Version 7.7.06

• Rolling Up Calculations on Summary Rows. Using the ROLL. operator in conjunction with another prefix operator on a summary line recalculates the sort break values using values from summary lines generated for the lower level sort break.
• Using Multiple Prefix Operators on the Same Measure in SUBTOTAL. You can now reference a field with multiple prefix operators in a summary command using the prefix operator to differentiate between the fields with multiple operators.
• Adding DBA Restrictions to the Join Condition. When DBA restrictions are applied to a request on a multi-segment structure, by default the restrictions are added as WHERE conditions in the report request. When the DBAJOIN parameter is set ON, DBA restrictions are treated as internal to the file or segment for which they are specified, and are added to the join syntax.
• MDN. and MDE. Prefix Operators. You can use the MDN. (median) and MDE. (mode) prefix operators, in conjunction with an aggregation display command (SUM, WRITE) and a numeric or smart date field, to calculate the statistical median and mode of the values in a field.
• Controlling Display of an ACROSS Title for a Single Field. By default, when there is only one field displayed for an ACROSS sort group, no column title displays above that field. Using the SET ACRSVRBTITL command, you can control the display of ACROSS column titles when there is one displayed field for an ACROSS group. The field count that determines whether the ACROSS title displays is affected by certain components in the report request, such as calculated fields or fields in headings. The output is unaffected by SET commands that adjust underlines with titles, adjust the space between columns, or eliminate unpopulated ACROSS columns on the page. The size of the title and the number of lines it occupies also do not affect the output.
• Selecting and Assigning Column Titles to ACROSS Values. When you use the ACROSS COLUMNS phrase to select and order the columns that display on the report output for an ACROSS sort field, you can assign each selected column a new column title using an AS phrase.
• Applying Summary Commands to Selected Fields in ACROSS Groups. When a request has multiple display fields and an ACROSS sort field, the report output has multiple columns under each ACROSS value. If you want to apply a summary field to some of the columns for each ACROSS value, but not others, you can specify the field names you want summarized. This technique is most useful for report requests that use the OVER phrase to place the fields on separate rows.
• DENSE and SPARSE Ranking of Sort Field Values. The FOCUS sort phrases RANK BY and BY {HIGHEST|LOWEST} n sort the report output and assign rank numbers to the sequence of data values. When assigning a rank to a data value, by default FOCUS does not skip rank numbers. This means that even when multiple data values are assigned the same rank, the rank number for the next group of values is the next sequential integer. This method of assigning rank numbers is called dense. Some of the relational engines assign rank numbers using a method called sparse. With sparse ranking, if multiple data values are assigned the same rank number, the next rank number will be the previous rank number plus the number of multiples. You can use the FOCUS RANK parameter to control the type of ranking done by FOCUS. In addition, if you are accessing a relational data source, you can set the ranking method to the type of ranking done by your relational engine so that the rank calculation can be optimized. Some relational engines have functions for both dense and sparse ranking. In this case, either setting can be optimized.
• Adding a New Fact To Multi-Fact Synonyms: JOIN AS_ROOT. The JOIN AS_ROOT command adds a new fact table as an additional root to an existing fact-based cluster (star schema). The source Master File has a parent fact segment and at least one child dimension segment. The JOIN AS_ROOT command supports a unique join from a child dimension segment (at any level) to an additional fact parent.
• Joining From a Multi-Fact Synonym. Multi-parent synonyms are now supported as the source for a unique join to a single segment in a target synonym.
• Improved Handling of a Star Schema With Fan Trap. A new context analysis process has been introduced in this release that detects the multiplicative effect and generates SQL script commands that retrieve the correct values for each segment context. These scripts are then passed to the RDBMS as subqueries in an optimized SQL statement.
• Hierarchical Reporting. Data sources can be organized into dimensions and facts. Dimensions are often organized into hierarchies. Synonyms can have attributes that describe the dimension hierarchies, and FOCUS has hierarchical reporting syntax that can automatically report against these hierarchies and display the results indented to show the hierarchical relationships.
• Preventing Visual Overflow. At times, the size defined for the USAGE format of a field may be too small to fit the actual data to be displayed. In previous releases, this scenario would cause asterisks (***) to display in the report output in place of the actual value. Situations that cause this scenario include the case when the display value is larger than the defined display format, or when a value is aggregated, and the summed value does not fit into the space that was allotted for the column by the USAGE format of the field. The EXTENDNUM parameter controls whether asterisks or a number displays.
