Rational Developer for System z

Searching a remote z/OS system

You can search a z/OS® system for file names or for files that contain a search string.

Before you begin

You must first connect to a remote system.

About this task

The Remote z/OS Search window provides a variety of options for searching z/OS systems. The following procedure provides basic search instructions. For more information about the various search options, see Other search options.

Rational® Developer for System z® can return search results incrementally so that you can begin working with search results before all results are returned. To control how frequently search results are updated, see Setting preferences for Remote z/OS Search.

Tip: The Remote z/OS Search window retains the following search options used for a previous search, provided you do not select a different object for the search:
  • The radio buttons in the Search for area
  • The With name field
  • The Content strings field
If you select a new object for a search, Rational Developer for System z assumes you want a new search and clears these options.
The following search options are always retained:
  • The Regular expression check boxes in the Search for area
  • Settings in the Search result options area
  • Settings in the Content string options area
  • The setting of the Search Options button (expanded or collapsed)

Procedure

To search for a file or for file content on a z/OS system:

  1. Open the Remote z/OS Search window by doing one of the following actions:
    • Click the Search button Search icon in the toolbar.
    • Press Ctrl+H.
    • Select Search > Search from the menu bar.
    • In the Remote Systems view or z/OS Projects view, right-click the file or container you want to search and then select Search from the pop-up menu.
    • In the COBOL Editor, PL/I Editor, or System z LPEX Editor, highlight a string and press Ctrl+H.
  2. Click the Remote z/OS Search tab. Remote z/OS Search is the default search view when you initiate a search from the Remote Systems view, z/OS Projects view, Remote System Details view, COBOL Editor, PL/I Editor, or System z LPEX Editor.
  3. Choose the type of file you are searching for:
    • Data set member Select this option to search for a data set member.
    • Sequential data set Select this option to search for a sequential data set, VSAM data set, or generation data set.
    • Partitioned data set Select this option to search for a partitioned data set or generation data group.
  4. Optional: In the With name field, type the file name you want to search for. This field is optional when you are searching for file contents rather than a file name. You can use wildcard characters in the With name field if the Regular expression check box in not selected. Valid characters include * to match any string. Wildcard characters are not allowed in a high-level qualifier.
  5. Optional: In the Content strings field, type the text you want to search for. To perform a file name search, leave this field blank (or type * in the field). To search within a file, you must specify a content string in this field. You can use wildcard and escape characters in the Content strings field. Valid characters include * to match any string, ? to match any character, and \ to specify an escape character for the literals *, ?, or \.
    Note: The Content strings field is not available for Partitioned data set searches.
  6. Optional: Select the Regular expression check box to enter a regular expression for the With name or Content strings field. For the meaning of * and ? in regular expressions, see Class Pattern.
  7. Click Search.

Results

The search window closes and the Remote z/OS Search view opens, listing the search results. You can double-click files listed in this view to open them in the editor. If you request a search for text within files, you can expand the files listed in this view by clicking + next to their names. The lines matching the specified search string are listed beneath these files. You can double-click a line number to open the corresponding file and position the cursor at that line. For more information about working with search results, see Working with search results.

Other search options

About this task

This topic describes some of the additional options available in the Remote z/OS Search window.

Procedure


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