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IBM HACP Extended Edition

Product Documentation


Abstract

IBM HACP Extended Edition is a plugin free, web-based terminal emulator. Unlike IBM Host On-Demand, HACP EE does not download any binaries that run on the client machine.

HACP EE reads the existing session definitions from Host On-Demand server and allows users to connect to their System z and System i hosts through an HTML5 compatible browser.

Content

How does it work?

HACP EE runs on an application server and provides the end users with a web-based interface to access the pre-configured HOD sessions and connect to the host systems. 

It can fetch 3270/5250 display session configurations from both HTML-based model, combined-based model, and configuration server-based model pages of Host On-Demand.

The following figure shows how a typical HACP EE setup works:

  • User opens a HTML5 compatible web browser and navigates to HACP EE application
       Typically http(s)://<appserver_address:port>/hex/<hod_page_name>
  • HACP EE dashboard appears based on the html page requested by the user.
    • In case of HTML-based and combined-based model pages, session configurations are retrieved from HOD publish directory and listed.
    • If it’s a configuration-based model page, a login screen is presented using which an HOD user can login to fetch the session configurations.
  • User clicks on a session icon to connect to the host system.
  • HACP EE processes the request and renders the terminal screen on the web browser.
  • User interacts with the host using the terminal screen.

Why use IBM HACP EE?

  • Zero Foot Print - Nothing gets downloaded to end users' systems
  • No dependency on Java or any other browser plugins
  • Secure access to host systems using HTTPS and TLS connectivity
  • HTML5 compatible
  • Intuitive and user centric design

How to deploy and configure IBM HACP EE?

IBM HACP EE package is available on IBM fix central.

Pre-requisites:

  • IBM Host On-Demand server
  • WebSphere Application Server (WAS) or TOMCAT or Liberty or HOD (Host On-Demand) embedded Server.


Deployment steps:

  • Extract the contents of IBM HACP EE package (.zip) file
  • Deploy the EAR (Enterprise Application aRchive) file on WAS using WAS admin console.
  • Configure the initial parameters of HACP EE application on WAS with Host On-Demand service manager and web server details


System Requirements

  • Web browsers:
    • Google Chrome v59.0.3071.115 or above
    • Firefox v51.0.1 or above
    • Edge 41 or above
  • Application servers:
    • IBM WebSphere Application Server v9.0.0.4 and above
    • IBM WebSphere Application Server v8.5.5.11 and above *
    • TOMCAT
    • Liberty Server
    • HOD (Host On-Demand) embedded Server
  • Client Operating Systems:
    • Windows 10 and above
    • RHEL 7.2 and above
    • Mac OS 10.11 and above #

*JRE 1.7 or above is required.

# Only Firefox browser is supported.

 

Table of Contents:



IBM HACP EE features:

Version: 1.0

  •   Terminal Screen on the browser  
    • New UI using HTML5 canvas for emulator screen
    • Field-based rendering of host data
  •   Operator Information Area (OIA)
    • OIA using HTML5 canvas
    • Updates to cursor position and keyboard lock/unlock status
  •   Productivity features
    • Context menu for Copy/Paste and disconnect operations
    • Host keypad
  •   HOD integration
    • Interface for HOD client login to access session configurations from HOD configuration server
    • Access to both HTML-based and configuration server-based pages created using HOD deployment wizard
  •   Security
    • TLS connectivity to host systems
Version: 1.1
  •   Session Manager API 
    • HACP EE also supports specialized APIs, called Session Manager APIs. These JavaScript-based APIs help application developers manage host sessions and text-based interactions with host sessions.
    • Refer to Session Manager API for configuration details and list of API's supported.
  •   License tracking
    • HACP EE clients can be tracked using the Host Integration License Manager (LM) deployed on an application server. For configuration steps, refer to HACP License Manager.

Version: 1.2

  •   Play Macros
    • All existing macros associated and configured with HOD sessions can be played using HACP EE client. The macro is played on the HACP EE application server, so users will not be able to see intermediate screens. The users will be able to play macros from the following locations:
      • Current session
      • Local macro
      • Server macro library (web only)
  •   Touchpad support
    • Support for touch-enabled devices for HACP EE clients, so that the users can work with system touch keypad or use tap events on green screen.
  •   Edit session properties
    • Configuration model-based users can edit session parameters from HACP EE clients, if they are not locked by an administrator.

Version: 1.3

  • Selectable Font
    • Support to select fonts for both 3270 and 5250 display sessions. HACP EE supports the following list of fonts, for the terminal screen.
    • Consolas
    • Courier
    • Courier New
    • Monaco
    • Monospace
    • Ubuntu Mono
    • Anonymous Pro
    • Cousine
    • Space Mono
    • Terminal

            If any of the above fonts are available on the client system, the application will automatically detect and list them.

            If none of them are present, the application uses monospaced fonts.

  •   Keyboard Remap
    • Host On-demand users can map a single key or a key combined with Shift, Ctrl, or Alt to some action in session configuration. The action can be to display a character, to execute a host function and so on.

      The above mapping can now be used by HACP EE clients. If user types the sequence of mapped keystrokes, it performs the mapped action.

    • Key remap supports Macros Functions, and is also editable. HACP EE users can use the Key Remap editor capability to assign or unassign a key to a function or reset the key to its default assignment.

  • Print Screen
    • Support for printing contents of the terminal screen for both 3270 and 5250 display sessions. HACP EE supports two types of printing.
      There are two ways to print the terminal screen
      1. Print in color - Yes (Color printing)
      2. Print in color - No (Blank and white printing)
      3. Partially selected area of the screen
      4. Entire data available on screen

Version: 1.4

Color Remap:

  • An administrator can map default color of 3270 attribute or 5250 elements or OIA color.
  • Default screen gets repainted with the colors mapped in HOD.
  • HACP EE users can also edit the color of different attributes and save their changes.


Status Bar:

  • Status bar can be viewed on both 3270 and 5250 display sessions.
  • Connection details are shown in status bar. 
  • OIA (Operator Information Area) status are displayed as text in status bar.


Download as Image:

  • Users can download both 3270 and 5250 display sessions as an image.
  • Entire screen or a part of the screen can be downloaded.

Version: 1.5

  •   Hotspot 
    • Support to enable users to create Hotspots on any area of the session window, in order to execute a command or a function by pressing the left-hand button of a mouse.
    • Hotspots can be used to perform the following tasks :  
      1. Simulating Function keys.
      2. Executing a Macro that has the same name as the word that is selected on the screen.
      3. Simulating the Enter Key at the current Cursor location.
      4. Connecting to a website by clicking on a URL that appears on the screen.
  •   Start Sessions Automatically
    • Support to launch a Session automatically (if the Start Automatically option is set to Yes) when a HACP EE user accesses the page, on which the session is defined.
    • The Start Automatically property is available under the session property window, and can be enabled by choosing the Radio button for 'Yes' against the field, 'Start Automatically'.

Version: 1.6

  •   Auto-Start macros
    • Support to automatically play an already existing macro when the session connects.
  •   Support for end-to-end security - For instructions to setup the end to end security, see here
Version: 1.7
  • Asynchronous submission of host data and automatic refresh of the terminal screen    
    • Host data is sent to the server asynchronously and updated on the client without refreshing the terminal screen. The Host screen changes are queried at regular intervals and the terminal screen is updated accordingly without any user intervention.
  •   Keystroke buffering/Type-ahead 
    • Enables the user to enter keystrokes in an emulator session while input is inhibited; keystrokes are buffered and processed later when the input-inhibited condition is removed.
  • Save User configuration (for HTML-based model pages)
    • User changes to the session configurations (like session properties, key remap, color remap and so on) are saved in the browser’s cache.

Version: 1.8

  • Custom function KeyRemap 
    • HACP Extended Edition v1.8 comes with a new functionality to add, update, and delete a custom function for keyremap, where a user can map any key to that user-defined custom function. The custom data can be a combination of mnemonic keyword along with a string (for example, logout[enter]). User can also give Unicode encoding, for example, unicode: \u0028 for the special character ‘(‘. 

Add:

§  The user can define name and data for the custom function and then map a key to that function.

§  The data is processed when the mapped key is pressed.

Update:

§  Click the row of a specific custom function to view and update the name and data in their appropriate input fields for that function.

§  The user is not allowed to give duplicate name and data for a custom function.

Delete:

§  The user can delete a custom function by selecting that specific function.

Unicode Encoding:

For Unicode encoding in custom function, only the following are supported:

  •         Alphabets: A-Z, a-z
  •         Numbers: 0-9
  •         Special characters: !, ', (,), *, ?, @, ^, ;, <, >, ~

All the unsupported Unicode is displayed as ”?” in the HACP EE green screen.

  • Extended ColorRemap Attributes: 
      -  Using the Extended color remap property, the HACP EE user can change the color of the extended attributes present in the host screen. 
      -   The Extended color remap attributes are specific to 3270-session type.  

