Release notes for CICS Explorer version 1.1.0.3

Contents

What's new in this release?

Version 1.1.0.3 provides the fix for CICS Explorer™, APARs IV19014, IV20931 and IV21373

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System requirements and prerequisites

The CICS Explorer system requirements are listed on the CICS Explorer system requirements web page.

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Updating an existing version of CICS Explorer

You cannot update to CICS Explorer version 1.1.0.3 from CICS Explorer version 1.0. You must delete the previous release and install this release. If you have any CICS tools installed, you must obtain the latest compatible version from the download site, and reinstall the tools.

If you already have CICS Explorer version 1.1 installed on your workstation you can use the Software Updates function to update the code to the latest level, without having to re-install the product. Instructions are in the task Checking for and installing software updates in the CICS Explorer help documentation. To access the task from the main CICS Explorer menu:

Help > Help Contents > CICS Explorer User Guide > Tasks > Updating and installing software > Checking for and installing software updates

Note: When the CICS Explorer update is complete you must follow the same procedure to update any CICS tools plug-ins that are installed in the CICS Explorer. If you do not, the tools might not work with the latest version of CICS Explorer.

APAR IV20931 includes a fix to the Java™ Runtime Environment (JRE) that is in the CICS Explorer compressed files for Windows and Linux. The JRE will not be updated by the Software Updates function. To apply the full fix for APAR IV20931, you will need to uninstall your existing CICS Explorer and install the new version, or install the new version of the CICS Explorer in a different location.

Your existing CICS Explorer workspace is compatible with the CICS Explorer version 1.1.0.3, however when you start the new version of CICS Explorer you might get the message: Unable to read workbench state. To resolve the problem you must reset the perspective by clicking Window - Reset Perspective on the menu bar.

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Downloading the CICS Explorer

If you are developing a third-party application to run as a plug-in in CICS Explorer, or you are developing a JCICS application to run in CICS, you must download the CICS Explorer SDK and install it into an existing Eclipse environment. See the next section for details.

You must select the CICS Explorer files for your operating system:
For the Windows operating system
cicsts_explorer_win32_v1.1.0.3.zip
For the Linux operating system
cicsts_explorer_linux_v1.1.0.3.tar.gz
To download the CICS Explorer compressed file for Windows or Linux:
  • Click the download link for the relevant operating system.
  • In the dialog box that appears, select "Save" and save it in a temporary directory.
  • When the download is complete, extract the contents of the compressed file to any writable directory of your choice, for example;
    • C:\Program Files\Explorer on Windows
    • ~/Explorer on Linux.
    Ensure that the directory you choose does not contain any other files.

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Downloading the CICS Explorer SDK

The CICS Explorer SDK must be installed into an existing Eclipse environment. The filename for the CICS Explorer SDK is:
  • cicsts_explorer_sdk_v1.1.0.3.zip
Important: If you are installing the CICS Explorer SDK on Microsoft Windows 7, and Eclipse is installed in a secured location, such as the Program Files directory, you must have elevated administrator privileges before you install the CICS Explorer SDK.
To download the CICS Explorer SDK compressed file:
  • Click the CICS Explorer SDK download link.
  • Save the zip file in a temporary directory on your workspace. for example, c:\temp on Windows, or your home directory on Linux. Do NOT unzip the file.
  • Install the CICS Explorer SDK into your Eclipse environment.
    Note: If you get the message: Cannot complete the install because one or more required items could not be found, and you are installing the plug-in with Eclipse version 3.6, select the Contact all update sites during install to find required software checkbox in the Install new software > Install dialog and retry the operation.

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Launching the CICS Explorer

To launch the CICS Explorer, locate and double-click the file cicsexplorer.exe (cicsexplorer on Linux), located in a subdirectory called CICS_Explorer. The first time CICS Explorer starts, the welcome screen is displayed.

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Getting started

The CICS Explorer help documentation is integrated with the product and includes a basic tutorial and instructions on configuring a connection. To display the CICS Explorer basic tutorial perform one of the following actions:
  • From the welcome screen, click the Tutorials icon. The icon names are displayed when you hover over them.
  • From the main menu bar, click:Help > Help Contents > CICS Explorer User Guide > Getting Started > Basic tutorial

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Known issues and limitations

The following limitations exist in CICS Explorer version 1.1.0.3:
  • You cannot install remote resources using CICS Explorer version 1.1.0.3.
  • You can set your help search scope to search the CICS® TS 4.2 or CICS TS 4.1 information centers. Setting the search scope to include previous version of the CICS TS information centers is not supported and might cause errors.
  • If you create an event binding using CICS Explorer version 1.1, you must not modify the event binding using CICS Explorer version 1.0. Modifying the event binding with CICS Explorer version 1.0 might result in loss of data. You can however modify an event binding that was created on CICS Explorer version 1.0, with CICS Explorer version 1.1.
  • The Eclipse software update function does not fully support Eclipse Update-Sites secured with HTTP Basic Authentication. If you are connecting to an Eclipse update site that prompts for a username and password, you should not select the option to save your password when prompted, because CICS Explorer does not provide a method for changing your password once set. If the password is not saved, then it must be entered each time the CICS Explorer connects to the update site. If a password is saved and subsequently needs changing, manual editing of configuration files would be required.
  • Microsoft Windows users might see the error: Error initializing mirrors for: jar:file: the first time CICS Explorer is started after installing a new plug-in. The error does not affect the operation of CICS Explorer and can be ignored.
  • If you are installing the CICS Explorer SDK on Microsoft Windows 7, and Eclipse is installed in a secured location, such as the Program Files directory, you must have elevated administrator privileges before you install the CICS Explorer SDK.

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