Exporting connection definitions

You can export a set of connection definitions that you have created and share them with other users. The exported file must have a file type of .pref but the name can be anything you choose, for example, connections.pref. If you save the definition file on a shared disk, users can load the connection details into their CICS Explorer. Any changes you make to the central definition file are picked up the next time the user starts CICS Explorer.

About this task

This task explains how to export connection definitions to an external file. The file can be used by an individual user, or shared amongst many users.

Procedure

  1. On the workbench menu bar, click Window > Manage Connections. The Host Connection view opens.
  2. On the view menu bar click the Export Connections button. The Export Connections button The Export Connections to File window opens. The File Location field is prefilled with the default location and filename for the exported connections. You can overtype the location or filename, but the file type must be .pref.
  3. Click OK. All the connection definitions are exported and saved at the location you specified.

Results

Connection definitions are exported as an XML file with a file type of .pref.

What to do next

Optional: You can edit the definitions in the file but you must ensure you maintain the structure otherwise the import or load might fail.

In the following example file the lines that start with <type are the connection types. For example:

<type type="com.ibm.cics.zos.comm.connection.ftp"> is a z/OS - FTP connection

You can remove these lines and any connections under them, however you must remember to remove the </TYPE> end tag as well. You might have more types in your file if you have any plug-ins installed. Each plug-in adds its own connection type.

The lines that start with <name are the connection definitions for each of the connection types. You can remove these lines, add new ones, or change the details, but you must not change any other line. The following example shows a typical exported file. In this example, the file contains definitions for CICSPlex SM, FTP, and CICS connections.