A: The S16E abend is due to a logic error in DFSMS CVAF code. IBM APAR OA13560 documents the problem. The fixing PTFs are UA21666, UA21667, or UA21668, depending upon your release of DFSMS and/or z/OS.

Q: I am trying to upload an update for the MVS/Quickref database. The only instructions given for the upload parameters is that the file needs to be uploaded in BIN format. Can you tell me, if RECFM and LRECL info is required to insure that the file uploads properly? My first attempt at loading has given me the following format DSORG=PS RECFM=VB LRECL=255. Will this work when I attempt the merge process?

A: First, you may use any method to do the upload from the PC to the mainframe. This includes FTP or a file transfer done by a terminal emulator.

When you upload the file from the PC to the mainframe, you specify BINARY because there should not be an ASCII to EBCDIC conversion. The database updates are already EBCDIC.

The database update is actually a valid MVS/QuickRef database. So, you need to make sure the uploaded file attributes on the mainframe are RECFM=F, LRECL=6160, BLKSIZE=6160. These are the only database DCB attributes recognized by MVS/QuickRef and its utilities.

The QWIKMRGE requires valid MVS/QuickRef databases as input. This includes both the database being updated and the database update itself. Thus, the database with RECFM=VB, LRECL=255 will not work.

You should preallocate the update database to make sure the attributes are correct. Then, upload the database update file.

Q: Our shop uses an older version of an ISV product that has been dropped from the latest release of MVS/QuickRef. How can I carry forward the documentation for the older ISV product from my current MVS/QuickRef main data base, so that it is not dropped when I install a new
MVS/QuickRef release?

A: You can do this via a two-step batch job:

1) Step one invokes the MVS/QuickRef QWIKSLCT utility (JCL library member QWIKSLCJ) to extract out just the desired product information that you want to keep. You will use a QEXCLUDE member with an 'I' in column one for just the desired product(s). Column one for all other products listed in the QEXCLUDE member will be blank. The output data base from this job step is then fed into the second job step.

2) Job step two invokes the MVS/QuickRef QWIKMRGE utility (JCL library member QWIKMRGJ), taking in the output data base from step one as the input 'update' data base to QWIKMRGE. The main data base will be your existing MVS/QuickRef production data base. The QWIKMRGE program must be
at the Q/R R5.9 or higher level. QWIKMRGE will issue a warning message stating that the 'update' data base timestamp is too old, but it will go ahead and perform the merge anyway.

That's it! the output from step 2) above is your new main MVS/QuickRef data base. Save this job for future use and you can carry the older ISV product(s) information forward into new MVS/QuickRef releases indefinitely.

Q: I received a S613-04 abend trying to install MVS/QuickRef from tape. The error was accompanied by an error message similar to this: IOS000I 0A10,**,SIM,**,**06,,**,QR590A,...
How can I get around this failure?

A: On some OS/390 and z/OS systems, the Missing Interrupt Handler (MIH) values for tape may be set too low, either deliberately or by default. The problem is discussed in IBM information APAR II13332. To get around the problem, you can temporarily increase the MIH values for tape on your system using the following MVS console command: SETIOS MIH,TAPE=20:00
Note: MIH values are specified in the IECIOSxx member of SYS1.PARMLIB. If your site does not specify an IOS= member in the IEASYSxx member, then a default value of 3:00 minutes for missing tape device interrupts may be used. This value is, in many cases, too low for tape processing on busy systems. The IBM 3490 Magnetic Tape Subsystem Introduction and Planning Guide, manual number GA32-0297, recommends a value of 20 minutes for missing interrupts associated with 3490E tape drives.

Q: Does the MVS/Quick-Ref DASD Free Space report display information for devices associated with 4-digit UCBs and UCBs above the 16mb line?

A: The DASD Free Space Report for MVS/Quick-Ref Release 5.1 and above displays all DASD devices including those that are dynamic, 4-digit UCBs, and those with UCBs above the 16 MB "line".

Q: Does Quick-Ref work with the new IBM "RAMAC" or "SHARK" DASD device?

A: Yes, if the IBM 2105 ESS (SHARK) or an equivalent device from another vendor properly emulates a 3380 or 3390 DASD, MVS/Quick-Ref will function correctly; however, some IBM 2105 ESS microcode levels may cause problems for MVS/Quick-Ref. The MVS/Quick-Ref Support Group recommends that your 2105 microcode be at a minimum maintenance level of 1.5.2.91. Please see MVS/Quick-Ref zap fix QZ0206A for more information.

Q: When I hit the HELP PF key, I get an error message, or when I try to use the RFIND command I get a message saying "RFIND IS NOT ACTIVE". What's wrong?

