Defining a custom field and its field attributes

Define a custom field and its attributes by issuing the RDEFINE command with the CFDEF operand. This creates a profile in the CFIELD class with a CFDEF segment that contains the definition of your custom field and its attributes. You can modify certain attributes of a custom field using the RALTER command with the CFDEF operand.

Based on the data type you choose for the custom field, you can specify several additional options or accept the defaults for RDEFINE command processing. See detailed command syntax for the RDEFINE and RALTER commands in z/OS Security Server RACF Command Language Reference.

To prevent errors and simplify the task of defining custom fields, the RDEFINE command provides extensive default processing to set appropriate initial values based on the data type of your custom field. You can specify the data type or accept CHAR as the default. You cannot change the data type of a custom field using the RALTER command.

Guidelines:

Take advantage of the extensive default processing with the CFDEF operand of the RDEFINE command to ensure that your custom field is defined with appropriate values for its data type. The CFDEF operand of the RALTER command does not provide default processing. When you want to make changes to an existing custom field, see Changing attributes of an existing custom field.
Consider using the RACF® ISPF panels to add CFIELD class profiles with CFDEF segment values. The ISPF panels display appropriate keyword choices based on the data type of the custom field you are creating.