Select the foreground and background colors from the color picker for a specific-extended attribute. 

The extended attributes include: 

  • Blue 
  • Green 
  • Pink 
  • Red 
  • Turquoise 
  • White 
  • Yellow 

Note: Default intensified, and default attributes are excluded. 

  • Cut/Copy/Paste:
  • HACP Extended Edition allows users to select different options that are available to edit functions (cut/copy/paste). 

Cut/copy Tab:

Cut/Copy only if a trim rectangle is marked

If this checkbox is selected, the user must draw a trim rectangle in order to use the cut or copy function.

If this checkbox is cleared, the user can do one of the following:

  •         If no trim rectangle is drawn, the user can cut or copy the entire screen.
  •         If a trim rectangle is drawn, the user can cut or copy the contents of that trim rectangle.                       

Trim Rectangle remains after edit function

If this checkbox is selected, the trim rectangle remains on the screen after the completion of cut/copy function.

If the checkbox is cleared, the trim rectangle disappears when the cut/copy function is completed.                                                                                                            

Copy As table       

This function can be used in 3270 and 5250 field-formatted display sessions. It allows you to copy fields from the screen in a tabular form.

 Copy As Fields

This function can be used in 3270 and 5250 field-formatted display sessions. The user can copy fields from the screen in a tabular form. Data inside every new field that is copied, is considered as a separate column in the table. By default, the Copy as Fields function is disabled. This menu option acts as a toggle switch. When it is enabled or disabled, the option is applicable only to the current session.

Protected fields

To copy data from the protected or non-editable fields.

Unprotected fields

To copy data from the unprotected or editable fields.

Trim spaces in fields

To trim leading and trailing spaces in the data field contents that were copied.

Paste Tab

Paste option is enabled if the user copies text from the emulator session.      

Field Wrap: Allows the data that falls in a protected field is pushed to the next nearest unprotected field. The Field Wrap function does not break words in the middle, except when the first word encounters a protected field.

Line Wrap: Enables recognition of end-of-line and end-of-screen indicators and continues to paste your data.

Paste to marked area: Determines if you use a trim rectangle to designate exactly where to paste your data.

Stop pasting when protected field encountered: Allows your data to be pasted until a protected field is encountered unless Field Wrap, Line Wrap, or Paste to marked area is enabled.

Tab character processing.
These paste preferences indicate how tab characters must be processed while pasting.

  1. Advance to next tab stop: Enables you to align tabulated text at specified tab stops.
  2. Replace with: Allows you to replace tab stops with a specified number of spaces.
  3. Paste data to fields: Determines whether your tabulated text is placed in subsequent unprotected fields. When a tab character is encountered, the succeeding text data is pasted into the next unprotected field on the same line of the emulator session.
  • Add Workstation ID and LU Name: 
    • LUName or pool name is the session property that connects the session to the specified pool name, which is defined at the telnet server. The first character must be from A through Z, $ (dollar sign), @ (at symbol). The remaining characters can be from A through Z, 0 through 9, $, and @.
    • Workstation ID is the session property that defines the name of the workstation, If this field is left blank, the host automatically defines the unique ID. The first character must be from A through Z, $ (dollar sign), @ (commercial at sign), or # (number sign). The remaining nine characters can be from A through Z, 0 through 9, $, @ or _ (underscore). The first character can be % (percent symbol) that gets replaced by ‘S’ for display sessions, and when the next character is * (asterisk) it gets replaced by the session short name as in OIA. For example, %M52* replaced by SM52A, SM52B.

Version: 1.9

  • Combined-Based Model Support:
    • Combined-based model pages work as a combination of HTML-model pages and Config-based model pages.
    • Session created under the groups in the configuration server is listed in the HACP EE html page created in the Deployment Wizard.
    • As in the HTML-based model, there is no login prompt.
    • User updates are stored into the browser cache. 
  • Set Refresh Interval globally:

In the HACP EE v1.8 design, the refresh interval was set to 5 seconds by default and using the refresh interval dropdown the user was able to modify the interval from 2 through 5 seconds at the client side. In HACP EE v1.9, the admin can set the refresh interval as a global value for all the clients in “config.properties” by using the parameter clientRefreshInterval. Any numeric value can be given to this parameter without any upper limit.

  • Path for config.properties file is the HOD publish directory. 
  • For example, clientRefreshInterval = 10.
  • If the parameter is set by the admin, then the refresh interval dropdown is disabled with the assigned value and the user cannot modify the refresh interval at the client side. 
  • If the parameter is not set by the admin, then a default value of 5 is set and the user can change the interval from 2 through 5 seconds.
  • Swedish Host Code Page Beta Support:

HACP EE v1.8 design supported United States (037) Host Code Page only. In HACP EE v1.9, Sweden (278) and Sweden Euro (1143) Host Code Pages are also supported.

  • As a prerequisite, the user must have Swedish Host Code Page supported host.
  • The user can see the green screen with the default Host Code Page (United States) if an unsupported host is connected.
  • The user can modify the Host Code Page as per their requirements if this property is unlocked by the admin in the property panel.
  • The Host Code Page defined by the admin is displayed if this property is locked by the admin.
  • The Host Code Page is set to default (United states) if admin defines the Host Code Page that is not supported in HACP EE.
  • After setting up the Host Code Page, the green screen reflects the changes.
  • HOD integration 
    • Access to combined-based server-based pages created using HOD deployment wizard.
  • Edit session properties 
    • Combined and HTML-based model users can edit session parameters from HACP EE clients, if they are not locked by an administrator.
  • Save User configuration (for combined-based model pages)
    • User changes to the session configurations (like session properties, key remap, color remap and so on) are saved in the browser’s cache.

Version: 1.10

  • 1. Connection parameters support:

    §  From version 1.10, more connection-related properties are supported by HACP EE, such as the following:

    o   TN3270E, Contention Resolution under General.

    o   Keep-alive, Inactivity Timeout, Connection Timeout under Advanced.

    o   Backup Server1 and Backup Server2, Timeout if no data received at initialization, Connect to last host without timeout under Backup Servers. LU or Pool Name is included under Backup Server1 and Backup Server2 for 3270 session alone

    §  End users can enable/disable the properties (from the Connection tab in Property Panel) by locking/unlocking while creating a session.

  • For Config-based model, changes made at client side will be updated on server side.
  • For HTML-based model and Combined-based model, the modified properties will be stored into the browser cache.   

  • 2. Search on Canvas:

     

    The Search on Canvas feature allows Users to search for specific keywords/text in the green screen and will appear at the top of the presentation screen on the client side. The search results for a successful search is highlighted with a rectangular box.

    The below basic options are available for the Search feature:

    ·       case-sensitive search.

    ·       find number of occurrences.

    ·       navigate to next/previous occurrence of search.

    ·       navigate to first occurrence of search.

    This feature is available under Settings --> Preferences tab.

  • If the parameter is locked by the Admin, the option will be disabled and cannot be modified by Users at the client side. 
  • If the parameter is unlocked by the Admin, the option will be enabled and can be modified by Users at the client side. 

3. Cursor style set update:

 

From version 1.10, HACP EE supports Block, Underline, Crosshair and Blinking cursors.

·       The Cursor styles can be enabled/disabled directly by Users in the Client side, if the option is unlocked at the Server side.

·       Users can be restricted from modifying the cursor style in the client page, by disabling the check-box corresponding to this feature at the Server side.

·       The corresponding cursor style will be displayed on the green screen, when a User selects this feature from the Cursor tab in the Settings panel.

·       Changes will be saved to the config server for configuration-based model and to the browser cache for HTML and Combined-based models.

4. Confirm on exit:

  • The Confirm On Exit prompt window can be enabled or disabled by Users from the client page, when this feature is unlocked at the Server side. Users can be restricted from modifying this feature in the client page, by disabling the check-box corresponding to this feature at the Server side.
  • When a session on the client page is closed, the Confirm on Exit prompt window appears only if the check-box is enabled on the Preferences tab in the Settings panel.
  • In the pop-up window that appears, click on 'OK' to terminate the session, or on 'Cancel' to remain on the presentation window. 
  • If the check-box is disabled (or unchecked) on the Preferences tab in the Settings panel, the Confirm on Exit prompt window will not appear.

5. Admin control parameters:

 

The web.properties file must be created in the HOD publish directory by an Administrator with the following parameters :

        clientRefreshInterval=1

        QuickConnectByAdmin=true

        enableStatusBarForAll=true

        isStatusBarEditableByAdmin=true

 

Sample path to HOD Publish directory:

             C:\Program Files\IBM\HostOnDemand\HOD\web.properties

 

(i) ClientRefreshInterval parameter for Set Refresh Interval Globally:

This parameter was part of the config.properties file in version 1.9, and need to be defined in the web.properties file from version 1.10 onwards.