A: One of several things could be causing the situation. Below are the various items that must be checked:

1. ISPF command table must be updated correctly with the QW command, including the NEWAPPL() paramter . If you cannot use an updated ISPF Command table, refer to member QWX in the MVS/Quick-Ref JCL library. Otherwise, follow these steps.

              QWSDSF   0   SELECT CMD(%QWSDSF) 

         QW       0   SELECT PGM(QWIKREF1) PARM(&ZPARM) NEWAPPL(QWRF)

         QWS      0   SELECT PGM(ISPSTRT)  PARM(PGM(QWIKREF1) PARM(&ZPARM) 

                      NEWAPPL(QWRF))

For MVS/Quick-Ref R5.3 or later:

         QWSDSF   0   SELECT CMD(%QWSDSF)

         QW       0   SELECT PGM(QWIKREF1) PARM(&ZPARM) NEWAPPL(QWIK)

         QWS      0   SELECT PGM(ISPSTRT) PARM(PGM(QWIKREF1) PARM(&ZPARM)

                      NEWAPPL(QWIK))

2. MVS/Quick-Ref command table must be present behind the ISPTLIB DD statement:

a. Go to ISPF 3.9

b. If you are using MVS/Quick-Ref R5.2 or earlier, enter "QWRF" as the application id and press ENTER; if you are using MVS/Quick-Ref R5.3 or later, enter "QWIK" as the ISPF application id and press ENTER;

c. The following MVS/Quick-Ref subcommands (including HELP) must be present and displayed (look for the PASSTHRU keyword).

      Verb         T   Action

      RFIND        0   PASSTHRU

      FIND         0   PASSTHRU

      CUT          0   PASSTHRU

      SETMARK      0   PASSTHRU

      SM           0   PASSTHRU

      GETMARK      0   PASSTHRU

      GM           0   PASSTHRU

      LISTMARK     0   PASSTHRU

      LM           0   PASSTHRU

      SEARCH       0   PASSTHRU

      SELECT       0   PASSTHRU

      SEL          0   PASSTHRU

      QPRINT       0   PASSTHRU

      QP           0   PASSTHRU

      SORT         0   PASSTHRU

      HELP         0   PASSTHRU

3. The ISPF command table must not be bypassed by using "TSO QW" to invoke MVS/Quick-Ref.

4. If using LIBDEF, be sure the ISPTLIB DD name has not been added to the QW clist but does exist as an allocation in the logon proc or in a CLIST executed before ISPF is entered. For MVS/Quick-Ref, ISPTLIB cannot be LIBDEF'ed.

A: The COBOL FILE STATUS codes are located in the following item:

           Vendor  = IBM 

           Product = COBOL370/VSCOBOL II 

           Release = V1R1/V3R2 

           Item    - FILESTAT 

Q: Where can I find return codes for the VSAM macros?

A: The VSAM return codes are located in the following item:

           Vendor  = IBM 

           Product = MVS REFERENCE INFO. 

           Release = V5R2M2 & PRIOR 

           Item    - VSAM*   

Q: I'm new and lost. How do I know which installation method is being used for Quick-Ref?

A: There is not a short answer for this. You must do some research to figure out how the system is running. The basic thing you are looking for is the answer to "Is MVS/Quick-Ref LIBDEFed or running from libraries in the ISPxLIB concatenations?".

If your release of MVS/Quick-Ref is 5.3 or higher, begin by issuing the QINFO command. This will tell you if a site command table is being used and the application ID of the site command table. If you are running a release prior to 5.3, you must look to see if you can find evidence of a site command table.

If your release of MVS/Quick-Ref is 5.1 or higher, the QINFO command will show you the libraries where the QWIKREF1 load module was found and the DD Name associated with it. If the DD Name is a temporary DD name like this example S0000001, you are probably using LIBDEF. If the DD name is a permanent name like STEPLIB or ISPLLIB or PLPA or LINKLIST, you are probably using the regular, program invocation. In either of these cases, you can skip looking at the ISPF command table entry.

If you did not find QWIKREF1, then, go to ISPF 3.9. If you have a site command table, enter the application ID; otherwise, enter "ISP" for the system command table. You should see the QW or QWS command displayed. If you don't see QW or QWS, either your installation is not using the ISPF command table for MVS/Quick-Ref or there is an(other) site command table that you don't know about.

