When PC5250 Run the Same Doesn’t Run

In my shop, some people cannot use PC5250’s run the same function. After selecting run the same, a new PC5250 window appears and it looks like the new session is trying to start. Several messages appear in the status bar, the new session stops trying to connect, the 5250 screen goes blank, and the status bar message reads “Disconnected.” What’s up with that?

–Any number of users

This is an amalgamated question that I occasionally get from a reader, which tells me it’s a fairly common problem. When configured correctly, PC5250’s run the same function allows you to start a second i5/OS PC5250 session without disturbing your existing session. You can click run the same several times to open a number of additional PC5250 sessions.

Notice I said that additional sessions will start when PC5250 is configured correctly. Proper configuration consists of six settings that define how your PC5250 sessions are named and whether you can open additional sessions by using the run the same function. These settings are found in the Workstation ID section of the Configure PC5250 screen, which is accessed by selecting Communication→Configuration from the PC5250 menu bar. The Configure PC5250 screen looks like this.

PC5250 uses the radio buttons on this screen to name PC5250 sessions for this desktop.

• Use Computer name creates a PC5250 session name using your Windows computer name as the session name.
• Use Windows user name creates a PC5250 session name by using the user’s Windows profile name as the session name.
• Specify workstation ID contains an optional input field, where you enter your own designated workstation name. If you leave the input field blank, it will use the next available QPADEVxxxx device name that is available from the Telnet server.

Without selecting any other radio button or checkbox on the screen, each radio button will allow you to start one PC5250 session on a Windows desktop. Note that if you opt for your sessions to use the default Telnet QPADEVxxxx device names, run the same will work all the time and allow you to run as many additional PC5250 sessions as you can. To get multiple unique device names when selecting the other settings, you need to configure the checkboxes on the upper right-hand side of the Configure PC5250 screen. Without these settings turned on, your PC5250 user will only be able to start one 5250 session on their desktop.

• Avoid duplicate names on this workstation adds a session identifier (‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, etc.) to your session name to ensure each PC5250 session will not interfere with other sessions on this desktop. So if your initial workstation session name is ‘JOEH’, this setting will rename your session names to JOEHA, JOEHB, JOEHC, enabling the user to run differently named sessions by using the run the same function.
• Avoid duplicate names with other workstations adds a second session identifier to the end of your session name. This can help avoid confusion with other PC5250 users who might be using the same core device name as your workstation. If you check this box in conjunction with the avoid duplicate names on this workstation checkbox, PC5250 will create device names that are unique across the network (JOEHA1, JOEHB1, JOEHC1, etc.). If the name that PC5250 gives a session is in use on another desktop, PC5250 will designate a different device name that isn’t already allocated on the system.

So to allow your users to create multiple PC5250 sessions on a Windows desktop by using run the same, check off these settings on the Configure PC5250 screen.

• Turn on the Use Computer Name, Use Windows User Name or the Specify Workstation ID radio buttons to get a semi-unique device name. If you’re using the Specify Workstation ID setting, be sure to put in a session name in the optional field provided.

And

• Check both the Avoid duplicate names with this workstation AND the Avoid duplicate names with other workstations checkboxes to make sure that your PC5250 device names don’t conflict with any device names used by other Windows desktops.

Using these settings together, your users will be able to start additional PC5250 configurations at will by selecting run the same. If you don’t turn on these settings, your users will only be able to use one PC5250 session at a time on their machines.

–Joe

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