 

(ii) QuickConnectByAdmin parameter for Quick-Connect feature:

Users without credentials and configured page, can connect to sessions and use the product as a trial version, by using the Quick-Connect feature in HACP EE.

·       For Config-based model, Users can navigate to Quick-Connect, by clicking on ‘Continue as Guest’ option in the Login Page.

·       For HTML and Combined-based models, the Quick-Connect page will be displayed if a User enters an invalid page name or attempts to launch an unconfigured page.  

·       Administrators can enable/disable the quick-connect option by setting the QuickConnectByAdmin parameter in the web.properties file to True or False respectively.

·       If the QuickConnectByAdmin parameter is set to True, Users will be able to see the quick-connect option to launch a session.

·       If the QuickConnectByAdmin parameter is set to False, the quick-connect option will not be shown. Instead, a message will be displayed on the page as You do not have permission to use Quick-connect to launch sessions. Contact the System Administrator to enable this feature.

 

Following are the parameters to be filled in the Quick-Connect page,

·       Session Type, Destination Port

·       Protocol (Telnet), Destination Address

·       Screen Size, Workstation ID for 5250

·       TN3270E

·       LU Name for 3270

·       Host Code Page to establish plain host connection.

 

Limitations of the Quick-Connect feature:

·       Only a Boolean value of true or false can be set by the Administrators for quick-connect.

·       Secure connections are not supported.

 

(iii) enableStatusBarForAll and isStatusBarEditableByAdmin parameters for Control Status Bar:

Unlike previous versions of HACP EE, where the Status Bar was editable for all Users by default, from version 1.10 onwards, the Administrator can control the Status Bar for clients by setting a global value for the Control Status Bar. The Admin can use isStatusBarEditableByAdmin and enableStatusBarForAll parameters in the web.properties file to set the global value. Valid values for these parameters are True/False.

§  For Example: 

isStatusBarEditableByAdmin = true

enableStatusBarForAll = false

§  If the parameter isStatusBarEditableByAdmin is set to True by the Admin and if enableStatusBarForAll is also True, then the Status Bar gets enabled for all Users and this option under Settings panel à  Preferences will be inactive. The Users will not be able to modify the parameter at the Client side.

 

§  If the parameter isStatusBarEditableByAdmin is set to False by the Admin, then the option under Settings panel à  Preferences will be active, and the value assigned to enableStatusBarForAll parameter in the web.properties file is enabled. Users will be able to modify the parameter at the Client side.

 

o   For Config-based model, the modified values will be saved in the config file.

o   For HTML-based and Combined-based models, the changes are saved to the browser cache.

o   Modified values will remain only until the browser history gets cleared for all the users.

 

§  If the parameter is not set by the Admin, by default, the Status Bar will be editable for all Users.

6. Mouse wheel support:

 

This feature allows Users to map the key functions with mouse wheel rotation (up/down).

§  Users can enable/disable the mouse wheel feature from the Settings panel, and can specify the function key which is to be triggered, when the mouse wheel is rotated up or down.

§  This Setting options include the following:

 

o   Page Up - The choices of key functions available for page up depend on the type of the session, user is running and include the following:

Ø  3270 Session: PF1-PF24, PA1-PA3, Attention and Enter.

Ø  5250 Session: Page Up, Page Down, PF1-PF24, PA1-PA3, and Enter.

 

o   Page Down – The choices of key functions available for page down depend on the type of the session user is running and include the following:

Ø  3270 Session: PF1-PF24, PA1-PA3, Attention and Enter.

Ø  5250 Session: Page Up, Page Down, PF1-PF24, PA1-PA3, and Enter.

 

§  Changes will be saved to the config server for configuration-based model and to the browser cache for HTML and Combined-based models.

7. Tomcat and Liberty Support:

 

Unlike previous versions of HACP EE which supported only IBM WebSphere Application server (WAS) as the runtime environment, from HACP EE version 1.10 onwards, the following application servers are also supported as runtime environments:

1. IBM WebSphere Liberty, which is a highly composable, fast to start, dynamic application server at runtime environment.

2. Tomcat, which is used as application server for web-based application.

These servers were based on Java 2 platform and Enterprise Edition (J2EE) which adopted a multitier distributed model, and also support multiple applications running simultaneously.

 

8. One Server:

 

In addition to other supported servers, from version 1.10, an embedded server (part of Host On-Demand) is also included in HACP EE, as part of the deployable application. The advantage of the embedded One Server is that it is not necessary to pre-install a web server in the deployment environment. Embedded servers are scalable and can host applications that support millions of users.

By default, the parameters defined in the code are picked up by the Service Manager when it starts, but Administrators can override the default values by defining parameters of the existing config.properties (in the HOD publish directory).

Below are the parameters which can be defined to override configurations.

publishDirContextPath = hod

WebAppServerPort=8080

WebAppServerSecurePort=8443

ConfigServerPort=8999

zfpClientContextPath=hex

 

 Note: The HACP EE WAR file resides under the lib folder of HOD publish directory (HostOnDemand). The modified values from the config.properties file will be picked, after the Service Manager is restarted.

9. Auto-update of files:

 

With the Auto Update feature added in HACP EE 1.10, Users need not manually change the context root or clear the browser history after every build deployment, in order to run the application.

§  Once the User deploys a new build, application automatically updated the client-side java script files and CSS files.

§  Users get the new build changes with new features

§  No need to clear the browser cache

10. Improved Performance and client refresh interval:

 

Reduced download content size & screen traversal time, thereby, also resulting in improved performance while traversing across screens.

11. UX Design Improvements:

 

To enhance the User experience, several UI changes have been included in HACP Extended Edition (HACP EE) v1.10 that makes it more responsive and user-friendly.

Below are some of the UX updates:

  • For the config-based model, the Login page includes a 'Remember me' option and displays an appropriate error message for invalid login attempts.
  • The Dashboard shows a list of available and active sessions.
  • A Search bar has been added to the Settings panel.
  • A ribbon bar is available in the Full-screen mode.
  • §  The Property panel includes a Search bar and Help link.

    §  The Color Remap feature is updated with a Reset button that can be used to reset to the default color.

    The Color Remap feature is updated with a Hex code field that shows the Hex value of a color.

Version: 2.0

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 2.0 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
For a more detailed description of the new/enhanced features in HACP EE v2.0, see Core Features of IBM HACP Extended Edition v2.0.
New Usability features: 

Admin Console:

  • Web version of the existing Host on Demand Admin console.
  • It is bundled with existing HACP EE.
  • URL to access the admin console:  http://<IP Address>:<port>/<HACP EE context root>/adminconsole

Support for modifying session properties dynamically:

  • This feature is used to dynamically modify or override the supported HTML Parameters.

Customizable User Interface:

  • The HACP EE Client page can be customized using the provided custom template.

Multiple Language support for UI:

  • The HACP EE User Interface extends multi-language support to 23 languages. 

Host File Transfer:

  • Allows transfer of files between the workstation and zSeries or iSeries host.
  • Text and few supported binary files can be sent to and received from a host.

Printer Sessions:

  • This feature enables Users to print and view Host file data in PDF format.

Enhancement to existing features:

Macro-Record:

  • This HACP EE feature is used to record a Macro on the Client side.

Macro-Manager:

  • Edit Macro:
    • The Recorded macros can be edited using this feature.
    • Macro Manager supports additional Macro functions like:
           Stop Macro, pause macro, delete macro.

Support for the latest browsers on all platforms:

  • Responsive applications can be run on all platforms.

Multiple Code Page Support:

  • In addition to the default Host codepage, different Host Code Pages are available to choose from.

TLS-Client Authentication:

  • Enhanced security between client and the server, allowing Users to connect to the host machine with additional security using client authentication

FIPS:

  • Provides additional security with data encryption during the session using FIPS 140-2 compliant cipher suites.

Version: 2.1

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 2.1 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
New Usability features: 

1.    Web Express Logon in HACP EE

Web Express Logon (WEL) is a feature in HACP EE that allows Users to perform Single Sign-On while recording macros. Single Sign-On allows Users to skip numerous login screens and permits to login at once with a single screen, which eliminates the need for the user to keep track of multiple credentials.

Following is the Web Express Logon procedure:

1. Record a Single Sign-On Macro (with the login credentials) to sign in automatically.

2. Assign the Macro to the required session and enable WEL.

3. Add the necessary custom plugins to fetch the User Credentials.

4. Select the built-in plugins to fetch the User Credentials. (Network Security and Credential Mapper)

 

Record Macro

This HACP EE feature can be used Record SSO Macros. The existing Macro Record Window is appended with an additional option for Web Express Logon.

If the recording is resumed after selecting Web express logon, a new pop-up window with the following options is shown:

1. Record Alternative Start screen

2. Record Username / Password

Users may select either one of the options and proceed to record the SSO credentials.

Note: These options are also available in the Macro dropdown.

