SoftMenu

As seen in the December 1999 issue of Showcase

SoftLanding Systems’ SoftMenu

This complete menuing system makes menu changes easy.

by Doug Powell

I’m sure that, at some point in time, either you or your administrative staff has received a phone call that went something like this: I have 20 new users starting today. They’ll need access to the AS/400, and they’ll need to have menu options set up as well. Give them the same options as Frank. Oh, by the way, I need this all within the hour, and can you set them up on the development box?

My company has faced this situation many times in the past. The system administration required to set up new users or change existing users can be a tiring process that involves setting up user profiles on the AS/400 and, when appropriate, controlling users’ access to specific applications. That’s a lot of work!

In addition to having to do all this work for your new users, you may have to do it for some of your existing users, too. When users change departments or job functions, you most likely have to change their profiles and menu options. All this adds up to a good part of your day spent doing what should be an easy task, but there is a better way.

SoftLanding Systems’ SoftMenu makes the task of menu management simple. SoftMenu can cut down the amount of time required to handle new- or existing-user changes from hours to minutes. SoftMenu is a full-featured product that can do everything you would expect from a menuing system as well as some things you may not even have thought of yet.

SoftMenu Overview

SoftMenu allows you full control over what your end users see on their screens. You control everything from their main menus all the way down to each individual option. This gives you the ability to control what users have access to. If you have multiple applications on your system, you set it so that only payroll users have access to the payroll menus and options, only order entry users see the order entry menus, etc. If some of your users have access to a command line (limit capabilities *NO or *PARTIAL), they can still access AS/400 menus such as Main or User by issuing the Go command on the command line at the bottom of each SoftMenu menu screen. Having total control over the users’ environment makes maintaining your users’ access a simple task while also appeasing the concerns of your auditors. Now, how do you do it?

Creating the Option Masterfile

You define all the menu options for your system with SoftMenu’s Option Masterfile. This is about the only time-consuming process you find with SoftMenu, but it’s well worth it. Putting in the effort up front saves you valuable time later on. SoftMenu gives you a lot of predefined options for accessing Query, Program Development Manager (PDM), SQL sessions, and AS/400 system menus. If you’re creating a custom menu system for your applications, SoftMenu makes it an easy but thorough process.

Option groups are one of the biggest time-savers you find in SoftMenu. You can bind related options together and assign users to the entire option group instead of assigning them to individual options. You can also customize options for each individual, even if those options belong to a group. When you need to add, change, or delete an option, you can make the change to the option group, and all the users assigned to that option group receive the change immediately.

Each entry within the Option Masterfile gives you the choice of running commands, calling programs, or transferring to a submenu. It also gives you the ability to submit programs as needed. If you want, you can add libraries or change entire library lists for each option, and those libraries stay in your list as long as you’re in that particular SoftMenu defined menu option.

This feature can greatly simplify library list management. As you can see in Figure 1, you can set different attributes for each option, from the color of the option (which is useful for separating month-end or year-end options from your normal daily options) to the specific day or time during which an option can be used. If you have multiple systems, you can specify which system you want the option to run from, and the user passes through to that system transparently without having to sign on again. Option lockout is also performed with the Option Masterfile if you want to keep specific options or submenus from being accessed for maintenance or other reasons.

Figure 1: The Add a Masterfile Option screen gives you total control over what the option does and how it appears on the user's screen.

Adding Users

Users can be added to the SoftMenu system, and if they are new users, you automatically get an AS/400 Create User Profile screen so you can set passwords and so on. Parameters such as Default output queues and Accounting codes are passed to the user profile from SoftMenu. It’s a one-stop user setup: Assign new users to one or more of your option groups, and they automatically get all the options they need. Or you can set up generic users perhaps one for each of your applications or departments with preassigned menu options, submenus, option groups, and even customized function keys. Then, to add a new user, you simply copy the appropriate generic user’s profile. Of course, you can also customize each user separately if you need to.

