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March/April 2007 |
| SupportLine News We need your feedback! Dear SupportLine customer During the past few years, we have requested your feedback in relation to service received on specific incidents via our web based Closed Call Survey. In order to provide you with a mechanism to give feedback to us on any aspect of your Micro Focus experience at any time, we have introduced a new email address: We are always aiming to improve our customer care so we want your comments, positive or negative. I will personally be monitoring the comments received and one of our SupportLine Managers will respond promptly to your emails. When sending a comment it will help us to respond if you include contact details for your preferred method of contact, and any applicable Incident number. Thank you for your continued support of Micro Focus. Richard Levy Vice President, Customer Care Micro Focus Help Micro Focus understand the importance of COBOL skills to your organization We know that COBOL skills will continue to be a vital industry requirement to build and enhance Enterprise Systems. In order to support our work with universities and other academic institutions, we'd like to understand the opportunities you see in recruiting staff with COBOL skills and any challenges you have encountered to date. In less than 5 minutes, you can influence how Micro Focus works with the academic community to sustain the value of teaching COBOL skills. To participate now please go to, http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB2267DMF6HL3. Thank you in advance for your help. Eclipse Early Adopter Program On 21st November 2006 Micro Focus announced plans to support Eclipse in Net Express, Server Express and Mainframe Express Enterprise Edition. Micro Focus is now recruiting customers for participation in the Eclipse Support Early Adopter Program (EAP) which will commence this quarter. EAP participants receive early access to software updates and a chance to influence the product shape in exchange for active participation and feedback. If you are interested in participation in the Early Adopter Program please email Eclipse-EAP@microfocus.com with a brief outline of your planned usage of Eclipse and COBOL. For more information on the EAP, click here.
Platform Withdrawal Notice Support in Net Express and Micro Focus Server products for the Windows 98 platform will be withdrawn on December 31st 2007. Windows 98 support in Net Express 5.0 is only provided to allow support of applications deployed under Windows 98 with Micro Focus Server for COBOL (formerly Application Server). Net Express 5.0 and the equivalent version of Micro Focus Server for COBOL will be the last product versions to support Windows 98. Windows 98 support in Net Express remains subject to exceptions and is not supported for managed code development with Visual Studio or for deployment with Enterprise Server (Micro Focus Server for SOA) specific functionality. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Do you know the makeup of the Studio and Server product lines offered by Micro Focus, and how they interface with previous products? Here are some useful guides to these ‘Best in Class’ solutions:
COBOL Technology
Micro Focus Studio
Micro FocusServer
Micro Focus Net Express
Micro Focus Server Express
Sun Transition Program October milestone
Sun ceased support for Micro Focus Server Express on October 14, 2006. Micro Focus is ready to transition and renew support for your Sun-purchased licenses immediately, with no interruption of support.
Have you missed some of the Webcasts?
Micro Focus provides several Webcasts during the year. These include those from the First Friday and Third Thursday presentations, as well as special event Webcasts. Most of these Webcasts have been recorded so they can be viewed at a time convenient to our customers. If there was a Webcast you meant to join and missed, you can still get the value of it by viewing it from the Webcast Archives. View the Webcast Archives
Along with the other recent changes, the address to use to request new license keys has changed. License Keys for AAI, EnterpriseLink, Mainframe Express, Mainframe Manager, Net Express, and Revolve products should now be requested in one of two ways. They can be requested through the Request/Obtain License link, located on the SupportLine web page Self Service menu, or directly by using this link: http://supportline.microfocus.com/licensing/index.asp
In the more recent releases of the Net Express, Mainframe Express Enterprise Edition, and Revolve products, you can obtain a license Response Key for the product via the internet by using the License Management System. The LMS can be accessed via Start/Programs/<Micro Focus product name>/Configuration/License Management System. Select the product and optional extensions you want. Then click Generate Key to change the Request Key. Click the Internet button, fill in the details required in the dialog box that appears, and click Connect. This will submit your request and initiate the return message with the Response Key. When the Micro Focus Web server responds with a message saying your request key has been processed, click OK to complete the process.