Assuming you find the QW or QWS command in the 3.9 display, see if you can find "PGM(QWIKREF1)" or "CMD(%QW)" in the display. If you see "CMD(%QW)", you are using LIBDEF to invoke MVS/Quick-Ref: this means there will be a QW CLIST in a library in the SYSPROC concatentation that calls MVS/Quick-Ref. If you see "PGM(QWIKREF1)", you are using regular, program invocation: this means MVS/Quick-Ref is in a library set up in your logon procedure or in a CLIST executed when you LOGON.

For LIBDEF users, use the "LISTA ST H" TSO/E command to list all data sets allocated to the SYSPROC DD name. Then, browse these libraries from the top one to the bottom one looking for the QW CLIST. This CLIST will can allocations for the panels, messages, linklib, and data base. Even a user data base or override dataset can be included in the QW CLIST.

For regular, program invocation users, first examine the logon proc. Look for a library in a STEPLIB or ISPLLIB concatenation that has the module QWIKREF1, MVS/Quick-Ref's entry point. If not found, look in the linklist concatenation. As a final resort, look in the PLPA.

Once you locate how the load module is invoked, the panels and messages should be close by. For example, if the QWIKREF1 load module is found in ISPLLIB in the user logon proc, then look for the panels in the ISPPLIB concatenation and the messages in the ISPMLIB concatenation.

The MVS/Quick-Ref data base may be allocated in the QW CLIST, in the logon proc, in a CLIST that executes at TSO logon, or it may be dynamically allocated. Check the QWIKOPTS member (look in the JCL or SOURCE data sets) to see if the data base name was specified there. If so, it is probably dynamically allocated.

Q: Why does the SYSVIEW/E Quick-Ref interface no longer function as I expect?

A: The CA-SYSVIEW/E product makes a direct program interface call to MVS/Quick-Ref. When release 5.0 of MVS/Quick-Ref came out, the interface changed and Computer Associates did not find out ahead of the GA date. Consequently, they were unable to modify their interface call in conjunction with the release of 5.0 of MVS/Quick-Ref.

When the problem was discovered, a compatibility fix was developed for release 5.0 and 5.1 of MVS/Quick-Ref that allowed the program to use the "old" interface. This was not the best of solutions but did allow most users to "get by".

By the time release 5.2 of MVS/Quick-Ref was released, new releases of CA-SYSVIEW/E (and also OPS/MVS) were available; therefore, the compatibility fix was not implemented for 5.2.

Q: The blocksize of the MVS/Quick-Ref database is not optimal for my device type. Can I change the Quick-Ref data base block size?

A: No. The block size of the MVS/Quick-Ref database cannot be changed. It has been chosen as a compromise between DASD efficiency and I/O speed.

Q: Can you send me the user guide?

A: The MVS/Quick-Ref User's Guide is available for downloading from our website. It is in Adobe PDF format. In case you don't have the Adobe Acrobat reader, it is available on the internet at no charge.

Q: How can I determine if the install tapes were defective?

A: Locate the job used to download the data base from tape (usually QWLOAD or QWUPDATE) and look at the number of data blocks that were copied from tape (this is displayed by the QWIKSLCT program). Then, call technical support at 773-282-4777 to determine the actual block count.

Q: How do you return to the screen from which you invoked Quick-Ref and not to the Quick-Ref main menu?

A: When you invoke MVS/Quick-Ref using cursor driven invocation, you can get out in two ways. One is to press PF3 (END) repeatedly backing out to the higher level panel each time. The best way is to press PF4 (RETURN) once. You can set the PF3= option in the MVS/Quick-Ref options table QWIKOPTS so that PF3 functions as END (the default) or RETURN.

Q: How do you pass a fast path string that contains a blank (This question usually comes up for LIBDEF installed sites)?

A: Most installations use the fast path string when they need to lookup information and cursor driven invocation is not available or handy. Usually, a person would enter something like the following

         QW S0C4

when they want to find an occurrence of the item S0C4. However, many ISVs include instructions for S0C4 in their messages. Therefore, to avoid a selection list, somone may wish to enter the following

         QW 'V=IBM I=S0C4'

to restrict the search to IBM products. This command works correctly except when you are running MVS/Quick-Ref in a LIBDEF environment. When using LIBDEF, you would replace the single quote mark with two quote marks (not the quotation marks, ") like this

         QW ''V=IBM I=S0C4''

Q: When is the next version of MVS/Quick-Ref going to be released?

A: Two releases of MVS/Quick-Ref are prepared each year. Depending upon the amount of work required to fit all the ISV data into the data base, we may or may not ship exactly 6 months apart even though that is our goal. Thus, the best way to guess when a shipment is due is to add 6 months to the date when the last distribution tape was received. So, even though we have stringent target dates, we don't usually know an exact ship date until 2 or 3 weeks before the tape is shipped.