• Defining and Using Applications. An application is a repository for a group of related components, such as procedures, Master and Access Files, data files, HTML files, PDF files, and image files. It provides a mechanism that both confers a unique identity on the application components and facilitates the sharing of components across applications in an organized manner. A comprehensive set of application (APP) commands are provided to control or manipulate the application components, as well as to facilitate applications that can be written and deployed to any platform.
• Simplified Character Functions. New character functions have streamlined parameter lists, similar to those used by SQL functions. In some cases, these simplified functions provide slightly different functionality than previous versions of similar functions. The new simplified character functions are CHAR_LENGTH, DIGITS, LPAD, RPAD, LTRIM, RTRIM, TRIM_, LOWER, UPPER, SUBSTRING, and TOKEN.
• Simplified Date and Date-Time Functions. New date and date-time functions have streamlined parameter lists, similar to those used by SQL functions. In some cases, these simplified functions provide slightly different functionality than previous versions of similar functions. The new simplified character functions are DTADD, DTDIFF, DTPART, and DTRUNC.
• Reading Selection Values From a File Using WHERE. Instead of typing literal test values in a WHERE phrase, you can store them in a file and refer to the file in the report request. You can then select records based on equality or inequality tests on values stored in the file.
• Reformatting Sort Fields. When displaying a vertical (BY) sort column or horizontal (ACROSS) sort row on report output, you can reformat the sort field values by specifying the new format in the sort phrase. The reformatting affects only the sort field value as displayed on the sort row or column. That is, if the field used as a sort field is referenced in a heading, subheading, footing, subfooting, or summary line, it displays with its original format.
• DB_EXPR Function: Inserting an SQL Expression Into a Request. The DB_EXPR function inserts a native SQL expression exactly as entered into the native SQL generated for a FOCUS or SQL language request.
• Creating a Subquery or Sequential File With HOLD FORMAT SQL_SCRIPT. When used in a request against a relational data source, the HOLD FORMAT SQL_SCRIPT command generates the SQL SELECT statement needed to execute the current query and stores it in the application folder as a file with a .sql extension along with the Master File and Access File pair that describes the SQL answer set.
• Defining a Holiday File. Some date functions that calculate business days use a holiday file to define days that are considered holidays. These days are not counted in calculations based on business days. By default, the holiday file has a file name of the form HDAYxxxx.err and is on your path or, on z/OS, is a member named HDAYxxxx of a PDS allocated to DDNAME ERRORS. In your procedure or request, you must issue the SET HDAY=xxxx command to identify the file or member name. Alternatively, you can define the file to have any name and be stored anywhere or, on z/OS, allocate the holiday file as a sequential file of any name or as member HDAYxxxx of any PDS.
• Automatically Generating FORMAT SQL_SCRIPT for HOLD Files. This feature allows the specification for temporary HOLD file formats to be SQL_SCRIPT. It affects all ON TABLE HOLD requests that do not have an explicit format specified. It also enables you to convert procedures from disk HOLD files to SQL HOLD files through a single SET command.
• DB_INFILE Function: Testing Values Against a File or an SQL Subquery. The DB_INFILE function compares one or more field values in a source file to values in a target file. It returns the value 1 (TRUE) if the set of source fields matches a set of values from the target file. Otherwise, the function returns zero (FALSE). DB_INFILE can be used anywhere a function can be used in a FOCUS request, such as in a DEFINE or a WHERE phrase.
• Enhancements to SET DROPBLNKLINE. The DROPBLNKLINE parameter controls whether blank lines display in a FOCUS report. With the options provided, you can affect blank lines that are automatically generated in different locations within a report. You can choose to drop the blank lines around subtotals, subheadings, and subfootings, as well as certain data lines that may be blank and appear as blank lines on the report output. Additionally, when using borders, you can select to remove blank lines inserted around the headings and footings.
• Validating Parameter Values Without Data File Access: REGEX. Parameter value validation processing has been enhanced to validate the parameter value without accessing the data, using the REGEX mask, which specifies a regular expression.
• SET ASNAMES=FLIP. This setting propagates the field name in the Master File to the ALIAS in the HOLD file and generates field names of the form E01, E02, and so on.
• Unicode Support. Unicode is a universal character encoding standard that assigns a code to every character and symbol in every language in the world. Unicode is the only encoding standard that ensures that you can retrieve or combine data using any combination of languages.

