Field attributes

Various attributes of a field in a template can be modified using Field Attribute dialog. The dialog allows you to browse and edit use attributes, data generation attributes, and scrambling attributes for a selected field. The dialog can be opened by selecting a field in Template Editor or Field-Mapping Dialog, and then clicking on Field attribute button (Field attribute icon image).

Field attribute dialog
Field attribute dialog image

Use attributes

Use attributes are used to control the characteristics of how a field is displayed. The following table describes the associated use attributes.
Table 1. Use attributes
Use attribute Description
Field heading Edit this attribute to change what is displayed in the field heading.
Field output width Edit this attribute to change the width of the field. Note: This attribute is only applicable when you are using File Manager editor on the host.
Leading zeros Show leading zeros if the value is numeric.
Length field Select this check box to specify if the selected field is the segment length and whether it is inclusive or exclusive. This attribute is only available when editing segmented templates and the selected field is less than 4 bytes in length.

Data generation attributes

Data generation attributes, also known as create attributes, are used to control the behavior of data set generation utilities. The following table describes the associated data generation attributes.
Table 2. Data generation attributes
Data generation attribute Field type Description
Filler Alphanumeric Specifies an alphanumeric value that is to be placed in each byte of the field before any other operation during the construction of a field.
Action Alphanumeric Specifies how the contents of a field are to be varied for each record.
Start character Alphanumeric Specifies an alphanumeric starting character to be used when specifying an IBM-supplied pattern (AL, AN, or CO) or user-supplied pattern (except for RO, WV, and FX).
Generation pattern Alphanumeric An alphanumeric pattern that is used to generate data for a given field. This pattern can be user-specified or an IBM® supplied pattern.
Option to repeat the pattern Alphanumeric Use when a user-specified pattern is shorter than the field length and the pattern should be repeated to fill the entire field.
Start value Numeric Specifies the initial numeric value that you want a field to contain, before being adjusted by the increment you specify.
End value Numeric Specifies the maximum value (if the increment is a positive number) or minimum value (if the increment is a negative number) you want a field to contain.
Increment value Numeric Specifies a positive or negative number by which you want the value in the field adjusted for each record (or cycle of records).
Cycle count Numeric Specifies the number of output records that are to be generated before the increment value is applied to the field value.

Scrambling attributes

File Manager Integration provides the facility to enable you to create test data based upon production data, but with the ability to change the values of certain fields that may contain sensitive information. This functionality is known as field scrambling. Scrambling attributes are used to define the fields and values that you would like to scramble. The following table describes the associated scrambling attributes.
Table 3. Scrambling attributes for alphanumeric fields
Scrambling Type Field type Attribute Description
None N/A N/A No scrambling options are defined.
Random / Repeatable Alphanumeric Provide values for the output field Selecting this option will allow you to define specific output field values to be scrambled.
Provide output values from data set Output field start column The output field start column that is defined here determines the location of the value that will be repeated or randomly selected.
Values data set A data set from which records will be randomly selected or repeated.
Provide output values from list Enter an alphanumeric list of values from which one will be repeated or randomly selected during a copy operation.
Translate Alphanumeric Input field start column Defines the start location of the input field value in the value data set and is used when the translate process is run during a copy operation to match the input field with a value on the value data set.
Output field start column Defines the start location of the output field value in the value data set and is used if an input field value is matched on the value data set. If this occurs, the corresponding output value is used.
Values data set A data set from which records will be randomly selected or repeated.
Exit Alphanumeric Program name The name of a scrambling exit program to be used.1
Parameters Enter parameters to be passed to the exit program.
Table 4. Scrambling attributes for numeric fields
Scrambling Type Field type Attribute Description
None N/A N/A No scrambling options are defined.
Random / Repeatable Numeric Determined based on scramble type Select this option if you do not want to specify output field values to be scrambled.
Random / Repeatable Numeric Provide values for the output field Selecting this option will allow you to define output field values.
Provide output values from data set Output field start column The output field start column that is defined here determines the location of the value that will be repeated or randomly selected.
Values data set A data set from which records will be randomly selected or repeated.
Provide output values from list Enter a numeric list of values from which one will be repeated or randomly selected during a copy operation.
Random / Repeatable Numeric Provide range of values for the output field Range minimum Select a minimum value for a range from which an output value will be repeated or randomly selected.
Range maximum Select a maximum value for a range from which an output value will be repeated or randomly selected.
Translate Numeric Input field start column Defines the start location of the input field value in the value data set and is used when the translate process is run during a copy operation to match the input field with a value on the value data set.
Output field start column Defines the start location of the output field value in the value data set and is used if an input field value is matched on the value data set. If this occurs, the corresponding output value is used.
Values data set A data set from which records will be randomly selected or repeated.
Exit Numeric Program name The name of a scrambling exit program to be used.1
Parameters Enter parameters to be passed to the exit program.
Format option None Select this option to ensure that values will not be formatted before being passed to the exit program.
Format Select this option to ensure that values are formatted before being passed to the exit program.
Leading zeros Select this option to add leading zeros to the value before being passed to the exit program.
1 In addition to the facilities provided for scrambling in File Manager Integration, you can also write your own scrambling exit to perform scrambling operations that cannot be done by the supplied scrambling function.