A new popup appears at the end of the SSO Macro Recording process, inquiring if you want to record multiple logons. Select the appropriate option to record another logon.

Assigning Macro to a Session and Enabling WEL

User can assign an auto-start Macro to a session from the Session Properties tab and then enable WEL in the Express Logon Window using the HACP EE Admin Console or the HOD Deployment wizard.

 

Addition of required Custom Plugins

Upload the custom plugins for both Network Security and Credential Mappers using the Admin console UI, and add the custom Plugin class to the plugin list.

 

Selecting Built-in Plugins

Instead of loading custom plugins, built-in plugins can also be selected from the same Admin Console windows by providing the required parameters for the plugins.

 

2. Handling Host Function Keys externally

 

Pre-requisite for enabling this feature:

  • To enable this feature, the path to the custom template must be configured using the Admin Console (applicable from HOD 14.0.3 onwards) or using the ‘templateURL’ parameter in the web.properties file present in the Host On-Demand publish directory or private directory.  

 

Steps to enable this feature:

  • To enable this feature for HACP EE client, the Administrator must set the ‘isHandleKeyExternaly’ parameter to True (Set the parameter to False in the custom template to disable the feature).
  • To handle the host function keys externally using the custom code, use ‘handledKeyExternally’ that contains the parameters.

keyPressed: gives the value of Host function keys in the current screen.

data: an array that holds the ‘text, startRow, startCol’ of the current screen.

TEXT_PLANE: an array that holds the current screen data.

sessionName: holds the current session name where the key is pressed.

  • These methods can be accessed using the <script></script> tags in the custom template or by calling the “isHandleKeyExternaly” parameter and “handledKeyExternally(keyPressed, data, TEXT_PLANE, sessionName)” function in an external javascript, where the script file is placed inside the HOD publish directory and configured in the custom template.

 

For example:

<script src="http://localhost/hod/externalscript.js"></script>

where,

localhost can be replaced with ‘appserver location’,

                              hod can be replaced with ‘alias of the HOD server’.

externalscript.js can be replaced with the name of the custom script file that handles the host function keys.

Enhancement to existing features:

1.    Printer Session

Print to File:

A new feature for Printing to Files has been introduced in HACP EE 2.1. The default file format in 3270 in earlier versions was PDF, but the PDF option may now be enabled or disabled.

 

PDT Support:

PDT support for formats print data sent by the host application has been enabled. Users may enable or disable the PDT support and select the available PDT files from a dropdown menu.

 

Reading session parameter from server:

The properties for Host File Printing can be read from the server. If there is no printer session associated with the display session, the printer session's settings are set to default.

If the display session is linked with any printer session, HACP EE will read the printer session's information from the server, which will be helpful to set the parameter values and to modify the Lock/Unlock from the server.

Note: In HOD, the PDT file values get updated based on the printer session’s Code Page. In HACP EE, the PDT list will be updated based on the display session’s Code Page.

 

Directory Name parameter:

A property labeled Directory Name is introduced to define the name of the folder where all printed files would be stored.

If the directory name is left empty, the folder will be named after the printer session's LUName/WorkstationID or the display session's LUName/WorkstationID or the display session name.

If both the directory name and session’s LUName/ WorkstationID are null, the files will be saved based on the display session name.

 

HTML Parameter Override:

This feature allows overriding the Printer session’s parameters like ‘LUName’, ‘Workstation ID’ and ‘Directory Name.’

In a 3270 session, if the printer LUName is overridden or if the LUName(printer) field is not null, the PDT file will be selected depending on the LUName.

 

Customized path for viewing printed files:

Unlike the previous version of HACP EE, which immediately removed printed files in the default path when a session ended, the printed files in HACP EE 2.1 can be saved to a custom path, from which they are not lost even after a session is terminated.


Version: 2.2

The enhanced features in HACP EE version 2.2 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
Enhancement to existing features:

  Codepage Additions

Support for DBCS Host Code Pages:

A double-byte character set is used to represent a language with more than 256 glyphs (visually distinct symbols). Each character is represented by a 16-bit value (two bytes) and takes two positions in the screen buffer.

HACP EE 2.2 includes support for additional host Code Cages. Double-Byte Character Set (DBCS) language (Japanese code page) is added to the existing codepage list.

Note: Japanese Language Keyboard must be installed in the user’s system to use this feature.

SOSI and AltView functions, which are exclusive for DBCS sessions have also been added to the keypad.

SOSI Display (Ctrl+F1)

              Toggles the display of Shift-Out characters (SO) and Shift-In characters (SI) in a DBCS session.

AltView (AlternateView)(Ctrl+F3)

               Switches between basic and alternate character viewing modes in a DBCS session.


Version: 3.0

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 3.0 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
New Usability features: 

Light Pen Mode:

  • It allows the user to use the mouse for light pen functions. This option is useful when the user encounters a host application that requires light pen functions.

TLS 1.3 Support:

  • The user will try to connect to the host using the TLS v1.3 protocol. If client JRE supports TLS v1.3 session will connect with TLS v1.3. If client JRE doesn’t support TLS v1.3 session will connect with TLS v1.2 and will not through any exception.

    Supporting JRE versions:

    • Oracle/OpenJDK 1.8 update 261 and above
    • IBM 1.8 update 291 and above
    • Java version 11 and above

ENPTUI:

  • Enhanced Non-Programmable Terminal User Interface (ENPTUI) enables an enhanced interface on non-programmable terminals (NPT) and programmable workstations (PWS) over the 5250 screen, taking advantage of 5250 display data stream extensions.
  • HACP EE supports a subset of the ENPTUI feature, including graphical interface constructs.
  • If the ENPTUI property is checked in the property panel, it will include standard ENPTUI rendering items and the component and widget registry.

Alternative Screen Size:

Name: AltScreenSize
Value: rows x columns

Defines the number of rows and columns on the screen.
Applies to 3270 display session with screen size set to 62x160.


This parameter is to be listed under HTML Parameter.

Debug Module:

Enable Logs:

Debug Module feature allows the HACP EE users to capture the logs into the browser console, which will be helpful at the time of debugging.

Log information covers the below features:
Enable Screen logs - covers modification of Font and Client refresh interval.
Enable Color Remap Logs - covers the Color mapping customization.
Enable Key Remap Logs - covers the Key mapping customization.
Enable Mouse Event Logs- captures the mouse event logs.

Web-Based Terminal:

The Web-Based Terminal option provides an additional capability for the HACP EE users to turn the traditional green screen into a modernized look and event handling as web-based applications. It will have some limitations as compared to the green screen. Kindly refer Limitation document.

Office 365:

  • With this feature, HACP EE users can send green screen content to Office 365 applications like Excel, OneNote, and Mail.
  • Users must register the application by creating an application registration in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
  • Select Overview, After the application is successfully registered.
  • Copy the Application (client) ID and save the values in web.xml under web-content in the HACP EE application.

Example:
<context-param>  
        <param-name>clientid</param-name>  
        <param-value> xxxx-xxxx-xxxxx </param-value> 
</context-param>
 

  1. After placing the ID, the user can send green screen data or some part of the screen (by providing row and column values) to Office365 applications like Excel, OneNote, and Mail.
  2. After giving the user credentials in the authentication popup, the user can send the green screen data via Excel, OneNote, and Mail.
  3. For Excel,
    • The user must give the Workbook name, Sheet name, and Starting point of the cell (EX: B3). By default, it is A1. Users can also create a chart.
    • The user must enter the file name to create a file. Then the file will get listed in the filename table. Users can click the open icon in the table to view the selected file. By selecting the file in the table and clicking the Add sheet+, the user can create a sheet in the respective file. The user must give the sheet name and click the Add button to add the sheet to the file. If the user selects a file from the table, then the corresponding sheets of that file are listed in the sheets section of the table. By selecting the sheet, the user can click Add chart+ to create the chart in the respective sheet. The user can select the respective file or sheet and click the delete button to delete the file or sheet.
  4. For OneNote, the user must give a Unique Notebook name for each document. The Section name and Page name are optional. After creating a file in OneNote, the file will be listed in the filename table. The user can view the respective file with the data by clicking the open icon in the table.
  5. For Mail, the user must give the complete recipient address. The Subject line and Comment section are optional for this application. The recipient address can be a single or multiple addresses. The user can send the green screen data by clicking the send button.

Customize Attributes:

  • An end-user will be able to Import/Export session properties.

Enhancement to existing features:

Green Screen Font:

  • Lucida Console Monospace font support has been added.


