Pimp My Font Size, Win a No-Prize

Published: October 29, 2008

Good-day, Joe:

I have a problem with duplicate 5250 sessions. On our sessions, we change the default screen display font to another font size, such as Courier New. However when we start a second session with the same iSeries Access workstation profile, the screen font reverts back to its default font size: a regular IBM3270 font. What's going on here and why can't I use a different font size on multiple sessions?

--Jean-Pierre

To solve this problem, I went with my default philosophy for debugging computer issues.

IF I CAN DUPLICATE IT, I CAN SOLVE IT!!!

Unfortunately things don't always work out as planned. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the issue and how I tried to solve it.

Problem de Jour

With iSeries Access for Windows, you can change the default display font for your 5250 green screens. You do this by selecting Edit→Appearance→Font Size from the PC5250 menu bar. This brings up the Select Display Font screen, where you can change your display font to a small number of other fixed and automatic font sizes. Once changed, your PC5250 window will display all its text with the new font size.

Unfortunately, this process has a few flaws with the PC5250 program that comes with iSeries Access for Windows V5R4M0. Here are the kinks I found with selecting a new display font. They all mirror what Jean-Pierre found so I'm assuming these are either quirks with the emulator or there's some strange IBM reason this doesn't work for more than one session.

1. I discovered that you cannot get to the Select Display Font option when the 5250 session window is maximized. When maximized, the Edit→Appearance→Font Size option is grayed out and it cannot be accessed. You can only select this option if you're in a reduced sized window. I reduced the size of my 5250 window by clicking on the Restore Down button in the upper right-hand corner of the window. Once the window was reduced, I was able to access the Select Display Font panel.
2. Inside the Select Display Font panel, I changed the font size (IBM calls it Face Name) from its default IBM3270 font to a regular Courier New font. I clicked on OK and it changed the font size on my screen. When I maximized the window again, the changed font size remained the same.
3. I saved my changes and I tried to start a second 5250 session by selecting File→Run the Same from the menu bar. The new session started but the default screen font went back to the default IBM3270 font.
4. I then closed all my open 5250 sessions and started everything up from scratch. When I reopened the profile with the changed font size, it used the Courier New font for all its 5250 screen text. However, when I clicked on that same 5250 profile a second time, the second session started with the default IBM3270 font.

After doing some research inside iSeries Access and on the Internet, I couldn't find any solution to Jean-Pierre's problem. So I'm going to do what I sometimes do in situations like this. I'm escalating the problem to the most intelligent, 5250-savvy, brave, and, dare I say, handsome readers in world.

YOU!!!! The readers who follow my Admin Alert column every week.

I'm officially launching a new contest to help Jean-Pierre with his problem and to explain to everyone what the heck is going on with the display font size in iSeries Access 5250. If you think you know the answer to these pressing questions, send it over to me via the IT Jungle Contact page.

For every person who can explain why this function is more brain-dead than the U.S. presidential administration and Congress, I'll give you a shot at immortality and rare gifts by doing the following:

• Publishing your name and explanation of the problem.
• Awarding you a special election year No Prize. Pioneered by Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in the 1960s, the No Prize is the beloved and sought after award for real IT Jungle readers who display it proudly in their no-trophy case. Unlike your IRAs and 401k, a No Prize never loses value and it will never crash. It will only become more beautiful during your retirement, assuming you're ever able to retire. And there are no taxes to pay when you receive a No Prize. It fits in with any décor, any color, any motif. Your No Prize will become a classic addition to your home and all your friends and relatives will admire it because, after all, nothing is like a No Prize.

So write in and tell me what's wrong with Select Display Format (why I can't change it in maximized format and why it doesn’t hold for more than one session) and I'll send the answers over to Jean-Pierre.

Thanks for playing our game.

--Joe

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