Uninstalling previous versions (Optional)

There is usually no need to uninstall previous versions of our software. The new installation will simply overwrite any old files no longer required. However, if you would like to uninstall a prior version for some reason rest assured that your previous settings will be retained.

To uninstall a prior version, navigate to the Windows Control Panel (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel, or Start -> Control Panel). Locate and open the item ‘Add/Remove Programs’. You will see a list of programs installed on your computer. Locate the QWS3270 program you want to uninstall in that list and select it, then choose ‘Add/Remove’. Follow the instructions in the dialog shown.

Installation of our software is generally very easy. The default settings will work for most users.

Locate the installer for the program. If you received the program on a CD, simply insert the CD and an install menu should display within a few seconds. If this option has been disabled on your computer, open ‘My Computer’, and click on your CD or DVD drive, and open the setup program manually. If you received the program as an e-mail attachment, save the attachment to your hard-disk. Locate the saved attachment and open it to start the installer. Then simply follow the instructions in the installation wizard.

The installation process will by default place a shortcut to the program on your desktop and create a folder on your Start/Programs menu.

The program requires no additional setup after installation. You only need to provide the connection information if this is a new installation. For details on the connection setup, please see the section on ‘Connecting‘ below.

The installer places a shortcut icon to the program on your desktop which you can use to start the program.

After starting the program for the first time you need to tell it which host you want to connect to. To save this information for future connections we will create a ‘Session’ that you can reuse.

When the program starts you should see a session wizard that will assist you in creating your first connection. If the wizard does not start up automatically, use the QWS3270/New Session Wizard menu item.

Click ‘Next’ in the wizard to create a new session and then enter either the host name (e.g. jollygiant.dnsalias.com) or the IP address of the host you want to connect to. If you don’t have this information, please contact your mainframe administrator.

After entering the host name click ‘Next’ and select the port number that the mainframe host is listening on. The default port is 23 and should work for the majority of connections but in some cases you will need to change the port number. If you do not have the correct port to enter you will need to contact your mainframe administrator.

Click ‘Next’ to select a screen size. The default of 24×80 will work for most connections and is supported by all mainframes. If you select one of the other screen sizes the program will attempt to use it but there is no guarantee that the mainframe will support it.

Click ‘Next’ and enter a name for your session. The session name will only be used to identify this mainframe connection and should reflect information about the host you are connecting to. Please note that the session name must be unique. You can only have one session with a particular name. Click ‘Next’ one more time and if you receive no errors click ‘Finish’ to exit the wizard.

At this time you have created a connection that contains everything the program needs to know to connect to the host. Click on the ‘Connect’ button on the toolbar or use the QWS3270/Connect menu item to open the connection dialog. Choose the session you want to connect to, click ‘Connect’, and if you entered the information correctly you should see the mainframe logon screen within a few seconds.

The above steps (see Connecting) created a simple session setup. For many users, this is all you require. The program offers many options to customize your sessions further. You can remap your keyboard, change the colours the host screens are displayed in, create scripts and attach them to sessions to automate tasks, change fonts and window sizes, create color schemes — almost every part of the program is configurable. For extensive help on most of these options you should consult the help file included with the application. Here is an example of one of the most commonly used setup options.

Connecting automatically

After creating at least one session in the application, you have several different options to automatically connect to a host on application startup:

1. Add a command line option to your desktop shortcut:

The command line option <-z’sessionname’>, where ‘sessionname is the pre-defined session (as defined in the HOST / CONNECT dialog) that you wish to use to connect to the host. The parameters as defined in this session will be used for this connection. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions for additional details regarding command line options.

2. Use ‘Auto Connect’:

The ‘Auto Connect’ option can be used to automatically connect to the host specified in the default host section. Please refer to the online help file included with QWS3270.

3. Use a script file:

A script file can be used to automate tasks in QWS3270, including connecting to a host. Please refer to the online help files, or our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information regarding about the scripting feature.

Fonts, colors and other options

To change options for your session, first connect to the host, then click the ‘Options’ menu and choose the ‘Session’ option. The resulting dialog box will allow the customization of most aspects of the application, such as font types and sizes, colours for displaying text (foreground and background), mouse options, cursor shapes etc. For additional information on these options please refer to the help file included with the application.