This issue features important news and information for PREFERENCE/PHOENIX managers, system administrators and authors. We hope you find this information to be valuable, and we would love to know how you think we're doing.
Please tell us how we can make the e-News more useful to you.

TRAINING: SHARPEN YOUR SYSTEM SKILLS – ONSITE WORKSHOPS

Are you new to PHOENIX/PREFERENCE and looking to get up to speed quickly? Does your team have the in-depth skills required to effectively utilize PHOENIX and PREFERENCE and get the most from the solutions? Good news! SumTotal offers expert on-site training for users who are new to our products or simply require a ‘refresher’ to maximize product use.

Workshops available at your worksite include:

• PREFERENCE Writer Workshop – 2 days
• PREFERENCE Concurrency Workshop – 2 days
• PHOENIX Author Workshop – 2 days
• PHOENIX/PREFERENCE Supervisor Workshops – 1 day

Product training is provided at your site and the content of these workshops can be customized to address issues that are important to you and your organization.

>> Learn More. For more information:

• Visit www.pathlore-mainframe.com/services/education.asp
• Contact your SumTotal Account Executive, Christie Davis at cdavis@sumtotalsystems.com, or
  phone: 614-781-7270

NEW 8.0 ENHANCEMENT: USER ACTIVITY

PHOENIX and PREFERENCE Supervisors: Coming in release 8.0, PREFERENCE will enable you to specify a date and produce a listing of courses/volumes that have active users since the specified date. In addition, an online report can be produced for each course/volume showing which users have been active.

This new feature is especially helpful to managers and administrators who want a snapshot of recent program usage and/or user activity. The User Activity functionality will be available through the supervisor PREFERENCE Volume Manager and PHOENIX Course Manager menus.

Coming in 2008:

PREFERENCE version 8.0 is tentatively planned for release by end-of-year 2008. Stay tuned to your next edition of Total*Connect e-News for Mainframe Users as we deliver the latest news and a sneak peek at more features coming in PREFERENCE 8.0.

DOCUMENTATION CHANGES FOR 2008

Easier to access -- easier to navigate -- easier to print!  Planned for 2008, our online documentation is being updated, reformatted and available in PDF format.   Besides reviewing and updating the current documentation, we are switching to an Adobe PDF format for easier reader usage, accessibility, and now navigation and printing will not require moving from page to page.

These documentation enhancements are being coordinated with the next release of PHOENIX/PREFERENCE.  More news and updates on PHOENIX/PREFERENCE 8.0 and associated documentation will be coming to you this summer.

Current on-line documentation can be found at:
>> http://www.pathlore-mainframe.com/PHOPREF-Doc/PHOPREF-Doc.htm

The PHOENIX/PREFERENCE Tips and Hints website has recently been updated. Below is one of the new tips intended to assist with trouble-shooting PREFERENCE rules (help screen) processing.   

>> Ever wonder if you have defined a concurrency Transaction ID in more than one PREFERENCE volume? The Transaction ID Search feature can help:

Transaction ID Search

To locate the PREFERENCE volume or volumes where a specific Transaction ID is defined, use F10 Transid Search from the supervisor rules facility.  The Transid Search is useful if you wish to verify that a specific Transaction ID is defined within PREFERENCE, or if you like, to confirm that a Transaction ID does not appear in more than one active volume.  Use the Transid Search as follows:

1.   Access the PREFERENCE type command line as supervisor.

2.   Type "rbuild" and press ENTER. When finished a prompt will appear stating "RULES TABLE CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE".

3.   Type "rules" and press ENTER to access the Supervisor Rules Administration screen.

4.   Press F10 Transid Search. A prompt should appear at the bottom of the screen stating ENTER TRANSID NAME.

5.   Enter the Transaction ID that you wish to search for at the prompt and press ENTER. Please note that the search is
      case-sensitive.

The following display shows an example of results of a Transid Search for transaction ID EXMS:

The display shows that EXMS is defined in two PREFERENCE volumes, jgscrn and excite. However, excite is an ACTIVE volume (used in rules processing) and jgscrn is not.

If a specified transaction is not found, the table will appear empty and the following message appears in the message area:

NO VOLUMES FOUND WITH SPECIFIED TRANSACTION DESCRIPTOR.

For more on troubleshooting PREFERENCE help request and more, see the complete listing of Technical Hints and Tips on the website at:
     >> http://www.pathlore-mainframe.com/customer/technical_tips.asp

If you are reading this customer newsletter you are probably interested in general issues concerning mainframe computing. A few links are provided below that will be of interest to anyone working within a mainframe environment.

>> For a comprehensive summary of recent developments, check out this article:

1. 2007 Mainframe Year in Review

>> For additional insight into issues that many mainframe users encounter, be sure to review these:

1. 5 Mainframe Myths

If you come across handy mainframe resource links, informative articles, or other sites of interest to your peers in the mainframe environment, please send them to us at pathtalk@sumtotalsystems.com. We'd love to share them in future issues.

The SumTotal Systems website recently underwent its own version of “spring cleaning”. Not only have the pages been reorganized to help visitors efficiently find product and solution information, but navigation has been improved with a fresh facelift. The new look is cleaner and emphasizes SumTotal’s role as a leading purveyor of Learning Management, Performance Management and Talent Management solutions. What does this mean for SumTotal’s mainframe PHOENIX and PREFERENCE customers? Besides an updated site filled with product demo opportunities, white papers, and the latest news and events (including industry trade shows where you can find SumTotal!) – you gain a much clearer and more direct path to the mainframe web pages. Here’s how:

Click here to check out the improved site

• Access the SumTotal home page at www.sumtotalsystems.com.
• Place your cursor on Customer Resources in the upper right part of the screen.
• Select Pathlore Mainframe from the drop-down selection list.  And you’re there!

Of course, the most direct path is to simply save the following link to the Mainframe Customer Zone:
>> http://www.pathlore-mainframe.com/customer/index.asp

Happy Surfing!

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