Gaining full access to your database files is not always easy but is often necessary. After all, they're your files and objects, right? What's more, trying to manage all those database files and objects might even make you feel as if you're wearing a straightjacket as opposed to a spandex body suit. Not only are you confined to what you can do with your files, but also what you can do requires quite a bit of coding, which can often discourage you from even trying. Applied Logic's File Edit Utility (FEU) provides a flexible solution to help you acess any file or object in your database.

Wield the Power

Applied Logic's FEU is ready to go and requires no extra programming. All you have to do is install it, and you have the massive power of your database at your fingertips. FEU lets you do file inquiries, edit, scan, print, delete, restore deleted records, export data, and convert spool files to PDF, TXT, or HTML formats.

Along with these capabilities, FEU offers many security and tracking functions to protect your information. FEU keeps a log of every change, how it was made, and who made it. This way, you always know what has been happening to the files and objects in your database. Furthermore, the product has an undo function, which lets you nullify global changes.

Find an Object and Run with It

With FEU, you can find, select, view, and edit objects in your database. So, how does it work? The first screen displayed when FEU Professional opens is Select Object and/or View. It is here that your database's workout begins, as Figure 1 shows.

You have many different options to help make the most out of your database. First, to select an object you want to work with, key in the name of the desired physical file, logical file, data area, or user space. If you do not know the exact name of the file object you are looking for, you can press F4 to get a list of the files contained within the specified library (which you specify on the second line of the screen). Still not sure exactly what you are looking for? FEU takes care of that too. Press F14 to arrive at the Find Objects screen, where you can locate all objects on your system. You can even search using a wildcard. Once you pick the library and file you want to edit or view, key in the name of the member you want to work with or the object type you have chosen.

After you indicate the object you want to view, you decide how to handle this object or member. First, you choose the mode in which you want to view the object. FEU has two choices: Browse Mode or Edit Mode. In Browse Mode, you can view your object but not edit it. This mode works as a safeguard against any accidental changes to your database. If you do want to edit the object, however, Edit Mode lets you do that.

Next, you pick how you want to view your object. You can select a custom view or create one from an RPG file definition or an IDDU data dictionary. So, the next time you want to check out an object in your database, open FEU and run with it.

Stretching Your Database

Along with helping you access the objects in your database, FEU offers many other features. For example, it gives you the ability to restore deleted records. Within the Deleted Records Display screen, you can restore a single record, all the records in a file, or a block of records. Plus, you can print a deleted records report.

FEU also incorporates encryption security by employing a 128-bit encryption method. When using FEU's Extract function, you have the option to encrypt the physical file(s) that you are extracting. FEU can also decrypt any files previously encrypted during the Extract function; the decryption is placed in a specified library.

Another tool of Applied Logic's FEU is its complex searching capabilities. FEU provides basic searching such as by field or position, but it also offers a wide range of advanced searching. With FEU, you can look for multiple strings (up to 20 at a time) using AND/OR logic. Furthermore, during these searches you can for instance, count, print, replace, extract, convert, or delete all the objects that match your specified criteria. This gives you the power to work with many objects and files at once.

Why Sweat It?

Applied Logic's FEU can provide an alternative to slaving and sweating over your database. Not only does FEU let you perform multiple functions with your database, but it logs changes as well (if you want it to). FEU's Audit Trail Report feature keeps track of all changes occurring in your database with FEU and places them in a handy little report that is easy to read. With each change, you get a before and after entry, an explanation of what was done (such as change, delete, or add), the file's name, the library in which it resides, the ID of the user who made the change, and when the change was made. So, if you're looking for a way to stop sweating all your database woes, consider giving FEU a workout.

Cassandra Deemer is an editorial assistant for System iNEWS.

Solution Spotlight is a System iNEWS feature that provides more in-depth coverage for selected System i products. Selections are based on staff perception of the product as significant to the System i market. Source material for Solution Spotlights includes user manuals and other documentation provided by product vendors and is not the result of any product testing.

Vendor Contact Information

Applied Logic Corporation

800-588-8695

alcsoftware.com/feu

Requirements: V3R7 or later