  FOCUS supports a Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) called UTF-8 in ASCII environments, and UTF-EBCDIC in EBCDIC environments.

• Adding a Value Test to RESTRICT=NOPRINT. This extension to RESTRICT=NOPRINT enables you to use a VALUE=expression clause in the RESTRICT command. The expression will be evaluated, and the value will display only if the expression evaluates to true for that value. Any value for which the expression evaluates to false will be replaced on the output by one of the default values.
• Using ACCEPT=SYNONYM in a Master File. ACCEPT=SYNONYM is used to look up values in another data source and retrieve a corresponding display value. The lookup field values must exist in both data sources, although they do not need to have matching field names.
• Storing Localized Metadata in Language Files. If you want to centralize localized column titles, descriptions, and prompts, and apply them to multiple Master Files, you can create a set of translation files and use the TRANS_FILE attribute in a Master File to invoke them.
• Including Sort Objects in the Master File. You can now define sort phrases and attributes in a Master File and reference them by name in a request against the Master File. The entire text of the sort object is substituted at the point in the TABLE request where the sort object is referenced.
• Creating and Using a Master File Profile. This release introduces a profile that you can reference in the Master File that is executed during Master File processing. The Master File profile (MFD_PROFILE) is a FOCEXEC that suspends processing of the Master File for a request, executes, and then returns to processing of the Master File. The profile can be used for many purposes but is especially useful for setting the values of global variables defined in the Master File, creating a lookup file for Master File DEFINE commands or DBA attributes, and creating a DBAFILE, which can be derived from an external data source and used to restrict access during execution of any request that references the Master File.
• Using Global Amper Variables to Create Dynamic DBA Rules. The DBA attributes USER and VALUE can be parameterized using global Dialogue Manager variables. Using this technique, you can create dynamic DBA rules for the connected user without creating a DBAFILE that contains rules for all users. You can obtain the user ID of the connected user and, optionally, a value restriction for that user and insert them directly into the DBA section of the Master File. One convenient way to do this is to use a Master File profile.
• Preserving Blank Space in Delimited Sequential Files. By default, when a delimited file is created using HOLD FORMAT DFIX, trailing blank spaces are removed from alphanumeric data unless they are included within specified enclosure characters. The PRESERVESPACE YES option in the HOLD FORMAT DFIX command preserves leading and trailing blank spaces in the data, even when there is no enclosure character sequence. Using this option in the HOLD command adds the attribute PRESERVESPACE=YES in the FORMAT DFIX Access File. In addition, having PRESERVESPACE=YES in the Access File causes leading and trailing blank spaces to be preserved when reading a FORMAT DFIX file.
• Zero Removal in Date-Time Formats. The components in date-time formats can be displayed using a number of options. For example, when a day number is less than 10, you can display it with zero suppression. Zero suppression replaces the zero with a blank space, leaving the remaining digit in the same position it occupied when the zero was displayed. There are now zero removal options for month and day numbers. Zero removal eliminates the zero and moves the remaining portion of the field one position to the left.
• Reading a Sequential File of a Specified Type (EDAGET). Using the EDAGET command, FOCUS can retrieve common FOCUS file types and use them in a procedure.
• Writing a Sequential File of a Specified Type (EDAPUT). Using the EDAPUT command, you can write any number of lines and save them as common FOCUS file types, either in memory or on disk.
• DESCRIPTION for DEFINE FUNCTION. The DESCRIPTION attribute is now supported in a DEFINE FUNCTION definition.
• DEFINE FUNCTION in the Master File. You can use the results of a DEFINE FUNCTION call in a DEFINE, COMPUTE, or FILTER in the Master File.
• FORMAT XLSX. With Excel 2007, Microsoft introduced enhanced worksheet functionality in a new workbook file format. The XLSX format supports most StyleSheet attributes, allowing for full report formatting. The computer on which the report is being displayed must have Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher installed.

  The FOCUS procedure generates a new workbook containing a single worksheet with the report output containing your defined report elements (headings and subtotals), as well as StyleSheet syntax.

• Using PowerPoint PPTX Display Format. With PowerPoint (PPTX), Microsoft® introduced enhanced functionality in a new presentation file format. FOCUS Release 7.7.06 introduces the capability to retrieve data from any FOCUS supported data source and to generate a PPTX presentation for data analysis and distribution. You can place report output on a specific slide in a PowerPoint template. This enables you to populate existing presentations with preset Slide Masters, styling, and other business content. PowerPoint design templates (POTX) and PowerPoint macro-enabled templates (POTM) are supported.
