Finding members

Use the Find Member action to find partitioned data set members in the MVS Files subsystem or in a partitioned data set, to open a member in an editor, or to create a new partitioned data set member.

This topic explains how to find a member in the MVS Files subsystem or in a specific partitioned data set. For information about a quick way to find and open a member in an editor, see Finding and editing members.

Finding a member in MVS Files

  1. To find a partitioned data set member in the MVS Files subsystem:
  2. In the Remote Systems view, select MVS Files.
  3. Select Find Member from the menu or press Ctrl+F.The Find Member window opens. The last search pattern that is used for previous searches is shown in the window.
  4. Press Enter.You can also type a fully qualified data set and member name pattern to find, for example, USERID.TEST.COBOL(MEM*).
    Tip:
    • Use * to match multiple characters and ? to match a single character. The * and ? wildcard characters are allowed only as part of the member name portion of the pattern and not as part of the data set name.
    • If the data set name does not exist, a message is displayed.
    • No more than one set of parentheses is allowed.
    • If extra characters are entered after a valid data set and member name pattern, an invalid member name pattern message is displayed.
    • Normal data set name validation rules and member name validation rules apply for the specified data set and member name.
    • The host encoding (based on either the MVS Files subsystem or the selected data set) is used for the code variants to be used for data set name and member name validation.
    • If you type the data set name and press the spacebar, parentheses with an asterisk are added to the pattern field. If you type the data set name followed by left parenthesis, an asterisk and the closing right parenthesis are added.
    Matching member names are listed in the window. The window also displays the number of matches.
    Note: If the search returns too many member names (the default threshold is 1000 members), a warning message is displayed. You can use the MVS Files preference page to specify the size of the result set to trigger this warning. For more information about this preference, see the related links.
  5. Type a new search pattern to update the list of matches.If you type an invalid member name pattern, if you attempt to access a data set that is protected by RACF® and that you are not authorized to access, or if you receive too many matches, you can retype or refine the search pattern to try the search again or narrow down the list of matches.
  6. To open a member in an editor, do one of the following actions:
    • Select a member from the list and click Open Member.
    • Type a partitioned data set member name, such as USERID.TEST.COBOL(MEMBER1), in the entry field and click Open Member.
    Open Member is always enabled to facilitate the quick editing of a data set member. This button is enabled even when an invalid name message is displayed. When an invalid member name or pattern is entered in the Find Member window, the following message is displayed: To open or create a member, enter a valid member name. The member that you selected is opened in an editor.
  7. To create a member filter with the member name pattern, select Create a filter with the member name pattern and click OK. The New Member Filter window opens. Specify a name for the member filter and click OK. The new member filter is added to the My Favorites folder of MVS Files and the matching data set members are displayed in the Remote z/OS Search view. For more information about member filters, see Creating member filters.
  8. To add a member from this list to Retrieved Data Sets in the MVS Files subsystem:
    1. Select the member that you want.
    2. Click OK.
    The member that you selected is added to Retrieved Data Sets in the MVS Files subsystem and highlighted in the view.

Finding a member in a partitioned data set

You can also find a member in a specific partitioned data set in the MVS Files subsystem or in an MVS subproject in the z/OS Projects view.

  1. In the Remote Systems view or z/OS Projects view, select a partitioned data set.
  2. Press Ctrl+F. The Find Member window opens with the data set name in the field and an asterisk for the member name. For example, USERID.TEST.COBOL(*).
  3. Inside the parentheses, type a member name pattern to find, for example, MEM* or MEM?0.
  4. Press Enter.Matching member names are listed in the window. The window also displays the number of matches.
  5. Continue finding members as described in Finding a member in MVS Files. When you request the Find Member action for a specific data set, the member is highlighted under the data set name and not added to the Retrieved Data Sets filter.
    Note: If you request the Find Member action from the z/OS Projects view, but the member is not added to the MVS subproject, it is highlighted in the Remote Systems view.

Creating a member by using the Find Member window

You can use the Find Member window to create a member in the selected partitioned data set.

  1. In the Remote Systems view or z/OS Projects view, select a partitioned data set name.
  2. Press Ctrl+F.The Find Member window opens with the data set name in the field and an asterisk for the member name. For example, USERID.TEST.COBOL(*).
  3. Type a new member name pattern in the parentheses, for example, MEMBER1.
  4. Click Open Member.A window opens asking for confirmation of the creation of a new member.
  5. Click Yes to create the member. The new member is created, opened in the editor, and highlighted in the Remote Systems view or z/OS Projects view.