Version: 3.1

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 3.1 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
New Usability features: 

Migration Utility:

The Migration Utility in the HACP EE admin console serves as a web view for the traditional HOD Migration Utility, which allows the HACP EE administrators to migrate the HOD user profiles and data from a lower to a higher version.
This module includes the Export, Import, and Rollback process.
Export:
This process allows users to export the HOD data into a Migrationpackage.zip file which gets downloaded to the browser-configured download location on successful export.
Below inputs are provided by the users:
  1. Provide the complete HOD source installation path (mandatory field)
     Example: C:\Program Files\ibm\HostOnDemand 
  2. Provide the complete path of custom files except for the default location, i.e., HODObjs
    Example: C:\ibm\CustomFiles
The exported package consists of the HOD user files, the custom files (like kmp, .col, .mac) provided by the user, and ‘Exportinfo.txt’.
Note: The path provided must have read/write permission.
Import:
This process allows users to import the lower version of HOD data to migrate to a higher version as a .zip file.
 Below inputs are provided by the users:
  1. Browse the MigrationPackage.zip file that needs to be imported (mandatory field)
  2. Provide the complete Target HOD installation path (mandatory field)
    Example: C:\Program Files\ibm\HostOnDemand15.0.0.0
  3. Next, the ‘Target Backup’ option (by default checked) creates the backup server files of the target HOD.
  4. There are options to override the directories (by default checked), which include ‘Private Directory, Publish Directory, PDFPdt, and Dirutils.’ 
  5. Next, the ‘Other optional settings’ link is available to override multiple keys and values.
  6. The mandatory dropdown allows users to select any of the options below.
  • Terminal
  •  FileTransfer
  • Icon
  • FTPTerminal
  • dbaOptions
  • targetUI
Example: Icon – autoLaunch(Key) – false(value). 
Note: key-value pair field should not be left blank.
On successful import, the NCService Manager will hang on until restart.
Rollback:
This Rollback option allows users to restore the application to its previous state. It is applicable only when the ‘Target Backup’ option is selected while importing the files.
Users must provide the complete path of the Target HOD installation path (mandatory field). 
Example: C:\Program Files\ibm\HostOnDemand15.0.0.0
On successful rollback, the NCService Manager will hang on until restart.
Note: Users will receive a failed message containing the error if the Export/Import/Rollback process fails.
 
Enhancement to existing features:

DBCS Host Code Page:

The Host Code Page is set to default (037 United States) if the admin defines the Host Code Page that is not supported in HACP EE.

List of Host code pages supported in HACP EE:
037 - United States
273 - Germany
278 - Sweden
278 - Finland
280 - Italy
284- Latin - American
284 - Spain
285 - United Kingdom
297 - France
930 - Japan (Katakana Extended)
930 - Japanese (Katakana)
939 - Japan (Latin Extended)
1140 - Portugal Euro
1141 - Germany Euro
1143 - Sweden Euro
1143 - Finland Euro
1144 - Italy Euro
1145 - Latin-American Euro
1145 - Spain Euro
1146 - United Kingdom Euro
1147 - France Euro
1390 - Japanese (Katakana Unicode Extended;JIS2004)

 

DBCS Host Code Page is a double-byte character set used to represents a language with more than 256 glyphs (visually distinct symbols). Each character is represented by a 16-bit value (two bytes) and takes two positions in the screen buffer. Host Code Pages are added under properties panel.

Screen Timers:

In milliseconds, the nominal amount of time waits while analyzing outbound data using screen-settling strategies.

In the admin console module, users can customize screen timers.

  1.  Minimum time to wait for the screen to settle: This value is the minimum screen-to-screen delay.  A higher value increases the reliability of screen transformations in case of delays at the host due to long processing times or network delays. The default value is 2000 milliseconds.
  2. Maximum time to wait for the screen to settle: The minimum amount of time taken from the time communications are initiated with the host until trying to recognize an initial screen. This value can be decreased for fast networks to improve initial screen response time. The default value is 1200 milliseconds.
Note: To reflect the changes, restart the HACP EE ear/war module.
 

Keep-Alive Enhancement:

The TCP Keep-Alive option is used to keep the session alive by enabling it. When a connection does not receive data or acknowledgment packets within an interval, a keep-alive packet is sent to ensure that the connection is still active.

To keep the session alive, Telnet Keep-Alive is introduced on the client side to set the timing with different types of communication between the client and server. By default, the Telnet Keep-Alive is disabled. When the user enables the Telnet Keep-Alive option the default interval is 180 seconds. Keep-Alive Type is an additional option to enhance the Telnet Keep-Alive which has two options.

  • NOP: If the NOP is selected, the client sends the "No Operation" command to the server in a specified interval.
  • TIMING-MARK: If TIMING-MARK is set - The client will send the "DO TIMING-MARK" command to the server in specified intervals. Unlike NOP, for TIMING-MARK client must receive a response from the server. If the client is not receiving a response from the server, the client gets disconnected from the session.
Note: keep-alive Interval range is from 30 to 99999 seconds.


Version: 3.2

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 3.2 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
New Usability features: 

Autosuggestion Text on Presentation Space:

  • This feature provides the capability to predict the rest of the characters when a user is typing in the Presentation Space (PS).
  • HACP EE users can enable/disable the Autosuggestion Text.
    • If enabled, the suggestions list is displayed when the user types in the PS. Users can choose by clicking the text in the suggestions list, and then the PS will get updated with the same text.
    • If it is disabled, then the user will not get the suggestions list in PS.
  • User can search for a text in the suggestions text table.
  • The user can add a user-defined text in the table manually or use the Aid key (Enter) in PS dynamically based on the maximum limit set by the user.
    Note: Only numbers are accepted
    Minimum = 1
    Maximum = 50
  • Users can update/delete the text in the suggestions table by clicking on a particular row.
  • The Autosuggestion Text values are stored under the browser cache.
  • Autosuggestion Text does not work for passwords and is not stored in the browser cache.
  • In web.properties, the admin can add autosuggestionText= true to enable the suggestions list and add autosuggestionText= false to disable it. If the admin sets the properties in the web.properties file, the user cannot modify it on the client end.
Enhancement to existing features:

Migration Utility:

This release includes the ability to override the 'Terminal' properties of configuration user profiles during import.

Users provide the following inputs for the configuration migration utility:

  1. Browse and import the ConfigParameters.properties file, which must contain ‘Terminal’ parameters as a key and value pair.
    Example: portBackup1(key) = 23(value)
  2. Provide the complete Target HOD installation path.
    Example: C:\Program Files\ibm\HostOnDemand15.0.0.0
  3. Click on import.
  4. On successful import, the .user files under HOD private directory will be overwritten.
    Note:
    • .properties files disable the directories such as TargetBackup in the import panel.
    • On successful import, the NCService Manager will hang on until restart.

Auto start session with Full-screen:

An additional HTML parameter is provided to automatically start the HACP EE sessions in Full-screen.
Name: startWithFullScreen
Value: Boolean value (true/false)

The administrator configures the parameter in the ‘Advanced options’ panel in the HOD Deployment wizard. By default, the session launches in minimized mode if the parameter is not configured or set to false. This parameter will be listed under HTML Parameter overrides and included in the Import/Export of JSON file already available on the dashboard page.

Printer Session - Download All printed files:

In this release, a particular session's printed files list gets displayed under the Print View Jobs window. Additionally, provide the option for selecting multiple or all files in the list and downloading them as a .zip file.

Selecting Files:

  • Use the checkbox in the table header to select/clear all files.
  • Select the checkbox in each line to select the necessary files.

Download Button:

The Download Jobs option allows users to download the selected files in the list into a single 'PrintJobs.zip' file to a default browser location.

Clicking Download without selecting files displays the error message 'Select files to download' in the footer.

Note: For better performance, select the files sized between 1 to 2 GB. Also, performance may differ based on the performance of the client machine too.

License Manager:

When the user launches an HTTPS secure connection with client authentication enabled in the browser, the unique user will be a combination of IP address instead of the system username and the common name (which reads from the certificate the client is presented with while accessing the HTTPS secure connection).


Version: 4.0

The new and enhanced features in HACP EE version 4.0 are listed below:

       Enhancement to existing features: 
New Usability features: 

VT Display Session:

The following features are introduced for the VT Display session in HACP EE 4.0.

  • SSH: VT Support only SSH Protocol. SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol for conducting a secure session over a non-secure network. VT-SSH supports Password and Public Key Authentication.
    • Password Authentication: For Password authentication, a user can give a username and password to log in.
    • Public key Authentication: The user must enter the following values to perform VT-SSH Public Key Authentication.
      • KeyStore Password
      • Public Key Alias
      • Keystore File
      Note: The above information will appear only for public key authentication.
  • Terminal properties: The following terminal properties are available for the VT Display session.
    1. New-Line Operation
    2. Backspace
    3. Reverse Screen Image
    4. History Log

FTP Session (Beta):

In HACP EE, users can create an FTP Session to connect the Host machine and transfer files from Local to Host and vice versa. By default, FTP sessions will be disabled in the HACP EE Client. To view FTP sessions in the HACP EE Client, the “EnableFTPsession=true” parameter should be added to the web.properties file.