• Embedded TrueType Font Support Enhancement. You can selectively embed a subset of Unicode (Arial Unicode and MS Lucida Sans Unicode) or Non-Unicode (Tahoma, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Courier New) TrueType fonts into a PDF output file. The generated PDF file will contain only the characters required to render the document.
• Displaying Superscripts On Data, Heading, and Footing Lines. Superscript characters are supported as a text style in text objects using HTML markup tags. The superscript markup tag is now supported in data columns, headings, and footings in HTML, PDF, and PS output formats. Superscript values can be defined within the data, added to virtual fields, or added to text strings displayed in headings and footings.
• ROWOVERFLOW Enhancements for XLSX and EXL2K. ROWOVERFLOW is supported with XLSX report output. The new ROWLIMIT StyleSheet attribute sets the maximum number of rows before the report overflows to a new Worksheet. The ROWOVERFLOW=PBON attribute includes internal FOCUS page breaks in EXL2K and XLSX report output.
• Using EXL2K Formula With Prefix Operators. EXL2K FORMULA output supports prefix operators that are used on summary lines generated by FOCUS commands such as SUBTOTAL and RECOMPUTE. Where a corresponding formula exists in Excel, these prefix operators are translated into the equivalent Excel summarization formula. The results of prefix operators used directly against retrieved data continue to be passed to Excel as values, not formulas.
• Styling Tags for SUBTOTAL and GRANDTOTAL Lines. The tag is the text that is displayed in the left-most portion of each SUBTOTAL and GRANDTOTAL row in a report. The tag is used to identify the type of data represented within this row. The text used to generate this tag can be customized by adding an AS name to the SUBTOTAL syntax.
• Conditional Styling Based on ACROSS Values. FOCUS supports using ACROSS values to define conditional styling within the report. ACROSS values can now be used as part of the conditional expressions used to define styling attributes for each cell in the table.
• SET ACROSSTITLE=SIDE Enhancements. The SET ACROSSTITLE=SIDE command is supported for HTML, EXL2K, and XLSX report output. In prior releases, only PDF report output was supported. The command also supports the BACKCOLOR StyleSheet attribute for the ACROSS titles.
• Reading a Field Containing Delimited Values as individual Rows. A field that contains a list of delimited values (such as email addresses separated by spaces) can now be pivoted to be read as individual rows when an additional segment is added with SEGSUF=DFIX (Delimited Flat File).
• FILEDEF to Memory. The FILEDEF command supports allocating a file to memory, eliminating disk I/O for operations against that file.
• Styles in the Master File. You can define a style on a FIELD declaration in the Master File, and this style will be used to display the field unless it is overridden by the StyleSheet used in the request.
• Business Views of a Master File. A Business View (BV) of a Master File groups related items together to reflect application business logic rather than the physical position of items in the data source. By separating the information model of the data from its physical storage mechanisms, the Business View gives developers and users access to the information they need in order to solve a business problem without involving them in the intricacies of the database design.
• Dimension Views of a Master File. A dimension view of a Master File distinguishes fields as members of a dimension (a hierarchy of fields used to sort and categorize values) or as measures (the values to be aggregated).
• Cluster Joins. A cluster join is a join between different types of data sources. Cluster joins support multiple root segments and dimension views. The SEGSUF attribute specifies the type of data source for each segment.
• Delimited Sequential Files Support RECTYPE and OCCURS. FORMAT DFIX files now support RECTYPE and OCCURS.
• HOLD FORMAT DATREC. This command generates a single-segment HOLD file with missing data flags in each segment. Fields are not aligned on full-word boundaries. It generates standard ACTUAL formats. However, on 64-bit machines, Integers are generated with ACTUAL format I8, instead of I4.
• BYDISPLAY for ACROSS. The BYDISPLAY command has a new ACROSS option that suppresses repeated sort values on the output for both BY and ACROSS sort fields.
• Increased Number of ACROSS Columns. The number of columns output by ACROSS sort phrases can be up to 1151.
• 512-Character Field Names. The following attributes can be a maximum of 512 characters long: FIELDNAME, ALIAS, TITLE, REFERENCE, and PROPERTY.
