Generating a Skim File

It is necessary to enter some initial settings. These settings need only be done once. The purpose of these settings are to reserve a "permanent" space on the system to produce the needed file. The system screens that a required are:

1. Create Physical File (CRTPF), and
2. Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT).

After these initial steps are set, then routine creation of files may begin with screen #1 found later in this document.

Screen #1 - Create Physical File (CRTPF)

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for the option CRTPF. Entries here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

TYPE CHOICES, PRESS ENTER.

FROM FILE  . . . . . . . . . . > TESTFILE        NAME
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . . >   WAAA          NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
TO FOLDER  . . . . . . . . . . > CSIPCD

FROM MEMBER  . . . . . . . . .   *FIRST          NAME, *FIRST
TO DOCUMENT  . . . . . . . . . > SKIM.TXT        NAME, *FROMMBR
REPLACE DOCUMENT . . . . . . .   *YES            *NO, *YES
TRANSLATE TABLE  . . . . . . .   *DFT            NAME, *DFT, *NONE
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . .                   NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
FORMAT OF PC DATA  . . . . . .   *TEXT           *TEXT, *NOTEXT

Items in bold underline are need for steps on screens #ii, #4, and #5.

Note:Please note that the following line,

LIBRARY . . . . . . . . . . . WAAA NAME, *CURLIB

should carry the station's call letters instead of WAAA.

Screen #ii - Grant Object Authority (GRTOBJAUT)

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for the option GRTOBJAUT. Entries here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

TYPE CHOICES, PRESS ENTER.
OBJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . .   TESTFILE     NAME, GENERIC*, *ALL
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . . .     WAAA       NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB, *ALL...
OBJECT TYPE  . . . . . . . . . .   *FILE        *ALL, *ALRTBL, *BNDDIR...
USERS  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   *PUBLIC      NAME, *PUBLIC
               + FOR MORE VALUES
AUTHORITY  . . . . . . . . . . .   *ALL         *CHANGE, *ALL, *USE...
               + FOR MORE VALUES
AUTHORIZATION LIST . . . . . . .                NAME
REFERENCE OBJECT . . . . . . . .                NAME 
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . . .     *LIBL      NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
REFERENCE OBJECT TYPE  . . . . .   *OBJTYPE     *OBJTYPE, *ALRTBL, *BNDDIR...

Items in bold underline were obtained from information entered on screen #i.

Note: As with screen #i, please note that the following line,

LIBRARY . . . . . . . . . . . WAAA NAME, *CURLIB

should carry the station's call letters instead of WAAA.

Creating the Skim Report

The Columbine Inventory Skim may usually be prepared by anyone with the proper authorization. All Columbine reports are delivered to a print spooler on the system and from there queued for routing to the system printer. Reports are generally printed in the sequence they are queued as long as the report form matches the current setting for the printer and the printer is online. In this case, the skim report will not actually be printed but directed to a disk file.

After initial settings are completed, steps for creating the skim may be started here.

On the Columbine system, from an INVENTORY selection menu, the PRINT SKIM option (sometimes labeled as PS) should be chosen.

Screen #1 (a) - Print Skim

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen when first choosing the PRINT SKIM option. Entries should mirror example text below, but may vary between systems, so assistance from a Computer Engineer or Columbine Representative may be beneficial.

                 KEYED INFORMATION                SYSTEM RESPONSE
Station.............   T      (Or other station code)
Start date.........+    91195 (Monday date of the current week)
Report date........+          (Leave blank)
Number of weeks....+   20     (Enter typical # of weeks)
Print sequence......   GP
Report format.......   DY
Create PC file......   N   File Name.....(Leave blank)
Print options:
 All groups.........   Y      (Or select  N to choose group codes)
 Holds..............   N
 Sections              1234567890
 ...................   (Leave blank)
 Exceptions.........   N
 Group 000..........   N
 Movables...........   N
 Total capacity.....   Y
 Total sold.........   Y
 Avail breakdown....   N
 MCP count..........   N
 Available time.....   Y
 Group 0 exceptions.   N   Detail or summary: D

Note:

Please note that the following lines,

Print sequence......   GP
Report format.......   DY
Total capacity.....   Y
Total sold.........   Y
Available time.....   Y

are particularly important in entering responses as exampled.