Note: Users cannot upload and download folders but can upload/download multiple files. By default, the files are downloaded as zip.

Flow of events:

  1. Users can create an FTP session using the Deployment Wizard.
  2. Once the page is created successfully in the Deployment Wizard, access the page in the browser.
  3. Once the page is accessed, click the FTP icon and start the session.
  4. Once the session is established, log in to the FTP using your username and password.
    Note:
    • FTP Supports FTP, FTPS, SFTP(SSH-FTP) protocols.
    • FTPS use tls_keystore_path, tls_passphrase, wellknown_keystore_path, wellknown_keystore_passphrase properties in prodConfig.properties file for login.
  5. FTP-SSH supports Password and Public Key Authentication.
    • Password Authentication: For Password authentication, a user can give a username and password to log in.
    • Public key Authentication: The user must enter the following values to perform FTP-SSH Public Key Authentication.
      • KeyStore Password
      • Public Key Alias
      • Keystore File
      Note: Enable the SSH public key authentication for the page to see the keystore password and public key alias fields.
  6. The user can either perform an upload or download at a time. If the transfer is in progress and the user tries another transfer operation, a “Transfer in progress” message will appear.

Toolbar Icons:

In the FTP toolbar, users have Duplicate, Properties, ASCII, Binary, and Close icons.

Upload Section:

Users can upload files using this option.

Steps to upload the files:

  1. Click the Browse button.
  2. Browse and select the required files.
  3. File names will be displayed in the browse span.
  4. Click the Upload button.
    Note:
    • Users can see file transfer information in the transfer progress table.
    • Users can also see the number of files added in files added.
  5. Click the Cancel button to remove all files from the browse span.

Remote Directory Section

Objects:

  • Users will have Refresh, Home, Delete, and Download buttons in the Objects tab and a Host table to list files.
  • In Addition, create folder and file icons were present for creating folder and file.
  • Users have options for sorting the files and changing the view of the table to Sort by and View by.
  • Users can see the host table in a more readable format by clicking the Maximize icon.
  • Use right-click to rename/delete a single file.

Sharing:

This tab displays limitations for the file transfer for both uploads and downloads. The user can choose the maximum file size up to 2GB (combined size of selected files), and three files can be transferred (upload/download) at a time. Zip and Parallel file transfer modes are available in the download section, and the default mode is Zip. Use the Reset button to reset values to default.

Transfer Progress Table:

This table gives the following information about the transfer:

  • TaskID
  • Source
  • Destination
  • Status
  • Percent

By default, the table is minimized. Use the maximize icon to display the table. The Zip file download progress is Indeterminant.

FTP/VT Backend:

FTP Backend:
FTP Backend service must be started externally on the server side. Users can use start and stop scripts provided for the FTP Backend service by changing the appropriate path in those files.

VT Backend:
VT Backend service can be started using the Admin Console “Service” tab. Users can perform start and stop operations here.

Note: If a user wants to restart the NCServiceManager, the VT service should be stopped before restarting the NCServiceManager.

FTP/VT Backend Properties:

To configure the FTP/VT backend, the user must specify configuration details in the prodConfig.properties.
#ftp backend port
port=3090
#ftp frontend url (CORS)
url=http://localhost:8080
#https
secure=false
#/lib/
keystore_path=default
keyAlias=serverlabel
passphrase=hodpwd
#tlsdetails
tls_keystore_path=default
tls_passphrase=hodpwd
#welknowncertificatedetails
welknown_keystore_path=default
welknown_keystore_passphrase=hodpwd
#No Of FTP_Users
no_of_users=3

  • port: Port on which the FTP/VT backend (Node js) is running.
  • URL: The user can add multiple app server URLs separated by a comma (,) used for the CORS mechanism. Only specified URLs are authenticated to access the FTP backend.
    Syntax: http://AppserverMachineIp:AppserverPort
    Example: http://127.0.0.1:8080
  • secure: Boolean variable enables the https in the backend server.
  • keystore_path: By default, the value for this property is “default”, which means it will take /bin/HODServerKeyStore.jks file for https. If the user wants to use a different JKS, the user must give the complete path of the JKS.
  • keyAlias: Alias to the key that needs to be used for https.
  • passphrase: Passphrase for the keystore.

Below are applicable only for FTP Backend:

  • tls_keystore_path: By default, the value for this property is “default”, which means it will take /HOD/CustomizedCAs.jks file for FTP-TLS login. If the user wants to use a different JKS, the user must give the complete path of the JKS.
  • tls_passphrase: the password for the TLS keystore.
  • wellknown_keystore_path: By default, the value for this property is “default”, which means it will take the /HOD/WellKnownTrustedCAs.jks file for FTP-TLS login. If the user wants to use a different JKS, the user must give the complete path of the JKS.
  • wellknown_keystore_passphrase: the password for the Wellknown keystore.
  • no_of_users: Number of concurrent users login that the backend can support. (If the user tries to log in but concurrent login capacity is already occupied, then the ‘Number of users exceeds’ error will appear).

Note:

  • Make sure that the user adds FTP and VT backend URLs in ftpBackend and vtBackend params in web.xml of HACP EE, respectively.
    Syntax: http://FtpBackendIP:FtpBackendPort and http://VtBackendIP:VtBackendPort
    Example: http://127.0.0.1:3090 and http://127.0.0.1:3001
    <context-param>
    	<param-name>ftpBackend</param-name>
    	<param-value>http://localhost:3090</param-value>
    	</context-param>
    	<context-param>
    	<param-name>vtBackend</param-name>
    	<param-value>http://localhost:3001</param-value>
    	</context-param>
  • Issuer certificate should be added in JKS, which is used for FTP-TLS.
  • CN (Common Name) of the certificate must match the Destination address for FTP-TLS login.
  • Supported algorithms for SFTP and VT-SHH are listed here.
  • JKS holding your private key for public key authentication of SSH protocol will be transferred from the client machine to the server machine.
  • Minimum requirements for FTP Backend Service are.
    • 10 users
    • 8 GB RAM
    • 500 GB memory

EHLLAPI support:

  • When an HTML page configures with Auto-start EHLLAPI Enabler, it is reflected in HACP EE.
  • The selection can be seen in the Properties pop-up under the Preference tab.
  • The active session page can be used with native applications for the EHLLAPI function to be executed on the page.
  • The native application should be running so that HACP EE client can be connected to the server.
  • Active session is required to successfully execute EHLLAPI functions.
Enhancement to existing features:

Config Server-based model log-in with Microsoft Authentication:

In HOD, users have an option “Automatically log users on to Host On-Demand using their Windows username” for the Configuration server-based model to enable the login option with Windows credentials. By enabling the same option in HACP EE, users can log in to the configuration server-based model page with Microsoft credentials.

Create Configuration server-based model in DW for HACP EE:

In the deployment wizard, select the Configuration server-based model and enable the “Automatically log users on to Host on-demand using their Windows username” option.

  • Users are from the Windows domain: It is optional. If needed, enter the dummy value
  • Create a User ID if does not exist?
    • Yes - Enter the group name where the user needs to be created.
    • No - Choose this option if the user already exists.

Follow the below steps to set up the HACP EE:

  1. Register the HACP EE application in Microsoft Azure AD using Microsoft credentials.
  2. After registration, get the ClientID & RedirectURL and configure it in HACP EE build (EAR/WAR – need to update Client ID and RedirectURL in web.xml file).
  3. After configuration, launch the Config server-based model in HACP EE.
  4. While launching the Config server-based model, Microsoft Authentication will pop up. Here, users need to provide MS credentials to log in.
  5. Once login is successful, the Config server-based model page will be launched.
  6. For the first time log-in, the user will be created with the name of MS mail ID’s first half under the mentioned group.
  7. If the mail id name part contains other than a dot(.) and a hyphen (-), the special characters are replaced with a hyphen (-).

Note:

  • If the user does not configure the application with ClientID and RedirectURL, then the MS authentication fails, and a warning message pops up like Configuration not done properly/wrong credentials.
  • While launching HACP EE, check the user in the mentioned group. If the user already exists, the page will be launched.
  • If the user does not exist in the mentioned groups, it will create a new user in the mentioned groups.
  • While creating a user, check in the HOD user/group window whether the ‘Allow users to create accounts’ checkbox is selected.
  • If Allow users to create accounts checked, users will be created in the mentioned groups.
  • If Allow users create accounts checkbox is clear, the HACP EE page and a warning message for authentication exception will go through.
  • If the mentioned groups do not exist in the HOD user/group, the HACP EE page will through a warning message for the group does not exist exception.
  • Go with this option only when the user exists in any group.
  • If a user exists, the HACP EE page will be launched, or else the page pops up a warning message for the user does not exist exception.

Printer Session RFEs:

In HACP EE 4.0, users provide enhancement for downloading multiple files (non-zip), color code changes for downloaded files, auto refresh print view job page without clicking the refresh link and fix for large file printing.