Extending Functionality Through Exit Points

SoftMenu gives you a wide range of exit points that you can use to tailor the use of your system to your own needs. For example, if a user or group of users always goes to a specific submenu instead of the main menu, you can take the user or group of users directly to the submenu once they are signed on by modifying SoftMenu’s sample program for the exit point defined at user entry. There are 11 other exit points covering a wide range of customizations.

Reporting

The reporting menu in SoftMenu is useful for printing a variety of reports and forms. Need a listing of what menu or submenu options you’ve set up? You can print one from here. Or how about a listing of what user has which options? Easily done. If you are setting up a menu system on your AS/400 for the first time, there are several forms you can use to plan out the menu and print an organized hard copy of user access forms. This last option is especially useful when auditors make this type of record keeping a requirement.

Defining Divisions

SoftMenu gives you the ability to run several menu systems simultaneously on one system by using its Division feature. This could be useful if you need to maintain multiple language menus; menus for several divisions; or separate environments for development, testing, and production. You can have a separate set of options for each division as well as specify which users are authorized to use that division. In the case of a development division, you could point all the options within your Option Masterfile to your test libraries or files. The system administrator simply uses the SoftMenu administration menu to specify which divisions the user can access.

Don’t want the hassle of trying to maintain multiple divisions? No problem: SoftMenu allows you to copy information between divisions. Things like the Option Masterfile, user setup, submenus, and even authorization info for users and options can be copied between divisions. In my company’s case, there is a separate AS/400 for development and user testing. Using the copy functions, I maintain SoftMenu on my two production boxes as needed, then periodically copy my divisions over to my development box. This way, my options are always in sync, new users are added if needed, and, best of all, I can mirror menus for users on the development box. If they need user testing, it’s transparent to them what system they’re on.

Inquiry

Suppose that you have a programming or operations staff that sometimes needs to view either a user’s SoftMenu setup or the Option Masterfile but you don’t want them to change or modify anything. SoftMenu gives them an inquiry menu that allows them to view system defaults, user information, the Option Masterfile, and any submenus you may have set up.

Figure 2: Users can tell what options they're in by the > or >> marks beside the option.

FastPath

Menu users can switch between several active menu sessions quickly by using SoftMenu’s FastPath feature. If you’re in an application and want to return to the main menu, hit the Esc key. This takes you back to the main menu and places a bookmark at the point where you were. You can now take other menu options as needed. The screen in Figure 2 shows what the main menu looks like if you have several menu options active. If an option is marked with a >, you can sign off the system or return to where you left off within that option. If it’s marked with a >>, you have to reenter the option and back out of it cleanly before it allows you to sign off. This is a big advantage if you have applications that result in corrupted data if the user logs off without closing the files first. FastPath can also be set so you can hit Esc and be prompted for the option number if you know the option numbers on the main menu. This saves you from having to return to the main menu to enter another menu option.

Proven Results

SoftMenu has saved our help desk personnel a considerable amount of time when it comes to setting up our users on our two production boxes as well as our development box. Prior to switching to SoftMenu, we used an in-house menu system written in RPG and CL that was designed for our S/38 machines. It was functional but cumbersome when trying to set up, change, or delete anything. SoftMenu has allowed us practically to mirror the look of our old system, which our users greatly appreciate, while adding ease and functionality to the administrative side of things.

Because this is such a comprehensive package, getting everything set up the way we want it has taken some time and required us to contact SoftLanding Systems’ tech support. However, based on my experience, SoftLanding Systems’ tech support team has proven outstanding in helping to guide us through the planning, installation, and setup processes. With a little bit of preplanning on your part, setting up and running SoftMenu on your system should go just as well, leaving you more time to concentrate on more important aspects of your job, such as lunch.

Doug Powell is an information resource specialist for Avery Dennison. He can be reached via email at doug.powell@averydennison.com.

SoftMenu

Vendor Name:

Softlanding Systems, Inc.

Type of Product:

Operations/Systems Management

Contact Info:

84 Elm Street
Peterborough, NH 03458
Tel: 800-545-9485 or 603-924-8818
Email: sales@softlanding.com
Web: www.softlanding.com