• FILTER FILE Name Limit Increased. The file name in a FILTER FILE command can be up to 64 characters.
• Compound Layout Syntax. A Compound Layout report is comprised of individual component reports or graphs, either embedded or external. Reports and graphs can be positioned anywhere on the page. You can assign specific pages to combinations of reports and specify how to handle overflow onto additional pages. A Coordinated Compound Layout report is coordinated so that all reports and graphs that contain a common sort field are burst into separate page layouts. Pages are generated for each value of the common sort field, with every component displaying the data it retrieved for that value on that page.
• Table of Contents for Coordinated Compound and Burst Reports. PDF coordinated compound reports defining the Table of Contents page or Bookmarks based on BY field entries can be coordinated (MERGE=ON) to generate a report segmented by the primary sort key.
• Support for Images Stored in BLOB Fields in HTML and DHTML Reports. For data sources that support the Binary Large Object (BLOB) data type, images can be stored in BLOB fields for HTML and DHTML report output.
• Support for Hyperlinks in Text Markups in PDF Report Output. Hyperlinks can be included in text objects to point navigation to other FOCUS procedures, web pages, or web resources, such as an email application.
• Support for Vertical Alignment of Text Markup in PDF Report Output. Text can be vertically aligned within Text Objects in PDF format. This feature supports top, middle, and bottom alignment options to explicitly place text within the defined position and dimensions. The vertical alignment tags can be used in conjunction with the horizontal alignment tags (left, right, full) to control the placement of any text object.
• BYTEORDER Attribute in the Master File. The Master File now supports the BYTEORDER attribute for file data sources to specify whether the most significant byte in Integer values is first or last when files are transferred to a system with a different byte order.

Version 7.7 Release 03

• Restricting Access to Values Using WHERE Criteria. Using FOCUS DBA security, you can restrict access to specific values in a data source. The RESTRICT=VALUE attribute supports those criteria that are supported by the IF phrase. The RESTRICT=VALUE_WHERE attribute supports all criteria supported in a WHERE phrase, including comparison between fields and use of functions. The WHERE expression is passed to a configured adapter when possible.
• LCWORD3: Converting a Character String to Mixed-Case. The LCWORD3 function converts the letters in a character string to mixed-case by converting the first letter of each word to uppercase and converting every other letter to lowercase. In addition, a single quotation mark indicates that the next letter should be converted to uppercase as long as it is neither followed by a blank nor the last character in the input string. For example, 'SMITH' would be changed to 'Smith' and JACK'S would be changed to Jack's.
• FIYR: Obtaining the Financial Year. The FIYR function returns the financial year, also known as the fiscal year, corresponding to a given calendar date based on the financial year starting date and the financial year numbering convention.
• FIQTR: Obtaining the Financial Quarter. The FIQTR function returns the financial quarter corresponding to a given calendar date based on the financial year starting date and the financial year numbering convention.
• FIYYQ: Converting a Calendar Date to a Financial Date. The FIYYQ function returns a financial date containing both the financial year and quarter that corresponds to a given calendar date. The returned financial date is based on the financial year starting date and the financial year numbering convention.
• Retrieving the Current Date or Date-Time Value in Any Valid Format. Dialogue Manager can return the current date or date and time to a variable in any valid date or date-time format. To return the current date or date-time value to a variable, append the date or date-time format to be returned to &DATE. To suppress trailing blanks, append the format to &DATX.
• Summarizing Alphanumeric Columns. By default, subtotals (using the SUBTOTAL and SUB-TOTAL commands) and recalculations (using the RECOMPUTE and SUMMARIZE commands) only display values for numeric report columns. However, you can include alphanumeric columns on these summary lines by either setting SUMMARYLINES=NEW and specifying the columns you want to display on the summary lines, or by using the asterisk wildcard character to display all fields on the summary lines.
• Propagating Mixed-Case Column Titles to a HOLD File. A report request can display custom column titles on the report output by using an AS phrase to specify the title. These names can be propagated as field names to a HOLD Master File by issuing the SET ASNAMES command. With SET ASNAMES=ON, all column titles are converted to uppercase when propagated to the HOLD file. To retain mixed-case column titles as field names, use the SET ASNAMES=MIXED command.
• Column Titles for FML and BY ROWS OVER Requests. By default, the FOR field in an FML request and the last BY field in a request with BY ROWS OVER has no column title. You can use the AS phrase to specify a column title for those fields.
