Visual LANSA Framework (VLF) EPC839

Date : 21st April 2009

Visual LANSA Framework (VLF) EPC839 provides a 5250 emulator alternative to newlook for RAMP applications, RAMP-TS, and new features that improve performance, productivity, functionality and usability.  Going forward the version of RAMP that utilizes newlook will be referred to as RAMP-NL and the new version utilizing the new emulator will be referred to as RAMP-TS.

Get this EPC

Download EPC839 via the LANSA Support Portal

Product

Visual LANSA Framework (VLF)

Build Number

839

Pre-Requisite Details

LANSA systems must be at Version 11 SP5 - Service Pack 5 with EPC834 (or later).
For RAMP-TS applications Axes software must be at version 132 (or later).
Any newlook software used with RAMP applications must be at version 8.0.5.14769 (or later).
If you upgrade Newlook software from version 7.0 to 8.0, new license codes may be required.
An IBM supported operating systems on System i. More details...

Future Planning Notice

Shipped demonstration material and examples will continue to be biased towards multilingual and RDMLX enabled LANSA partitions.

Valid Upgrade Paths

Your Current VLF Level

Can you upgrade directly to EPC839?

Additional Actions you need to take that are NOT described in this document

EPC793

Yes

Obtain copies of the EPC804.HTM, EPC826.HTM and EPC831.HTM upgrade notices.
Consolidate the Additional Actions they advise into your upgrade planning for EPC839.

EPC804

Yes

Obtain a copy of the EPC826.HTM and EPC831.HTM upgrade notices.
Consolidate the Additional Actions they advise into your upgrade planning for EPC839.

EPC826

Yes

Obtain a copy of the EPC831.HTM upgrade notice.
Consolidate the Additional Actions it advises into your upgrade planning for EPC839.

EPC831

Yes

Perform the Additional Actions in this document only.

Full Distribution

This is a full distribution. It may be used to install a brand new VLF or to upgrade an existing one.

Additional Actions

Existing VLF web browser applications must be (re)saved so as to (re)generate the associated HTML and JavaScript definition files before executing the application.
The regenerated HTML and JavaScript files need to be (re)deployed to production environments as part of your upgrade plan.

If you are using RAMP-NL then you may need to upgrade to the correct newlook version.

If you are using RAMP-NL then you will need to merge the shipped VF_Macro information (see below).

System i / IBM i Specific Special Notes

The System i / IBM i instructions are expedited procedures that assume a sound knowledge of OS/400.
You should perform upgrades under a user profile that is QSECOFR, part of the QSECOFR group, or, has *ALLOBJ and *SECADM special authorities.

Document Updates

Updates to these guides are part of this EPC:

·  LANSA047.chm - Deployment Check Lists for Visual LANSA Framework

·  LANSA048.chm - Visual LANSA Framework Guide

·  LANSA049.chm – RAMP-NL Guide

·  LANSA050.chm - RAMP-TS Guide

·  VLFNETSDK.chm - VLF .NET Snap-in Components Guide

·  A new version of the "LANSA Interactive Training Resources" CD is associated with this EPC.

Major New Features in EPC839

Refer to the "What's New" section in these guides:

·  LANSA048.chm - Visual LANSA Framework Guide

 

Corrections and Other Features in EPC839 [Click here to Show table...]

CCS id.

Description

133447

A problem has been corrected where the emulated search from a RAD-PAD gives errors if the resulting instance list is made up of Peers, some of which have children.

133451

A problem has been corrected with the "Show Additional Columns in Tree/List" property being ignored by the RefreshRelations method.

133786

An issue has been corrected where the Messages dialogue was associated with the main window even though it had been launched from a seperate window.

135445

Solves problem with RAMP web/Net applications when initiating a child object level command from a right mouse click on a parent instance list entry.

135959

The Instant Prototyping Assistant now puts the GUID into the User Object/Type property of Applications, Business Objects and Commands for DBCS languages.

135987

VLF.NET applications failed when displaying RAD-PADs in non-RDMLX partitions when attempting to execute a non-existent WAM. This problem has been corrected.

136038

The FP_RFILE fast part has been deprecated and shipped examples of using it are not longer supplied. The deprecation is the result of Microsoft security changes.

136094

Different command defaults may now be specified for different business object subtypes. Peer business objects are now only allowed at the top level in instance list trees.

136155

Wasted screen area between a mini-filter and the toolbar business object selection button has been freed up for use.

136204

An issue with not re-executing an already displayed screen wrapper is now corrected.

136238

The behaviour of VLF.NET has been changed so that when you click on a business object instance, the default command handler is (re)executed when returning from another business object and the original command handler is not displayed, eg. in the case of a RAMP command handler.

136278

Newlook dynamic naming is now enabled. Please refer to following documentation addendum and heed all displayed usage warnings before using. Use without a proper understanding of newlook’s screen identification techniques may cause confusion.

136281

Double quotes in the value parameter in SETVALUE function calls are now handled correctly.

136344

A problem has been corrected where changed filter snap in settings were sometime lost when toggling between different desktop windows.

136426

When clicking away from, and back to, a business object with a custom instance list browser using blank/default business object types, the command handler for the business object was not correctly redisplayed.