Once these entries have been modified, pressing the Enter¿ key should enable the next screen to appear.

Screen #1 (b) - Print Skim

Entries for this screen should closely mirror the exampled text.

                       KEYED INFORMATION                SYSTEM RESPONSE
Include in time
calculations:
Section Numbers        1234567890
....................   XXXXXXXXXX    (Remove any Xs where sections are N/A)
Hold records........   Y
Skim figures........   U       (U for units, M for minutes)

Note:Please note that with the following lines,

Section Numbers 1234567890

.................... XXXXXXXXXX

any X's where the respective section numbers do not apply for processing should be removed. A Traffic Director and/or a Sales Manager may have record of the numbers that only apply.

Also, please note with the line,

Skim figures........ U

the selection U for units is preferred for processing.

Once these entries have been modified, pressing the Enter¿ key typically allows processing to begin.

Holding the Skim Report

After the request to create the skim had been made, the next steps require working with the output queue to hold the skim. Holding the skim will prevent the report from being directed to a printer. The following example screens reference how to capture the report.

Typically, a SYSTEM master menu (or labeled SYSTEM FUNCTIONS) should carry an option to work with an output queue. Such an option may be labeled as WORK WITH OUPUT QUEUE or SPOOL FILE STATUS / SPOOL JOB. Such an option should be chosen immediately after the request for creating the skim has been made for the Columbine system.

Screen #2 - Work With Output Queue (VIEW 1)

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for working with the output queue. Names for items here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

WORK WITH OUTPUT QUEUE
QUEUE:   QPRINT2        LIBRARY:   OGPL           STATUS:   RLS
TYPE OPTIONS, PRESS ENTER.
  1=SEND   2=CHANGE   3=HOLD   4=DELETE   5=DISPLAY   6=RELEASE   7=MESSAGES
  8=ATTRIBUTES        9=WORK WITH PRINTING STATUS
OPT  FILE        USER        USER DATA   STS   PAGES   COPIES  FORM TYPE   PTY
     QPRINT      CSI         TIS040      RDY      95       1   *STD         5
     QPRINT      CSI         TIS050                1       1   *STD         5

Note: Please note that with the following lines,

OPT  FILE    USER    USER DATA   STS   PAGES   COPIES  FORM TYPE   PTY
     QPRINT  CSI     TIS040      RDY      95       1   *STD         5
     QPRINT  CSI     TIS050                1       1   *STD         5

the first line serves as display headings for following lines. The second line in this case is the line that identifies the requested skim. In particular, the high number of pages is a good indication of this.

It is this line that identifies the Columbine skim in which one should:

1. Move the cursor to the skim's display line,
2. Key in 3 (for 3=HOLD),
3. Press the Enter key.

The option 3 is the option to hold the skim and prevent it from being routed to an output queue.

Also, it is very important to note the file associated with the skim is named QPRINT. This name typically identifies an output queue of a printer. However, in this case it needs to be an output queue NOT associated with a printer. The name QPRINT historically has been an output queue that has worked satisfactorily in holding skim reports.

In proceeding to the next needed step, pressing

F11 (for F11=VIEW 2)

typically allows screen #3 to appear.

Screen #3 - Work With Output Queue (VIEW 2)

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for working with the output queue. Names for items here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

WORK WITH OUTPUT QUEUE
QUEUE:   QPRINT2        LIBRARY:   OGPL           STATUS:   RLS
TYPE OPTIONS, PRESS ENTER.
  1=SEND   2=CHANGE   3=HOLD   4=DELETE   5=DISPLAY   6=RELEASE   7=MESSAGES
  8=ATTRIBUTES        9=WORK WITH PRINTING STATUS
OPT  FILE        FILE NBR  JOB         USER        NUMBER  DATE      TIME
     QPRINT           2    TSKIMQ      CSI         044388  10/03/95  11:03:19
     QPRINT           3    TSKIMQ      CSI         044388  10/03/95  11:04:03

Items in bold italic are needed for screen #4. These items should be noted and written down.

Redirecting Skim to Disk

From Screen #3 (WORK WITH OUTPUT QUEUE), while the Columbine skim has been place in hold (3=HOLD), it is here where one should key in:

F3 (for F3=EXIT)

to return to the SYSTEM master menu (or labeled SYSTEM FUNCTIONS). From here typically, one must type the command:

CPYSPLF

(or a function key possibly F4) to access the Columbine system screen for copying spooled files.