If you are a Micro Focus customer, you can request updates to your current product version to the latest product version on CD by sending an email to Update@microfocus.com. You will need to provide your Name, Company, Phone, and Fax numbers, email address, shipping address, number of users, your current product serial number(s), and to which product or release you wish to Update.
New updates made available during the past month. (To access these updates, login to the SupportLine sites, http://supportline.microfocus.com/, select Self Service, followed by Product Updateds from the left hand menu.)
- Mainframe Access Client 3.0
mfd03all.exe – Mainframe Access Suite FixPack
doc05f30.exe – Documentation FixPack - Mainframe Express Enterprise Edition 3.0
all10m30.exe – All WebSync WrapPack
clu09all.exe – Licence Protection System FixPack - Micro Focus Server 5.0
SRP3250020077.msp - Micro Focus Server WrapPack 2 - Migration Toolkit
msdk06all.exe – Development Kit AddPack
meuk06all.exe – End User Kit AddPack - Net Express 5.0
NXP3250020077.exe - Micro Focus Net Express WrapPack 2
SSP3250020077.exe - Micro Focus Security Pack - Net Express 4.x
clu09all.exe – Licence Protection System FixPack - Revolve 6.2
clu09all.exe – Licence Protection System FixPack
mfd03all.exe – Mainframe Access Suite FixPack - Revolve 6.1/6.0
clu09all.exe – Licence Protection System FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – AIX 5.2/5.3 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – HP-UX PA-RISC 11.x (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – Red Hat Linux 4 x86-64 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_11_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_11_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – SuSE Linux SLES 9 PowerPC (64-bit only)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – SuSE Linux SLES 9 x86-64 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_11_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_11_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – SuSE Linux SLES 9 zSeries (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – SuSE Linux SLES 9 ia64 (64-bit only)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – Sun SPARC 8/9/10 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 5.0 – Sun Opteron 10 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express SCO UnixWare 7.4/Open Server 6
Fixpack50.02_10_dev.tar.encr – Development System FixPack
Fixpack50.02_10_server.tar.encr – Server FixPack - Server Express 4.0 ServicePack 3 HP-UX PA-RISC 11.x (32/64-bit)
Fixpack40.05_71_dev.tar.encr - Development System
Fixpack40.05_71_appsrv.tar.encr - Application Server
Fixpack40.05_71_entsrv.tar.encr - Enterprise Server - Server Express 4.0 ServicePack 3 HP-UX Itanium 11.23 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack40.05_73_dev.tar.encr - Development System
Fixpack40.05_73_appsrv.tar.encr - Application Server
Fixpack40.05_73_entsrv.tar.encr - Enterprise Server - Server Express 4.0 ServicePack 2 AIX 5.1 (32-bit) - AIX 5.2 (64-bit) - AIX 5.3 (32/64-bit)
Fixpack40.05_72_dev.tar.encr - Development System
Fixpack40.05_72_appsrv.tar.encr - Application Server
Fixpack40.05_72_entsrv.tar.encr - Enterprise Server - Mainframe Express Host Connectivity 3.0
congen10.zip - Host Connectivity March 2007 WebSync (v3 ws10)
For your guidance: Wintel FixPacks are standard 32-bit executables. Congen10.zip is a conventstandard compressed ZIP file. UNIX and Linux FixPacks are supplied as encrypted (.encr) files. A .encr file is an executable which should be run where the appropriate COBDIR can be accessed; this will generate a conventional .tar file which can then be processed in the normal way.
