3270 Emulators and Pointer Enabled Tools

PETs can be used with fixed function 3270 terminals, but a lot of the real advantage comes when you exploit the synergy between the PETs programs and the workstation mouse, mediated through a 3270 terminal emulator. This page contains a set of working notes concerning 3270 emulators which I have been able to test with PETs.

Topics

Disclaimers

As you look through these notes, please remember that I am

  • not endorsing any of these emulators (although I do like some better than others);
  • not claiming to be an expert in 3270 emulators;
  • not claiming that emulators not listed don't work (I'd be glad to test them, vendors...);
  • not claiming that some of these emulators can't be configured to work with PETs, but I am claiming that I couldn't figure out how to do it.

    • Enough nots?

    Assessment of 3270 Emulators

    Some of the emulators listed here were downloaded from the Web or sent to me on CD as demo copies which, in due course, expire. So in most cases, with the time I had, I focused on whether the emulators supported more advanced emulations (3279, extended attributes) and how they might be configured to work well with PETs.

    I was looking for a couple of key attributes:

    1. support for several screen sizes, including 32 X 80 (my favorite);
    2. support for extended attributes / extended data stream (not necessary, but nice);
    3. a technique for configuring the mouse action so that the emulator would work well and easily with PETs (required).

    Support for multiple screen sizes and extended attributes was fairly standard across emulators. So the distinguishing characteristic seems to be whether or not the mouse action can be configured properly.

    PETs are most useful if some mouse action(s) emulates moving the cursor to a specific screen location and pressing the ENTER key. That information must be transmitted to VM/CMS so that the PETs can receive it and act upon it.

    So far, I can see four potential mouse click setups that might be implemented by the author of an emulator. I list them here in the order which seems to me the most to least appealing.

    1. 1-click the right mouse button
    2. 2-click the left (or only, for Macintosh) mouse button
    3. 1-click the left mouse button to set the cursor; 1-click the right mouse button to emulate "press ENTER"
    4. 2-click the right mouse button

    Of these choices, a single click of the right mouse button seems preferable, since this still allows the left mouse button to operate the emulator. And let's face it, one click is half the work of two clicks! Some of the emulators I tried are configured properly by default. Others can be reconfigured easily to support the required function.

    I also found emulators that provide the required function with 2-clicks of the left mouse button, by default.

    I have found one emulator which works by using the left button to set the cursor and the right button to emulate sending ENTER, but I'm a bit too clumsy to find this easy to use. (I don't fault the emulator designer; if he or she knew about PETs, I'm sure the design would have included great support!)

    I haven't yet found any emulators that provide the function with 2-clicks of the right mouse button (but I hold this open as a possibility).

    Note: when the comment "Unable to configure for PETs" is made in the table below, this refers strictly to enabling a mouse action to provide the move cursor + press ENTER function. The PETs still work with keystrokes.

    Table of Results

    A fair number of 3270 emulators exist, and I doubt I've found them all at this point. Recently, I've started to look at some new codes written in JAVA which operate from within a browser--and I expect there will be may more of these over time. I don't know of any reason why these applets cannot be written to support PETs (in fact, I'd prefer they were).

    I have rated the emulators with regard their PETs-friendliness, as follows:

    1
    		the emulator is, or can be, configured such that a single click of a mouse button (usually the right) works
    2
    		the emulator is, or can be, configured such that two clicks of a mouse button works
    *
    		some other combination of mouse clicks works
    ?
    		I was unable to configure the emulator to support PETs

    Here's what I've found so far:

    Works
    Product
    Version
    Vendor
    Vendor Web Site
    		Comments About How it Works with PETs
    2
    		BlueZone Mainframe Display 2.13a Renex Corporation www.renex.com 2-click Left Button (default)
    1
    		Chameleon 3270LT for Windows 95 (3270 Terminal) 7.0.1.071 NetManage, Inc. www.netmanage.com 1-click Right Button (configurable)
    1
    		Chameleon Hostlink 97 (3270 Terminal) 7.0.2 NetManage, Inc. www.netmanage.com 1-click Right Button (configurable)
    1
    		Chameleon Hostlink 97 (3270 Terminal) 8.0.0.118 NetManage, Inc. www.netmanage.com 1-click Right Button (configurable)
    2
    		Data Interface Multi-Protocol Workstation 2.15 Data Interface Systems, Corp. www.di3270.com 2-click Right Button (configurable)
    ?
    		EXTRA! for Windows 95/NT 6.3 Attachmate Corp. www.attachmate.com Unable to configure for PETs
    ?
    		EXTRA! for Windows 95/NT 6.4 Attachmate Corp. www.attachmate.com Unable to configure for PETs
    ?
    		Forvus Emulator 4.4.01 Forvus Research Inc www.forvus.com Unable to configure for PETs
    2

