Cloning a Profile

Use the Profiles workspace to make a copy of a profile and save it to the user profiles data set.

Before you begin

You must complete some administrative steps before a profile is cloned. For more information about these steps, see Profile viewing and cloning.

Procedure

  1. Identify the profile to be cloned.
  2. Go to the Runtime Environment (Profiles) workspace to browse the available profiles.
    There are a number of ways you can go to Runtime Environment (Profiles) workspace:
    • From the menu bar, select Tools > Runtime Environment. The Runtime Environment workspace opens. Then move your cursor over the Profiles button and press Enter.
    • Move your cursor over the RTE icon in the drawer and press Enter. The Runtime Environment workspace opens. Then move your cursor over the Profiles button and press Enter.
    The Runtime Environment (Profiles) KOBPROFS workspace opens. This workspace presents two workspace subpanels that provide directory lists for the user profile data set (UKOBDATF DD) and the runtime environment profiles data set (RKOBPROF DD).
    Figure 1. Runtime Environment (Profiles), locating the profile member
    Runtime Environment (Profiles) workspace
  3. Place the cursor in the input field of the profile name that you want to clone and press Enter.
    For example, to select the KOBCUA profile, place the cursor in the input field that precedes the profile name and press Enter.
    The Partitioned Dataset Member (KOBPDSD) view opens showing a view of the KOBCUA profile content.
  4. To clone the profile that is being viewed, select File > Save As .
    For example, to clone the KOBCUA profile, place the cursor under File on the menu bar and press Enter. Then, from the File menu select option 4, Save As by typing a or 4 and pressing Enter.
    Fast path: You can fast path to File > Save As by entering f.a in the action line.
    Figure 2. Cloning a profile by using the File > Save As menu option
    Screen that shows the File Save As menu option
    When you press Enter, the Member Save As dialog box opens:
    Figure 3. Cloning a profile - the Member Save As dialog box
    The Member Save As dialog
  5. Enter the profile name that you want to use for the cloned profile.
    A typical site administration task is to clone the KOBCUA profile to create a site-defined profile that must be named CUASITE. In this example CUASITE is entered in the New Name field.
    The saved CUASITE profile is written to the user profile data set. The original IBM-provided KOBCUA profile is preserved intact in the runtime environment data set. Because the CUASITE profile is a special case, it is also written to the runtime environment data set and it takes precedence over the IBM-provided KOBCUA profile for all users of the installation. If a name other than CUASITE is entered in the New Name field, the saved profile is written only to the user profile data set. To take precedence over the IBM-provided KOBCUA profile and the site CUASITE profile for a specific user, name the profile with the user ID of the specific user.
    When you press Enter, the Save As action is confirmed and you are returned to the Partitioned Dataset Member (KOBPDSD) view.
  6. Press PF3 (End) to return to the Runtime Environment (Profiles) KOBPROFS workspace.

Results

The profile directory view for the user profile data set now lists the cloned profile, as shown in the following example:
Figure 4. User profile data set that shows a cloned profile
User profile dataset that shows a cloned profile

What to do next

When the profile cloning is complete, edit and test the profile, customizing its contents to user requirements. Use a file editor such as the ISPF editor to edit the profile.

Remember: Your users can use the User Profile Member workspace to set many of their profile settings directly. For more information about this workspace, see Customizing a user profile.