Downloading multiple files without zipping it:

Click on Download All Jobs to download the multiple selected files either as zip or individually one by one.

  • If the Zip checkbox is selected, the files will be downloaded as a .zip.
  • If the Zip checkbox is clear, the files will be downloaded individually.

Color code change:

The downloaded file’s Download link color will be changed to a different color, as well as the row right and left border highlighted. This is to differentiate the files which are already downloaded from the list.

Auto refresh – Print View Jobs window:

If the Print Job window is already open the user needs to click on the Refresh List link to see the latest rename/delete/add files manually in the print file location. By default, the timer is set to 10 seconds to refresh the page automatically.

Large file printing:

When printing large files, the extension of the file changes to .TMP to avoid the losing data. Once file printing is completed, the file extension is changed to the appropriate one.

Note: This is applicable only for BBVA i.e., specialParameterForBBVA=true configured in web.properties.

Copy Session:

The Copy Session option is available in the context menu of the available sessions. After clicking the copy session option, a duplicate icon appears on the dashboard page.

For HTML/Combined-based Mode:

The newly copied session will be stored on local storage until the browser history is cleared.

For Config-Based Model:

The copied session will get stored on the Server side.

Host file transfer for DBCS:

Send a file to the host:

JISCII: This option is valid for Japanese DBCS sessions only and converts 1-byte codes to EBCDIC and 2-byte codes to IBM Kanji. JISCII inserts shift in/shift out (SI/SO) characters into DBCS fields.

Receive file from the host:

JISCII: Use this option only for text files and files you want converted from JISCII to EBCDIC. This is valid for DBCS languages.
This receive option is only for MVS/TSO and VM/CMS host types.


List of APARs fixed in HACP Extended Edition

The APARs fixed in HACP Extended Edition, and their details can be seen in: Fix list for IBM HACP Extended Edition

Known Issues and Limitations

UI Considerations:

  • For optimal user experience, the minimum screen resolution must be 1366x768 or more.
  • Ribbon bar buttons are not accessible using keyboard shortcuts.
  • Back/Forward buttons on the browser are disabled.
  • All the active sessions are lost when the page is refreshed.


Home tab:

  • The Context menu item, ‘Properties’ can be used to view and edit the connection properties, if an administrator has enabled or unlocked properties.


Active sessions tab:

  • Navigation to other tabs, sessions, and ribbon bar buttons are disabled while establishing connection with the host.
  • When a screen is closed, the first entry in the active session list will be selected.


Terminal screen:

  • Monospaced font is used by default and the text appearance may vary depending on the combination of the browser and OS.
  • Paste option from context menu or the ribbon bar works only if the text is copied from terminal screens of the same applications. To paste the text that has been copied from other applications (for example Notepad), user can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V.
  • Text present in the clipboard will not be processed to identify the control characters (like enter, tab), if any before paste operation.
  • When session data is being encrypted, a + symbol appears in the 4th column of the OIA. There is no option to find more information about the encryption strength or the algorithm used.
  • For HTML-based pages, users need to clear the browser cache, to get the latest session definition changes from the server.
  • The Display terminal will not be displayed in HACP EE.
  • For HTML, Config, and Combined-based models, the following special characters are not allowed in a Session name :

    #   =   “   ‘   /   \   [   {   }

  • Set Refresh Interval globally

    ·       Valid values for config.properties file (under HOD publish directory), are only numeric characters.

    ·       If Internet Explorer (IE) is used as the browser, a page refresh must be done for the HACP EE client to pick the updated values of clientRefreshInterval parameter, defined in the config.properties file while opening in alternate tab.


Secured connections:

  • HOD’s certificate store files are used for secured connections. For sessions configured with JSSE, CustomizedCAs.jks file will be used, else CustomizedCAs.p12 file will be used.


Session Manager API (like [pf4]Some text):

  • callCustomerFunction is not supported.
  • WorkAround with iframe is not supported.


Touch support:

  • Host keypad is not optimized for smaller screen devices.
  • On devices with smaller touch screen, the device system keypad might reduce the terminal screen to an unusable level.
  • Context menu for a session icon on HACP EE Home page is unavailable on iOS.


Play Macros:

  • Users cannot see intermediate macro screens when the macro is played.
  • Following screen actions are not supported
    • Message
    • File transfer
    • Copy/paste
    • Box select
    • File upload action
    • Xfer action
    • SQL query
    • Run program
    • Perform action
    • Print start, Print extract and Print end
    • Interacting between two sessions using a macro
  • In case of local macros, the following macro actions are not supported
    • Chained macro action
    • Play macro action
  • Since the macros are executed on the HACP EE application server, they cannot open or run any native application.
  • If an active session is closed when a macro is playing, it may result in improper session termination. 


Edit session properties:

  • Users can modify only those properties that are displayed on the properties panel on the HACP EE client.

Keyboard Remap:

  • Character, Macros, and Host Functions categories are supported.
  • If numpad is off, numpad keys are not supported.
  • On android device, key remap feature is not supported.

Custom function Key Remap:

  • Combination of Unicode encoding is not supported.
  • Carat encoding is not supported in the custom function.
  • For adding data or name in custom function, symbols ‘%’ and ‘#’ are not supported. If we add data or name as ‘#’ in custom function, it gets replaced with ‘=’ (equal sign). If we add data or name as ‘%’ in custom function, an error occurs while parsing the JSON data. As a result, the key remap tab is not clickable.
  • For Unicode encoding of custom functions if \u007B,\u007D-{ } is given; while returning data from HOD, due to JSON parsing those braces are not accepted when the Enter key is pressed in the Config model. 

Cut/Copy/Paste: 

  •  After the trim rectangle is drawn on the screen, screen co-ordinates reflect the co-ordinates of the rectangle only after the cut/copy function is performed.
  • Co-ordinates gets updated when the cursor position is changed on screen. 

Add Workstation ID and LU Name: 

  • Configuring Workstation ID with special characters does not support collision avoidance ID (=).
  • Wildcard entry combinations for Workstation ID is not supported (for example, : N=A=).


Print Screen:

  • Print Screen without graphics is not supported on Internet Explorer.
  • Print Screen without graphics is a blur on Chrome Browser.
  • Crop Printing is not supported in Internet Explorer & Edge.
  • Print screen functionality is not supported on iPad.
  • Print Screen not supported in Firefox browser in Android.


Selectable Font:

  • Selectable font feature is not supported on Android device in Firefox browser.

Quick-Connect feature: 

  • Only a Boolean value of True or False can be set by the Administrators for quick-connect.
  • Secure connections are not supported.

Admin Console:

  • Web-based Admin console supports 3270 display and 5250 display sessions only.
  • To use interoperability (PCOMM sessions), the HOD version should be equal to or greater than 14.0.3.
  • The Web Application Server feature is applicable only from HOD version 14.0.2.
  • The Preferences feature is applicable only from HOD version 14.0.3.
  • The Preview/Start Session ribbon bar feature is not delivered. (while launching multiple sessions from the Admin console, the session names are appended with ‘A’, and not in alphabetical sequence).
  • PCOMM sessions cannot be created from a web-based admin console (display, update, delete of PCOMM sessions are supported).
  • Printer Sessions are not listed in Session properties.
  • HACP EE HTML Page names should not contain the strings ‘admin’ or ‘adminconsole’.
    • For Example: ‘http://<IP Address>:<port>/<contextroot>/admin.html’ is not valid.
  • The certificate name in TLS/SSL properties inside session window cannot be edited.
  • Help Content is available only in English, but the navigation list is translated to other languages as well.
  • A few admin console strings are not available in non-English languages (such valid and invalid messages).

Macro:

While recording a macro if a key mapped to a macro in the key remap panel is pressed, the macro will not get executed. Instead of executing the macro, that key will appear in the presentation space. Macro record will work as usual.

  • Macro editing changes do not get saved in IE browser.
  • Macro record feature does not work in Android as users cannot enter the macro name due to flickering of the keyboard.
  • Session gets disconnected upon playback of the Prompt or Extract macro action (only with Tomcat application server).

Connection Parameter:

The Status bar shows primary connection details even if it is connected with the backup server.

Modifying Session Parameters Dynamically:

  • The session manager API (Application Programming Interfaces) does not work with auto-start sessions.
  • With custom JSP, JSON array created by admin will not work.

 Globalization: 

  • The dropdown values available in HACP EE client page are not globalized.

