable tracing as described in Setting trace options for the Remote Connection Emulator. TCP/IP communication error codes are platform-specific. For information about TCP/IP error codes, see these topics:

Key mappings

The Remote Connection Emulator provides several standard commands such as attn, clear, enter, newline, rule, and pf1-pf24. Each of these standard commands can be assigned to key sequences.

To define key mappings in the emulator:
  1. Expand the Key mappings section.
  2. Select up to three modifier keys: Ctrl or Cmd, Shift, Alt or Option.
  3. Select a main key from the list.
  4. Select a command to assign to the modifier-main key sequence.
  5. Click +. The key mapping is added to the list.
To change a key mapping:
  1. Select a key mapping in the list.
  2. Make the changes you want, and then click +. The new key combination is added to the list.
  3. To delete the original key combination from the list, click Delete.

Control or Command key mappings

Tip: On macOS keyboards, the ⌘ Command key corresponds to the Ctrl key. This section of the profile page is called Command key mappings.

The Remote Connection Emulator assigns the left Ctrl or Command key to the Reset command and the right Ctrl or Command key to the Enter command. You can reassign these keys.

To reassign the control or command keys:
  1. Expand the Control key mappings or Command key mappings tab.
  2. Select the checkbox for the key you want to change and then select a command from the list.

Color mapping

Use the Color mapping section to change colors used in the emulator. For each type of field you can select the foreground and background colors from the list beside the field type. This list describes each field type:

Normal & Protected: Text, such as field labels, instructions, and status messages, that is displayed at normal intensity and that users cannot change.

Normal & Unprotected: A field that is displayed at normal intensity and that accepts alphanumeric user input, such as user IDs, data set names, or any other user-specified data.

Intensified & Protected: Text, such as field labels, instructions, and status messages, that is displayed at high intensity and that users cannot change.

Intensified & Unprotected: A field that is displayed at high intensity and that accepts alphanumeric user input, such as user IDs, data set names, or any other user-specified data.

Highlight modified field text: Select this checkbox to highlight text that has been entered into fields with the selected foreground color.

Delete profile

To delete an entire profile, expand this section and click Delete profile. A window prompts you to confirm the deletion. Deleting a profile closes the emulator and removes the profile from the list of available profiles in the Remote Connection Emulator menu of the Remote Systems view.