Screen #4 - Copy Spooled File (CPYSPLF)

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for copying spooled files. Information must be entered to identify which file (a skim on-hold) to copy to disk. Names for items here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

COPY SPOOLED FILE (CPYSPLF)
TYPE CHOICES, PRESS ENTER.
SPOOLED FILE . . . . . . . . . . > QPRINT        NAME
TO DATA BASE FILE  . . . . . . . > TESTFILE      NAME
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . . . >   WAAA        NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
JOB NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . > TSKIMQ        NAME, *
  USER . . . . . . . . . . . . . >   CSI         NAME
  NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . >   044388      000000-999999
SPOOLED FILE NUMBER  . . . . . . > 2             1-9999, *ONLY, *LAST
TO MEMBER  . . . . . . . . . . .   *FIRST        NAME, *FIRST
REPLACE OR ADD RECORDS . . . . .   *REPLACE      *REPLACE, *ADD

Items in bold underline were obtained from information entered on screen #i.

Items in bold italic were obtained from information entered on screen #3.

After the above items have been entered, on must press

F10 (for ADDITIONAL PARAMETERS).

The following lines will appear on the bottom of your screen and must be modified as the following.

ADDITIONAL PARAMETER
CONTROL CHARACTER  . . . . . . .   *PRTCTL       *NONE, *FCFC, *PRTCTL...

When entries are completed, pressing the Enter key typically returns the display to the SYSTEM master menu (or labeled SYSTEM FUNCTIONS).

Note: It is crucial that the *PRTCTL parameter is specified. Failure to include the parameter means a loss of data, leaving the skim file unusable for Maxagrid processing.

Screen #5 - Copy to PC Document (CPYTOPCD)

From the SYSTEM master menu (or labeled SYSTEM FUNCTIONS), one must type the command:

CPYTOPCD

(or possibly a function key) to access the Columbine system screen for copying spooled files to a PC document (DOS ASCII text format).

The following text should mirror the Columbine system screen for copying spooled files to a PC document. Information must be entered to identify which disk file to copy to a PC Document. Names for items here may vary according to the setup of the Traffic system. It may be necessary for a Computer Engineer and/or a Columbine Representative to assist.

COPY TO PC DOCUMENT (CPYTOPCD)
TYPE CHOICES, PRESS ENTER.
FROM FILE  . . . . . . . . . . > TESTFILE        NAME
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . . >   WAAA          NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
TO FOLDER  . . . . . . . . . . > CSIPCD

FROM MEMBER  . . . . . . . . .   *FIRST          NAME, *FIRST
TO DOCUMENT  . . . . . . . . . > SKIM.TXT        NAME, *FROMMBR
REPLACE DOCUMENT . . . . . . .   *YES            *NO, *YES
TRANSLATE TABLE  . . . . . . .   *DFT            NAME, *DFT, *NONE
  LIBRARY  . . . . . . . . . .                   NAME, *LIBL, *CURLIB
FORMAT OF PC DATA  . . . . . .   *TEXT           *TEXT, *NOTEXT

Items in bold underline were obtained from information entered on screen #i.

Note: Please note that with the following lines,

TO FOLDER  . . . . . . . . . . > CSIPCD
TO DOCUMENT  . . . . . . . . . > SKIM.TXT        NAME, *FROMMBR

specifies the DOS directory path and file name where the created PC document will reside. It is recommended that these entries remain static so as to minimize confusion.

Note: Some Traffic Managers have been successful in using the following DOS command to get the file on disk:

Copy J:\csipcd\skim.txt A:

1. J identifies drive where the directory csipcd resides
2. Skim.txt identifies file name (A station should produce that data format in which sales staff typically sells or monitors the inventory For "Traffic Loads" processed as "Units & Time", two files must be created, one as units-based the other as time-based. The file name should indicate weather is units or time oriented (i.e., skimun.txt [for units-based file], skimtm.txt [for time-based file]).
3. Identifies where you want the file copied to.

From this point, a Columbine Skim should be successfully generated to a PC-based disk file. The file may now serve as input for Maxagrid processing. This Traffic file generation should be documented specifically for the station so that it may be replicated in a production environment.