File Transfer: 

  • The ‘File transfer type’ should be chosen as ‘Host File Transfer’ by admin since ‘FTP’ is not supported. 
  • The zSeries host must be running MVS/TSO, VM/CMS, or MVS/CICS. File transfer must use IND$FILE (SBCS) and the host must be in ready state. 
  • The iSeries host must be running the Integrated File System (IFS) on OS/400 V3R7 or later.  
  • Only “.txt,.text,.pdf,.doc,.docx,.xlsx” are the supported file formats for transferring files. 
  • The maximum file upload size is 100MB, but for 5250 in Embedded Server, the limit is upto 100KB.
  • Host File Transfer feature does not work with WLP desktop users.
  • During file transfer, selection of multiple files frequently from Host location, will result in an unexpected behaviour.
  • Host File Transfer is not supported in macOS(ipad).
  • If the host file already has data (i.e, while sending local file data to existing host file), it appends to the existing data instead of replacing the contents.
  • Host file names should have 1 to 8 characters, the first of which must be alphabetic (A to Z) or national (# @ $). The remaining seven characters are either alphabetic, numeric (0 - 9), national or a hyphen (-). Name segments are separated by a period (.). 
  • For 5250 host file name, only IFS naming convention is supported and QSYS naming convention is not supported. Only limited transfer option as mentioned in help. 

For example: 

/QSYS.LIB/QGPL.LIB/Sample.FILE/Sample.MBR 

TLS Client Authentication:

  • JSSE: This feature is implemented for JSSE ‘Yes’. 

Note: Sessions with non-TLS CA will work fine irrespective of the number of sessions.

Application Server:

  • HACP EE Application supports only Tomcat base v9 and below.
  • HACP EE Application supports only WAS Liberty webprofile 8 and below.
  • When we deploy WAR file, while Playback the Error macro, session gets disconnected when continue is pressed in the intermediate screen.

WEL & SSO Macro:

  • DB jars (eg:DB2 jars) for JDBC Vault must be placed in the server/application lib folder before starting the server. 
       Note: In case of  WAR file deployment, we need to mention deployed Jar names in MANIFEST.INF File.
  • “SSO Macro Alternative start screen” option is not supported. (Will be used in future for different sessions).
  • Auto Start Macro Option will not appear after the SSO Macro record.
  • Config Based Web Express Logon is not implemented.

Web.properties:

While adding a path for printedFileLocation in Printer Session or templateURL in Custom UI in web.properties at the private directory, use double backslash instead of single backslash. 
 

Example: D:\\FolderName\\FileName.jsp instead of D:\Foldername\FileName.jsp

Printer session:

The printed files will not be saved in a customized directory (on using Shared/Network location) in the following:
  • Windows - IBM WAS and Embedded Application Server.
  • RHEL - Tomcat, WLP, IBM WAS, and Embedded Application Server.
  •  z/OS - Embedded Application Server
  • Opening HACP EE Html page from Touch Devices
Instead of that, it will be saved in Application Server location.

Host Codepage Addition – DBCS Support:

  • Admin console will not support a few properties of DBCS when a session starts. 
  • In the DBCS session, operations like overwrite, backspace, and delete will be handled on the server. Hence copy and pasting the DBCS characters are working partially, but pasting the DBCS characters continuously is not working as expected. 

Host File Transfer:

  • Host File Transfer and Host File Printing do not work in DBCS Session. The user will not see the expected characters post the file transfer and file printing. 
  • File transfer fails in zOS for 5250 host in WAS Liberty and Embedded server.
  • Host File Transfer doesn’t work when HACP EE is deployed on zOS.

HACP EE Plus-Transformation:

  • Most of the core features will work in transformed pages for all SBCS codepages except ENPTUI, Cut/Copy/Paste (rectangle selection), Host Keypad, Print screen, Cursor under Settings panel, and Ctrl+X, Ctrl+A key functions do not work.
  • Transformation mode will not support the DBCS Code Page.
  • Context Menu will not appear.
    Input field values provided from/to the green screen are unavailable on the transformed page and vice versa.
  • Color remap – There will be no reflection of the input field background color
  • Prompt and Extract macro - The user must manually give row column values.
  • Execute macro using hotspot will not work.
  • Menu options UI are not in format in the intermediate screens, and additional Font styles are unavailable.
  • HACP EE performance will be slightly low when the transformation is enabled.

Office365-Integration:

  • The office365 icon in the ribbon bar will be disabled while executing the macro.
  • Only the green screen data can be integrated with office 365, except the user input values.
  • Microsoft API's doesn't resolve different addresses, as they will be provided during APP configuration (azure). So, Redirector URI and HACP EE URL should be the same.  
  • The Green screen content will not send to office 365 when DBCS HCP is Enabled.
  • When HACP EE plus - Transformation is enabled, full-screen content will be sent to the office 365 integrated application. The user will not be able to send part of the green screen to the office 365 integrated application.

ENPTUI:

  • Window8 –DDS window is not appearing.
  • Other –1,4 pull down, and other4 vertical scrollbar is appearing. 
    (This issue highlighted in green color is there in HATS also) 
  • For the split text cursor, the left movement has issues (text with underlining). 
  • Selection field 10- The scrollbar appears slightly above.
  • The arrow mark for the scroll bar has issues in a small device.
  • Selection field 12,22-->As of now cursor will move normally. 
  • Others9 field will have multiple radio buttons as some parameters are missing.

Illegal Filename Characters for Customize Attributes/Macro Export:

Do not use any of these common illegal characters or symbols in your filenames or folders:
  • # % & { } \ < > * ? / $ ! ‘ “ : @ + ` | = blank spaces
  • HACP EE Plus changes are not imported.
  • Associated Printer session changes are not imported when AutoStart macro is enabled.

Hotspots:

Hotspot macro execution fails while double-clicking.

Debug Module:

  • Key Remap Logs get generated after the user navigates to Key Remap under the Settings panel.

Host Code Page:

  • If the HOD session definition is set to unsupported Code Pages, it would be changed to 037 while establishing the host connection.
  • Host graphics (3270) are not supported.
Migration Utility:
  • HACP EE and the HOD server must be installed on the same machine.
  • The source and targeted HOD versions are independent. 
  • The supported HOD versions are HOD 13, HOD 14, HOD 15, and its refresh packs.
  • Do not delete or tamper with these files ‘.rollback, .rollbackSuccess, .importsuccess, .checksumtemp, ImportDirectory.txt’, created after the import/rollback process under the lib directory.
  • HACP EE admin console Migration Utility is not supported for zOS. 
  • In configuration parameter import, all ‘Terminal’ properties are supported except the Codepage key.
  • In PPC LE, the user must create a ‘migration’ folder in the target HOD installation directory for config parameter import.
  • Only deltas are available in imported HOD Data (in AS400) and groups (in Windows) after rollback.
  • zOS users cannot migrate HOD data from a lower version to a higher version of the HOD server using Migration Utility.
  • If HACP EE is deployed in PPC LE OS, then users cannot modify the session property for the Config-based model in the migration utility.
  • FTP and VT sessions will not work if Migration Utility is used.
Note: After the Import and Rollback operations are completed, the HACP EE deployed application server, and HOD server must be restarted. 
Screen Timers:
  • Only numerical values are allowed, for “Minimum time to wait for initial host screen” and “Maximum time to wait for the screen to settle”.
  • HACP EE application must be restarted to reflect the changes, for “Minimum time to wait for initial host screen” and “Maximum time to wait for the screen to settle”.
Autosuggestion Text on Presentation Space:
  • The user input limit field accepts only numbers from the range 1-50, which is 50 by default.
  • Only the Aid keys [Enter] are used to add dynamic text in the presentation space.
  • Do not use any of these common illegal characters or symbols in the user text:
    # = @ “ ‘ % / < > and blank spaces
License Manager for HACP EE:
  • LM is not supported in the Tomcat HTTPS setup.
  • The active license count is not decreased when the user disconnects the session instead of closing it in supported app servers with client authentication enabled.
  • WAS app server with client authentication enabled, the LM goes down after a few minutes, in this case deploy LM in other supported servers.
  • License Manager doesn't work if it is deployed on WAS Application Server (with Client authentication enabled)
  • License count will not work properly when License Manager is deployed on Tomcat Application Server (all OS) and Embedded Sever (only zOS)
FTP and VT Session:
  • If HACP EE is deployed in RHEL OS then the FTP and VT service may not work properly using the HACP EE admin console.
    Note: FTP Backend service needs to start externally. For more information refer to FTP Backend service.
  • VT service must be stopped using the HACP EE admin console to restart the NC service manager.
  • HTML page name and Application Server context root should not start with admin','ftp','vt'(case-insensitive).
  • In PPC LE – FTP and VT Session may not work properly.
  • In AIX and zLinux - VT SSH, FTP SSH doesn’t work.
  • FTP Session doesn’t work if the user refreshes the browser.
  • For FTP connection, the “No.of users exceeds” and “transfer in progress” strings will be shown in English.
  • The FTP Login button is recommended to be clicked only once.
Jakarta:
  • Migration Utility Export /Import and Printer session features will not work when HACP EE is deployed in Tomcat (Jakarta supported).

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Document Information

Modified date:
29 November 2023

UID

swg27050112