• Passing FOCUS Dates to Excel 2000. By default, when FOCUS creates dates in Excel 2000 (EXL2K) format, the date formats that contain translated values, such as month or day name, are sent as formatted text, preserving the style defined for the report field. Numeric dates are passed to Excel 2000 as standard date values, not as text.
• Passing Dates With Translated Text to Excel 2000. Some translated dates can be sent to Excel 2000 as standard date values with format masks, enabling Excel to use them in functions, formulas, and sort sequences. The SET EXL2KTXTDATE command allows you to specify that translated dates should be sent as date values with format masks instead of text values.
• Passing Dates Without a Day Component. Date formats that do not specify the day value explicitly are defined as the date value of the first day of the month. Therefore, the value placed in the cell may be different from the day component value in the source data field and may produce unexpected results when used for sorting or date calculations in an Excel formula.
• Passing Date Components for Use in Excel Formulas. Dates formatted as individual components (for example, D, Y, M, W) are passed to Excel as numeric values that can be used as parameters to Excel date functions. The values are passed in a general text format and are recognized by Excel as numbers. These values are passed to Excel in the same format regardless of the setting for EXL2KTXTDATE.
• Passing Quarter Formats. Date formats that contain a Quarter component are always passed to Excel as text strings since Excel does not support Quarter formats.
• Passing Date Components Defined as Translated Text. Date formats that do not contain sufficient information to present the valid date result in Excel are not translated to a value, including formats that do not contain year and/or month information. These dates will continue to be sent to Excel as text regardless of the SET EXL2KTXTDATE setting. In the absence of complete information, the year defaults to the current year, so the value sent would be incorrect if this type of format was passed as a date value.
• Hiding Null Columns in ACROSS Groups. Report requests that use the ACROSS sort phrase generate a group of columns (one for each display field in the request) under each value of the ACROSS field. In many cases, some of these columns have only missing or null values. You can use the HIDENULLACRS parameter to hide the display of ACROSS groups containing only null columns. If there is a BY field with a PAGE-BREAK option, columns are hidden on each page of output generated by that PAGE-BREAK option. If the request contains no BY page breaks, ACROSS groups that are missing for the entire report are hidden.
• Hiding ACROSS Groups and Columns Within BY Page Breaks. Hiding null columns is most useful when a BY sort field has the PAGE-BREAK option, either on the BY phrase itself or in an ON phrase. The change in value of the BY field determines when a page break is generated for that BY field. The change in BY field value defines the limits within which the ACROSS columns will be hidden, even if the BY field value spans multiple physical pages.
• Generating Summary Lines and Hiding Null ACROSS Columns. If an entire ACROSS group is hidden, so are the totals generated for the associated BY field value. If any of the columns for the ACROSS value contain non-missing data, the ACROSS group will display with the non-missing columns.
• Using Column Styling and Hiding Null ACROSS Columns. Column styling remains attached to the original column, regardless of whether the column remains in the same place on the report output because of hiding null columns.
• Hiding Null ACROSS Columns in an FML Request. An FML request always has a FOR field that defines the order of specific rows. The FOR field cannot be used to trigger hiding of null ACROSS columns. However, the request can also have a BY field with a PAGE-BREAK option and this can be used to hide null ACROSS columns.
• Controlling Column Title Underlining. The SET TITLELINE command allows you to control whether column titles are underlined on report output.
• Supporting Multiple DST Operators in the Same Request. The handling of DST operators has been improved to support multiple DST operators in the same request and the ability to use DST with ACROSS.
• Controlling Non-Printed Fields Propagated to a HOLD File With SET HOLDLIST=EXPLICIT. The SET HOLDLIST command controls which fields in the request are propagated to a HOLD file. The value ALL propagates all fields referenced in the request, except for NOPRINTed BY fields, to the HOLD file. ALLKEYS propagates all fields in the request, including NOPRINTed BY fields, to the HOLD file. The value PRINTONLY does not propagate NOPRINTed fields to the HOLD file. However, some fields are explicitly specified with the NOPRINT option in the request, and some are implicitly created without the user being aware of them. For example, if you reformat a field, the original version of the field exists in the request but is NOPRINTed on the output. The PRINTONLY setting for HOLDLIST does not distinguish between implicit and explicit NOPRINTs.