Note: The following pages illustrate a sample Columbine Skim file. A skim file generated for the station should mirror the example. The best method to compare is to open the disk file into any of today's popular word processors.

Trouble Shooting

• Often a Skim file is created incorrectly, resulting in bad data. One common error during the AS400 spool is for the user to specify the *PRTCTL option. Specifying this option produces the Print Control instructions to appear at the left margin of the report file. Note the above file examples, the offset caused by the *PRTCTL option is included, but each has the column dates needed for processing. Without the *PRTCTL option, the spooled file is created as if it were sent to a printer, that is following lines of underscore characters overwrite the column dates

• For more information on Columbine, refer to Maxagrid Help Documentation "Generating Columbine Skim to Disk File."

• Popular software packages available for pulling files from an AS/400 and S36 are IBM Client Access, RUMBA, and PC Support.

004 SKIM AVAILABILITY FOR WAAA-FM    AS OF  7/08/96 AT  3:38PM ************************************ PAGE:      1
   1DATE RANGE: FROM  7/15/96 TO 10/06/96                                             USER CSI    FROM DSP02      GROUP NAME     LTC
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    7/15/96      7/16/96      7/17/96      7/18/96      7/19/96      7/20/96      7/21/96      UNDAY     - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD           20  45%      21  42%      26  52%      25  50%      28  56%      14  28%      15  36%
   1 AVAILABLE            24  55%      29  58%      24  48%      25  50%      22  44%      36  72%      27  64%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    7/22/96      7/23/96      7/24/96      7/25/96      7/26/96      7/27/96      7/28/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD           14  32%      21  42%      28  56%      37  74%      30  60%      25  50%      21  50%
   1 AVAILABLE            30  68%      29  58%      22  44%      13  26%      20  40%      25  50%      21  50%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    7/29/96      7/30/96      7/31/96      8/01/96      8/02/96      8/03/96      8/04/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD           11  25%      11  22%      11  22%      15  30%      15  30%      11  22%      14  33%
   1 AVAILABLE            33  75%      39  78%      39  78%      35  70%      35  70%      39  78%      28  67%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    8/05/96      8/06/96      8/07/96      8/08/96      8/09/96      8/10/96      8/11/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD            9  20%      13  26%      13  26%      18  36%      18  36%      16  32%      11  26%
   1 AVAILABLE            35  80%      37  74%      37  74%      32  64%      32  64%      34  68%      31  74%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    8/12/96      8/13/96      8/14/96      8/15/96      8/16/96      8/17/96      8/18/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD            7  16%       8  16%      11  22%      16  32%      13  26%      12  24%      12  29%
   1 AVAILABLE            37  84%      42  84%      39  78%      34  68%      37  74%      38  76%      30  71%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    8/19/96      8/20/96      8/21/96      8/22/96      8/23/96      8/24/96      8/25/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD           11  25%      13  26%      15  30%      19  38%      19  38%      15  30%      14  33%
   1 AVAILABLE            33  75%      37  74%      35  70%      31  62%      31  62%      35  70%      28  67%
004 SKIM AVAILABILITY FOR WAAA-FM    AS OF  7/08/96 AT  3:38PM ************************************ PAGE:      2
   1DATE RANGE: FROM  7/15/96 TO 10/06/96                                             USER CSI    FROM DSP02      GROUP NAME     LTC
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    8/26/96      8/27/96      8/28/96      8/29/96      8/30/96      8/31/96      9/01/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD           10  23%      12  24%      10  20%      20  40%      20  40%      18  36%      17  40%
   1 AVAILABLE            34  77%      38  76%      40  80%      30  60%      30  60%      32  64%      25  60%
   2010 12AM-5AM M-SU   MONDAY      TUESDAY     WEDNESDAY     THURSDAY      FRIDAY      SATURDAY      SUNDAY      MIDNIGHT-5AM MONDAY-S
   1PR LIM:  1/Break    9/02/96      9/03/96      9/04/96      9/05/96      9/06/96      9/07/96      9/08/96                - TFN
   0________________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
   1 TOTAL CAPACITY       44           50           50           50           50           50           42
   1 TOTAL SOLD            3   7%       4   8%       7  14%       9  18%       7  14%       2   4%       3   7%
   1 AVAILABLE            41  93%      46  92%      43  86%      41  82%      43  86%      48  96%      39  93%