    *

    		HOBLINK 3270 Emulation Software 4.2 HOB electronic GmbH www.hob.de 2-click Left Button (configurable)

    1-click Left Button, then 1-click Right Button (configured as macro)

    ?
    		HOBLINK J-Term 1.1 HOB electronic GmbH www.hob.de Unable to configure for PETs
    1
    		Host Explorer for Windows 95 6.0.0.819 Hummingbird Communications Ltd. www.hummingbird.com 1-click Right Button (default)
    ?
    		Host On-Demand 1.0 IBM www.software.ibm.com Unable to configure for PETs
    2
    		LogNet 3270 for Windows 32:3.00 LogNet Systems, Inc. www.lognet-systems.com 2-click Left Button (default)
    ?
    		Mocha W32 TN3270 1.6.0 Mochasoft www.mochasoft.dk Unable to configure for PETs
    ?
    		OnNet Host 4.0.0.447 FTP Software, Inc. www.ftp.com Unable to configure for PETs
    1

    2

    		PASSPORT TN3270E Client for Windows 95/NT 6.0-2413 Zephyr Development Corp. www.zephyrcorp.com 1-click Left or Right Button (configurable)

    2-click Left Button (default)

    2
    		PASSPORT TN3270E Lite for Windows 95/NT 6.0-2413 Zephyr Development Corp. www.zephyrcorp.com 2-click Left Button (default)
    1

    2

    		PASSPORT TN3270E Client for Windows 95/NT 6.1-4731 Zephyr Development Corp. www.zephyrcorp.com 1-click Left or Right Button (configurable)

    2-click Left Button (default)

    1
    		Personal Communications for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.2 IBM www.software.ibm.com 1-click Right Button (set with macro)
    ?
    		PowerTerm Interconnect/32 for Windows 95 and Windows NT 5.2.0 EricCom Software Ltd. www.ericom.com Unable to configure for PETs  
    2
    		QWS3270 Extra TN3270 Telnet 2.4 Jolly Giant Software, Inc. www.jollygiant.com 2-click Left Button (default); error clicking bottom line (?)
    2
    		QWS3270 Plus 3.0 Jolly Giant Software, Inc. www.jollygiant.com 2-click Left Button (default); error clicking bottom line (?)
    1
    		Reflection for IBM for Windows 95 6.20 WRQ, Inc. www.wrq.com 1-click Right Button (configurable)
    1
    		TCP3270 for Windows 95/NT 3.10 McGill University (no longer distributed by McGill) 1-click Right Button (default)
    ?
    		Term Professional 3.3 Century Software Inc. www.censoft.com Unable to configure for PETs
    1

    2

    		TN3270 Plus 2.21E SDI Bermuda Limited www.sdisw.com 1-click Left Button, then 1-click Right Button (configurable)
    1

    2

    		TNHOST for Windows 95/NT 4.12 Ipswitch, Inc. ipswitch.com 1-click Right Button (default)

    2-click Left or Right Button (configurable)

    2
    		TUN 3270 for 32 bit Windows 2.40.71 Esker www.esker.com 2-click Left Button (default)
    2
    		TUN 3270 for 32 bit Windows 9.0 Esker www.esker.com 2-click Left Button (default)
    ?
    		WinDirect 3.1 I/O Concepts, Inc. www.ioconcepts.com Unable to configure for PETs
    ?
    		WinDirect 4.1.1 I/O Concepts, Inc. www.ioconcepts.com Unable to configure for PETs
    -
    		Your Emulator Goes Here        

    And let me say that I have had some very pleasant conversations with the emulator vendor personnel with whom I have had an opportunity to speak. Those people with whom I have spoken so far has been very helpful and generous of their time and advice.

    PCLICK: A PETs Test for Your 3270 Emulator

    I have written a small REXX program called PCLICK EXEC which can be used to help you assess whether the 3270 emulator you are using is/can be configured properly for PETs clickability. The primary PCLICK window looks like this:

    PCLICK EXEC window

    PCLICK is a simple exec which displays some CMS windows and responds to mouse clicks. To see what the program should do, use your arrow keys to position the 3270 cursor on the window(s) and press the ENTER key. Once you know how the program is supposed to respond, you can click around with your mouse. If at first you don't succeed, visit your emulator's help files and other menus.

    Before you proceed to download PCLICK EXEC, please review the notes about downloading this and other files with various browsers and FTP. I have tried various combinations, some with more or less success. Your mileage may vary. Then, if you're game, download PCLICK EXEC for a look-see. Let me know if you have any problems.

    And again, please consider this as a set of working notes!

    --rick ellis

    Mail questions, comments, suggestions or inquiries to rge@uconnvm.uconn.edu .
    Page last updated on July 18, 2001.
    Copyright (C) 2001, Richard G. Ellis