Working with jobs

Viewing job spool output

1. Expand the JOBS tree in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Search icon next to a profile and enter search criteria.

   Search results display under the profile in the Side Bar.

3. Expand a job to view its spool files.

Viewing job contents

1. Expand the JOBS tree in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Search icon next to a profile and enter search criteria.

   Search results display under the profile in the Side Bar.

3. Right-click on the job you want to view, and select the Get JCL option.

   Job contents display in an Editor.

   note

   To edit the job and run it again, make the changes in the Editor, right click the Editor, and select the Submit as JCL option. For instructions, see Step 3 in Submitting a local file as JCL.

   

Downloading spool content

Downloading spool files from a job

1. Expand the JOBS tree in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Search icon next to a profile and enter search criteria.

   Search results display under the profile in the Side Bar.

3. Right-click on the desired job and select either:

   • Download All to download all the spool files to a folder on your local disk.
   • Download All (Binary) to download all the spool files in binary format on your local disk.

   The selected files are saved in a folder that is the job name in the specified location.

   

Downloading a single spool file

1. Expand the JOBS tree in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Search icon next to a profile and enter search criteria.

   Search results display under the profile in the Side Bar.

3. Expand the job containing the desired spool file.

4. Right-click on the spool file and select either:

   • Download All to download all the spool file contents to a folder on your local disk.
   • Download All (Binary) to download all the spool file contents in binary format on your local disk.

   The selected file is saved in the specified location.

Sorting jobs

1. Expand JOBS in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Sort icon to the right of a profile.

3. In the Quick Pick, select the Sort Direction option and select either Ascending or Descending.

4. Select a sort type from the list of available options:

   • Job ID (default)
   • Date Submitted
   • Date Completed
   • Job Name
   • Return Code

   

Polling a spool file

Users can periodically refresh a spool file during long-running jobs to get the latest job outputs. This avoids having to close and reopen a spool file to get the latest job outputs.

There are two ways to poll a spool file: automatically at set intervals or manually on demand.

Defining a default interval for polling spool files

1. Click on the Manage icon on the Activity Bar and select Settings.
2. In either the User or Workspace tab, click on the Extensions option to open the menu.
3. Select Zowe Explorer.
4. In the Jobs: Poll Interval field, enter a valid time interval, in milliseconds.
   • Value must be greater than or equal to 1000 ms (or 1 second).
5. Press the Enter key to start the polling action.

Polling a spool file at set intervals

1. Expand the JOBS tree in the Side Bar.

2. Click on the Search icon next to a profile and enter search criteria.

   Search results display under the profile in the Side Bar.

3. Right click on the desired spool file and select the Start Polling option.

   • Repeat this step with additional spool files to poll multiple files simultaneously.

4. The Poll interval (in ms) for: <spoolfilename> field displays the current interval value.

   • The default value is set to 5000 ms.
   • Change the value by entering a different number (must be greater than or equal to 1000 ms).

5. Press the Enter key to confirm the interval time and start the polling action.

   The poll request is added to the poller, and the selected spool file is marked with a "P" in the Side Bar and any corresponding Editor tabs.

   

Stopping spool file polling

1. In the Side Bar, select a spool file that is being polled.

   Spool files being polled are marked with a "P" in the Side Bar.

2. Right click the spool file and select the Stop Polling option.

   The poll request is removed from the poller, and the selected spool file is no longer marked with a "P" in the Side Bar and any corresponding Editor tabs.

Polling a spool file manually

A spool file can be polled on demand by using a designated keyboard shortcut.

To manually poll a spool file:

1. In the Side Bar, double click a spool file to open it in an Editor.

2. With the spool file in an active tab, press the keyboard shortcut.

   • See Configuring the keyboard shortcut for manual polling to set the keyboard shortcut.
   
   

   The spool file is updated and "Polling..." displays in the bottom status bar.

Configuring the keyboard shortcut for manual polling

1. Click on the Settings icon on the Activity Bar and select Keyboard Shortcuts.

2. Navigate to Zowe Explorer: Poll Content in Active Editor.

3. Select the Edit icon to designate a different keyboard shortcut.

   • The default shortcut is the F5 key.
   
   

   The entered key(s) can be used to activate polling.