136450

The memo fast part value does not save properly if there is nothing in the memo (e.g. if the user delete the content of a memo entirely, the content will return after posting the page).

136566

An intermittent problem with some IE versions with loading large functions in JavaScript files has been circumvented. The large JavaScript functions are now segmented into multiple smaller functions.

136603

The UCAPTIONPOSITION property of fast parts FP_RCOMB FP_RDATE FP_RHTML FP_RIMAG FP_RLINK FP_RMEMO and FP_RTIME was being overridden to "NONE". This is now fixed

136631

Using accented characters in the Quick Search box is now properly supported.

136871

Problem with avCheckUserAuthority returning ERROR instead of FALSE when the object is a COMMAND which doesn't belong to the current Business Object has been corrected.

136883

A problem with the Server Definition form not displaying correctly under a font setting of 120dpi has been corrected. 120dpi not recommended for Design, Developer or Admin mode.

136923

This change allows programmers write snap instance list handlers that can signal SetCurrentInstance with a new option ExecuteDefaultCmd(FALSE). This causes the framework to not execute a command when the user clicks on an entry in the snap in instance list.

136924

Hotfix 3 provides an additional (internal) framework level property, UDFTSTAYACTIVE to force unused command handlers to terminate when moving between different business objects.

136943

Additional Column information was not added to instance list entries when switching. This has now been fixed.

137037

A problem has been corrected with the List fast part in VLF.NET applications where the sizing of the List Fast Part is not effective.

137039

Display of the user profile that was used to sign on when users are asked to log on again after an inactivity time out causes confusion if it is different to the profile the user is shown. The time out log on screen has been improved to refer to the profile visible to the user if it is different to the profile used to log on.

137092

The VLF shipped demonstration application has new commands to turn application tracing on or off. This means that tracing can now be activated in User mode as well as Designer or Developer mode.

137251

This allows web switching to business objects that are not displayed in the navigation tree. However this is for backwards compatibility only. You should not design applications that do this. (as stated in the documentation)

137306

A problem has been corrected in User Details where the User Inactivity Timeout value was not retained if another user was selected while the field still had focus. This value is now saved as it is entered.

137345

The execution priority for super-server jobs can now be set in the server definition. The default priority is 20 however if it is set to a lower figure the super-server job will have a higher priority and receive better service from the CPU. See Execution Priority in the VLF Guide.

137375

A suffix of any text can now be added to the current window or toolbar caption. See FAQ "Can I change the business object instance caption that appears in the area above my command handlers?" in the VLF Guide.

137376

It is now possible to add X_RUN exceptional arguments to System i server definitions. See Server Overrides in the VLF Guide.

Installation - Developer's Visual LANSA Workstations (VL-IDEs)

1.     LOAD: Double-click on EPC839.exe to execute it. If you have multiple Visual LANSA configurations a dialog box will be displayed listing the available LANSA configurations on your machine. Select the Visual LANSA configuration to which the EPC is to be applied. When you have selected the correct Visual LANSA configuration and pressed OK the EPC will be loaded ready for installation.

2.     INSTALL: Start your Visual LANSA IDE. Select the LANSA partition to be updated with this EPC. On the Visual LANSA logon screen click on the "Partition Init..." button and select the "Visual LANSA Framework" option. When this operation completes EPC839 has been installed into the partition.

3.     REPEAT: The preceding step for each LANSA partition that is to be installed or updated.

4.     CHECK: That all Additional Actions from this and any other relevant EPC documents have been completed.

Note: If you are using RAMP-NL, then you should repeat the merge of the shipped Newlook macro VF_Macro into your Newlook client. See "Installation and Configuration" -> "Merge Shipped Macros into Newlook" in the RAMP-NL guide for details of how to do this.

Installation - Developer's Windows Servers

If you are using server side components of the Visual LANSA Framework, update any additional (ie: non-local) development Windows servers you are using.
Refer to "Setting up your Framework Environment" -> "Windows Web Server" in the Visual LANSA Framework Guide for detailed instructions.

Installation - Developer's System i / IBM i servers

If you are using server side components of the Visual LANSA Framework or are using RAMP, then you need to update any development System i / IBM i servers you are using. Refer to "Setting up your Framework Environment" -> "Install the Framework on the Server" -> "System i / IBM i Apache Web Server" in the Visual LANSA Framework Guide (lansa048.chm) for detailed instructions. Note that if you are only using RAMP you do not have to complete the HTTP web server setup steps.

Note: It is strongly recommended that the System i / IBM i LANSA import step in these procedures is performed under a strongly authorized user profile such as QSECOFR, a member of the QSECOFR group or the appropriate LANSA partition security officer.

Installation - Production/End User Workstations and Servers

Visual LANSA Framework components are deployed to production environments as a part of your own application deployment strategy because they are actually part of your application, not part of LANSA per se. Remember that web browser HTML and Javascript files need to be (re)saved and (re)deployed as part of this process for EPC839. If you are upgrading directly from EPC level 793, 804, 826 or 831 additional considerations may apply. Refer to the "Valid Upgrade Paths" section earlier in this document for considerations.

© 2009 LANSA