• Testing For Null Values in Left Outer Join Requests. In FOCUS, the command SET ALL = ON or JOIN LEFT_OUTER specifies a left outer join. With a left outer join, all records from the host file display on the report output.
• Ignoring ON Phrases for Absent Fields. To make report requests flexible, options may be included that are not needed in every situation. User selections then control the options used for each execution of the request.
• Increase for the Length of All Fields. The total length of all fields in a request can be up to 256K.
• Access Restrictions in a Multi-File Structure. The DBASOURCE parameter determines which security attributes are used to grant access to multi-file structures. By default, access restrictions are based on the host file in a JOIN structure or the last file in a COMBINE structure.
• Support for 128 Sort Phrases in a Request. The total number of sort phrases in a single request (the combination of BY fields and ACROSS fields) is 128. This includes sorts that may be generated internally as part of report processing, such as generating a FOCLIST field.
• 32 Gigabyte XFOCUS Data Sources. An XFOCUS data source can consist of up to 1022 partitions. The maximum size of each individual partition has been increased to 32 gigabytes.
• Increased Length for DEFINE FUNCTION Names. The maximum length of the name for a DEFINE FUNCTION has been increased to 64 characters.
• Controlling Collation Sequence. Collation is defined as a set of rules that apply to the ordering and matching of all language elements that involve comparison of two values.
• Adding and Configuring Fonts. You can add and configure PostScript Type 1 fonts to significantly expand your options for displaying and printing PS and PDF reports, beyond the basic set of fonts distributed with Adobe Reader.
• Using Overflow Worksheets. The maximum number of rows supported by Excel 2003 on a worksheet is 65,536 (65K). When you create an EXL2K output file from a FOCUS report, the number of rows generated can be greater than this maximum.
• Positioning ACROSS Titles on Report Output. In a report that uses the ACROSS sort phrase to sort values horizontally across the page, by default two lines are generated on the report output for the ACROSS columns.
• Using Distinct Operators on Multiple Fields. This feature allows the DST operator to be used on more than one field within a single request and allows the ACROSS horizontal sort to be used with fields that have the DST operator applied. In requests with multiple display fields, the DST operator must be used at the lowest level of aggregation (the last display command in the request).
• Multiple Conditional Headings and Footings. A TABLE request can have more than one page heading or footing. For each heading or footing, a WHEN clause against the data being retrieved can determine whether the heading or footing displays on the report output.
• Displaying Summary Lines Above the Data. The SET SUBTOTALS command controls whether summary lines are displayed above or below the detail lines in a report.
• Selecting Records Without Wildcard Characters. An IF or WHERE clause in a request selects records based on whether they satisfy the criteria specified in an expression.
• Displaying Absolute Values. On certain types of reports, negative values are displayed without a minus sign (-) or any other indication of a negative value. In order to suppress the display of a negative indicator on FOCUS report output, you can use the A option with any numeric format in a DEFINE or COMPUTE command or in the USAGE format for a field in a Master File. This option affects only the display, not the stored value.
• TITLE and DESCRIPTION for a Virtual Field. In a DEFINE FILE command or a DEFINE FUNCTION, you can specify a TITLE and a DESCRIPTION for each virtual field, just as you can for a DEFINE in a Master File.
• Converting Fields Using the FPRINT Function. The FPRINT function converts any type of field except for a text field to its alphanumeric equivalent for display. The alphanumeric representation will include any display options that are specified in the format of the original field.
• Returning a Date Component as an Integer. The DPART function extracts a specified component from a date field and returns it in numeric format.
• Dialogue Manager Variable Names Up to 64 Characters. Dialogue Manager supports labels up to 64 characters long. Label names can consist of letters, numbers, and underscores. Dialogue Manager labels identify a section of code in a FOCEXEC that you can branch to as a result of a -GOTO or -REPEAT command.
• Preventing Procedure Code From Displaying. In order to protect the privacy of your procedure code, you can use the SET DEFECHO=NONE command or the -SET &ECHO=NONE command to prevent the code from displaying for the entire session or connection.
• Reading Master File Fields Into Dialogue Manager Variables. The -READFILE command reads a file by first reading its Master File and creating Dialogue Manager amper variables based on the ACTUAL formats for each field in the Master File.
• Enabling the zIIP Specialty Engine on z/OS. If your site has a zIIP (System z Integrated Information Processor) specialty engine from IBM, you can offload specific categories of workload from the Central Processors to the zIIP.