Midrange Stuff, OS/400 Edition

Surveyor/400, from Linoma Software, appeals to its growing list of users because it offers better tools than those that come standard on the iSeries. System and database administrators use it to manage objects and database files, and find it particularly useful when searching and removing unused objects. Developers are more likely to use the file editor when adding, changing, deleting, or viewing database records. Last week Linoma introduced its latest release of Surveyor/400, which includes new graphical filters and command prompters.

The new object filter in Surveyor/400 expands the product's capability for working with objects to include all iSeries objects, which can be located using an assortment of search options. Users can then work with those objects by using graphical iSeries commands such as commands to edit authorities, to rename, to move, to delete, and to FTP to other iSeries. It also allows object filters to be saved and quickly accessed for future searches.

The graphical command prompter just added to Surveyor/400 permits prompting and executing popular OS/400 commands. In addition to the standard commands, custom commands can be associated with certain objects, using the command editor. When selecting an object, its relative commands can be prompted or executed based on that object's type and attributes. Single or multiple OS/400 commands can be executed immediately or saved in a script to be run at a later time.

Surveyor/400's productivity tools are designed to graphically edit database files, download/upload database records, FTP objects, manage the IFS, create and change database structures, schedule transfers, view and convert to PDF spool files, and run SQL statements. It also has its own built-in 5250 emulator and can run on Windows, McIntosh, or Linux operating systems.

With the Surveyor/400 announcement, Linoma also released a new version of its Transfer Anywhere product that supports Open PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) certificates to encrypt or sign documents within your FTP, e-mail and IFS (local) distributions.

Transfer Anywhere Version 1.3.0 uses private and public keys from standard key stores (key rings), making it easy to implement and administer encryption for e-mail recipients, FTP servers, and even the iSeries IFS. Open PGP technology combines features from conventional and public key cryptography to provide protection when exchanging messages and data.

In this latest version, Transfer Anywhere also includes an enhanced distribution process to enable e-mail transmission of both FTP and IFS (local) directories and files. FTP and IFS (local) files can be selected through multiple methods, including direct entry of a file name, browsing the FTP/IFS directory and selecting specific files, or through the use of wildcards. When selecting multiple FTP/IFS files, users also have the option to compress files for minimizing transfer size.

Other timesaving features include the capability to create a new transfer from a copy of an existing definition, and an enhanced user interface for executing transfers.

A free 30-day trial of Transfer Anywhere is available from the Linoma Web site, www.linomasoftware.com, where you can also download a free single-user license of Surveyor/400; pricing for unlimited user access is tier-based, from $995 to $3495.

Linoma is currently offering a 30 percent discount on both Surveyor/400 and Transfer Anywhere if purchased in combination before September 30.