Overview of Maintaining the Names Directory

The names directory contains information about both individuals and groups of people. A group might contain the names of everyone in a department. Each set of information about a person or a group is an entry.

A user can use the names directory directly, to see information about other people, or indirectly, through Information Center Facility services. As an administrator, you maintain a master copy of the names directory that all users can view. Users can request that you add, modify, or delete entries in the master directory. Users also have private directories that they maintain.

When you finish changing the master names directory, update the master NAMES.TEXT data set for TRANSMIT and RECEIVE. TRANSMIT and RECEIVE can then use the changes you made to the master names directory.

Each entry for an individual can contain:

Name
- Last name (required)
- First name
- Nickname
- Middle name
- Suffix (such as Jr., III, Ph.D.)
- Title (such as Mr., Mrs., Dr.)
Address
- Internal address
- External address
Telephone number
Job title
Department
- Name of department
- Number of department
IDs
- Directory ID (required) – a unique "nickname" to identify a person
- User ID
- System node
- DISOSS user ID (for users in a DISOSS system)
- DISOSS system
User type (for example, administrator or user)

Each entry for a group can contain:

Group name (required)
Description of the group
List of entries in the group

Groups can be made up of names of individuals and names of other groups.

To make entries in the directory similar, decide with any other names administrators the format and content of each field in an entry.

Before You Begin

Before you begin maintaining the names directory, read the online tutorial. The tutorial describes how to perform the tasks for maintaining the names directory. To read the tutorial, select:

The option for maintaining the names directory on the main menu panel for administrators
The TUTORIAL option on the Names Directory Menu panel.

For detailed information about using a particular panel, press the HELP PF key while you are on that panel.

Note: Sometimes, to improve performance, an installation customizes the names directory to leave open the ISPF tables containing names. If you update the master names directory while the tables are open, users do not see the updates immediately. Users see the updated tables only after they do one of the following:

Close the tables by selecting the CLOSE option on the user names menu panel
Exit to the TSO/E READY message
Log off