A better way (although it may still be a tentative answer) is to send an e-mail to support@quickref.com and ask technical support.

Q: Are new releases automatically shipped or do we have to request it?

A: New releases are always automatically shipped to those who are current with their maintenance fee.

Q: When is the next version of z/OS going to be supported in MVS/Quick-Ref?

A: Two releases of MVS/Quick-Ref are prepared each year. Depending upon the releases of z/OS that have been available for testing, we try to confirm that MVS/Quick-Ref works with each new release.

The best way to quickly determine when a certain release of z/OS is supported is to send an e-mail query to support@quickref.com and ask technical support.

Q: What enhancements are included in the next release of MVS/Quick-Ref?

A: Our users have much influence in what the next release of MVS/Quick-Ref contains. We always try in incorporate any maintenance or problem corrections from the previous release. We always look at the suggests sent in via phone, e-mail, or the User Feedback Form; although we can't implement every suggestion, we choose those that are easiest to implement and offer the most "bang for the buck". Finally, we often add new capability for positioning future releases. The bottom line is that you should always make suggestions about new capabilities for MVS/Quick-Ref.

The best way to know the enhancements in the next release is to send an e-mail to support@quickref.com and ask technical support.

Q: Is MVS/Quick-Ref Y2K compliant?

A: All releases of MVS/Quick-Ref 5.0 and above are Year 2000 compliant.

Q: How do I get a new expiration date zap?

A: Expiration date zaps are normally mailed out 45 days prior to the expiration date. If your system is about to expire, call the expiration date co-ordinator at 773-282-4777 or email zap@chicago-soft.com to find out why there has been a delay.

Q: I applied the new expiration date zap but am still getting an "expired" message.

A: There are many reasons why this can happen. Some of these reasons are as follows:

1. You were already using MVS/Quick-Ref and the module was loaded into memory whenever the zap was applied. You must get out of ISPF and get a fresh copy of MVS/Quick-Ref.

2. The zap was applied to a library that is not the running system. Invoke MVS/Quick-Ref and issue the QINFO command which will list the libraries when the MVS/Quick-Ref load module was found. Reapply the expiration date zap to the correct library.

3. The zap was applied to a library which is in the link list but no LLA REFRESH was done. In this case, have the operator issue the F LLA,REFRESH command.

If you are still experiencing problems after checking all these things, you'd better give technical support a call at 773-282-4777 for assistance.

Q: How do you build a user database?

A: Chapter 5 in the MVS/Quick-Ref User's Guide is dedicated to this topic. Please read this chapter and call technical support at 773-282-4777 if you need assistance.

Q: How do you convert a user data base from the pre-R5.0 format?

A: You can not convert the user data base; you must have the source that was used to build the pre-R5.0 database in order to convert the user data base. Although a convert utility QWIKCVRT is provided, the following is a discussion of the steps required.

In the pre-R5.0 source, you will find keyword indicators such as the following:

         K1 PHONELIST PHONELIST FOR WEST COAST OFFICE data 

In these records, the "1" of the "K1" indicates a topic code, the "PHONELIST" indicates the name of this data item in the user data base, "PHONELIST FOR WEST COAST OFFICE" indicates the title for this item, and "data" which is the actual data that resides in the PHONELIST item.

For Release 5.0 and above of MVS/Quick-Ref, all items in the data base will have a vendor name, a product name, release information, and an item name. In addition, the syntax is now keyword rather than positional. An example of the keyword indicators for R5.0 might be

         K V='your company name'



         K P='a description for the topic 1'



         K R=' '



         K I=PHONELIST



         K T='PHONELIST FOR WEST COAST OFFICE' data

In these records, "V='your company name'" provides you a way of merging your user data along with the main data base data: all you have to do is look for your company name. The "P='a description for the topic 1'" gives you a way to spell out the pre-R5.0 topic code of 1. The R=' ' is blank because the release information is not important. The "I=PHONELIST" is the item name. The "T='PHONELIST FOR WEST COAST OFFICE'" is the title of the item. And "data" is the same as the pre-R5.0 data.

Once you have converted your source, you can rebuild your user data base; consult chapter 5 in the MVS/Quick-Ref User's Guide for additional information.

Q: Does the CA-ROSCOE interface to Quick-Ref support cursor driven look up?

A: Yes, however, QWHOTKEY may require tailoring.

Q: On my CA-Roscoe system, I have some (but not all) users who get error "ERR QW4 TC=7 AWS12". What is causing this?

A: Your CA-Roscoe user is exceeding the number of AWSs. The recommended number of AWSs IS 7; you must have at least 6 for full function; you must have at least 3 for bare minimum function.