Articles and demos to inform you about functions and features of your Micro Focus products
-- Net Express and Server Express --
Handling special multi-byte characters using Double-Byte Character Support
This article explains the purpose of Double-Byte Character Support (DBCS) and how it is implemented. More
Rebuilding C-ISAM files with an empty IDX file
It is sometimes useful to be able to use an empty .idx file be used for rebuilding a C-ISAM file with a new key structure, instead of specifying every key on the rebuild command line with the -k option. This article describes how this can be done. More
Determining the number of records in an indexed file
This article describes how to access the record count from within the indexed file FCD. More
The Host Compatibility Option (HCO) AddPack
All your HCO questions answered. More
First Friday Webcasts
Micro Focus First Friday Web Cast Invitation – April 13th
Date: April 13th 2007
Time: 8:00 AM (PDT) / 11:00 AM (EDT) / 4:00 PM (GMT)
Duration: 45 minute presentation / 15 minute Q&A session
Overview: This is the second of a special two-part series webcast on SOA. In March we discussed the strategy, or in other words the various principles that go into developing a sound SOA integration plan, and now in April we present how you can implement that plan through demonstrating the extension of mainframe applications to SOA.
As an additional plus, when you register you’ll also be able to download Aberdeen’s latest report: “The Legacy Application Modernization Benchmark Report -- Transforming Mainframe, AS/400, and Unix Applications in an SOA World”
The webcast will feature a 45-minute presentation and demo by Micro Focus followed by a 15-minute interactive Q&A with participating guests. To secure your spot, please register today here.
Please register for participation no later than Noon (EDT), Thursday, Nov 2nd.
First Friday Webcasts are held the first Friday of each month and focus on topics of critical concern to enterprise IT directors and managers. Professionals in organizations that depend on legacy systems should not miss these important events. The 1-hour, “from your desk” sessions are free and convenient.
Did you miss a First Friday Webcast you were interested in attending? If so, you can still attend the presentation by viewing the recorded presentations within the First Friday Archive
Join us every Third Thursday of the month for a free, one hour Webcast on special interest topics related to your Micro Focus products. The training consists of instruction and demonstration of tasks, followed by Q&A.
Did you miss a Third Thursday Webcast you were interested in attending? If so, you can still attend the presentation by viewing the recorded presentations within the Third Thursday Webcast Archives
Accelerate with Micro Focus Training!
Take your COBOL skills to new levels with our hands-on training. Let Micro Focus expert instructors guide you on how to use the latest tools to take the legacy applications you work on, into the exciting worlds of .NET, XML and Web services. For more information and to register, visit us at any of the following regions:
· France | · Germany |
You will learn Micro Focus' strategies, meet industry experts, partners and customers and see the latest products to support you into the future.
The event will be the most important gathering for the worldwide Micro Focus community and is being held in the desirable location of Orlando, close to Universal Studios in Florida.
For more information, please visit http://www.microfocusworld.com/
Events and Trade Shows
Micro Focus produces and participates in events all around the world. Whether you join an on-line Webcast, attend a conference, or visit a business show, you can gain insight into how Micro Focus products can help you solve today's business challenges and prepare you for continued success in the future.
| Australia | Netherlands |
| BeLux | Nordics |
| France | North America |
| Germany | South America |
| Italy |
For more information, visit: Micro Focus Events
Micro Focus Forum
If you haven't visited the new Micro Focus Forum, you should check out what other users of the products are doing there.
http://www.cobolportal.com/microfocusforum/
The COBOL Portal
Have you visited the new COBOL Portal lately?
Many changes and enhancements have been made to the COBOL Portal recently to make it 'the' web site for the COBOL developer.
http://www.cobolportal.com/
Have you visited the Micro Focus SupportLine web page? Have you registered for access?
If you haven't you should!
There are self-help services available on the SupportLine web page that will allow you to find answers to a variety of product questions, provide you with a concentrated sub-site for Net Express information and examples, and give you access to the Micro Focus Forum user community messaging area on the COBOL Portal.
Click on the following links to register (all you need is your personal information and your product serial numbers) to access the SupportLine web page and start benefiting from these services.
Register for an online SupportLine accountAccess the SupportLine Web Page
(c) Micro Focus.
SupportLine Newsletter is a free, monthly email publication for the developer community. Email all correspondence to the editor via SupportLine.Newsletter@microfocus.com
