Creating local JCL files

You can create and edit a JCL file in your local workspace from the Resource perspective. When the JCL file is complete, you can submit the job, or copy the file to a partitioned data set using your local procedures.

If you have not already done so, switch to the Resource perspective. You do not need to be connected to an FTP or z/OSMF server on your host system to create a JCL file, but you must have an active connection before you can submit a job. For more information, see the related links later in this topic.

This task creates a new Job Submission project and a then new JCL file in your local workspace. If you already have a Job Submission project in your workspace, you can go straight to step 3 in the following procedure.

  1. Right-click anywhere in the Project Explorer view and click New > Project. The New Project wizard opens. Expand the z/OS folder and click New Job Submission project. Click Next.
  2. In the Create a Job Submission project wizard, enter the name that you want to give your project, and click Finish.
    The project appears in the Project Explorer view.
  3. Right-click the project and click New > File to open the New File wizard. The parent project that you chose is selected but you can select a different project if you want.
  4. In the File Name field, enter the name of the JCL file to create. The file name must have a suffix of .jcl, for example: terminal.jcl. Click Finish.
  5. Optional: Enable the autosave feature by clicking Window > Preferences > JCL > Editor > Autosave.

The JCL file is created in the project and opens in the JCL editor. The JCL editor is similar to the supplied data set editor but with the ability to use different colors to identify different text elements in the JCL. You can change the colors in the editor preferences page by right-clicking anywhere in the JCL editor and clicking Preferences. The JCL Editor Preferences page is displayed. You can select an element and change the color and text style.

z/OS® Explorer Version 3.0.1 and later support JCL languages features that are introduced in z/OS V2R1 and V2R2. You can see some highlights and annotations in the JCL editor.