• When reviewing the list of registered files using option 1 on the MASTER menu, I see that one of the files has its active status flagged in yellow. What does this mean?
  
• We've been using iFileAudit for a while. Can we change which journals are used at this point?
  
• Our files are already being journaled, in iFileAudit we are not seeing the field values on changes as they were before an update is made. Can we change this?
  
• Can I use iFileAudit to track changes to a Source Physical File?
  
• I am using the Automatic Analysis feature, how can I make sure that it starts following an IPL?
  
• I am not currently using file journaling, can I estimate the overhead on my system?
  
• Can I do multiple file registrations easily?
  
• Does iFileAudit work on files in the IFS?
  
• Does iFileAudit work with a file that is already being journaled?
  
• Will iFileAudit work on any *FILE object?
  

When the active status is flagged in yellow on this display, it means that the journal reference for the registered file has been removed and the file is no longer being journaled. When this happens, iFileAudit can no longer track changes on the file.

To correct for this situation, use the Journal Reset option on the file. This is option 9. When you use this option, the journal status will be reset and file update tracking will resume as of the point in time when the option 9 is selected.

The journal status can be changed if a file is updated by a third party software update or if the file is recompiled to add or delete fields to it. If you have files that are regularly updated in this way, you should make it a practice to check the iFileAudit registrations after each such update so that tracking can be kept current.

Yes. Once you become more experienced with journaling and journals, you may decide that you want to change the way the journals are stored and processed by iFileAudit. You can change the journal that is used by following this specific sequence:

1. For the file to be changed, run the file analysis process in iFileAudit to extract all of the current information in the old journal.
2. Using option #1 on the MASTER menu, locate the file and then deactivate it (option 3)
3. On that same display, use option 2 for the file and then, on the detail screen, change the Journal Library and Journal Name fields to the new values that you want to use.
4. Now, from this same display, you can activate the file. At this point, the new journal will be in use.

When this switch is made, the journal entries showing that journaling was stopped will not appear in the file history stream stored in iFileAudit. You will, however, see journal entries stored showing that journaling was started and this will be your confirmation that the change was made.

Note: The above procedure will not work if your Journal Setup is showing as code U (User controlled). If this is the case, you can use the following procedure to make a journal change for a file with a user controlled journal:

1. Run the iFileAudit analysis process before you start the process to change the journal information about the file.
2. In iFileAudit, deactivate the file.
3. Manually change the journal setup for the file using the relevant commands in the IBM i/OS. Note the name of the new journal being used along with the library where it is located.
4. Using a database update program (ie: UPDDTA), edit the file named FILAUDA in library FILAUD and locate the record for the file being change. Update the fields named FAJRNL (library name) and FAJRNN (journal name) with the new information.
5. In iFileAudit, activate the file.

At this point, iFileAudit will recognize the new journal and journal library and will continue to work without loosing any history information.

Yes. Most customers with files that are already being journaled have some form of High Availability (HA) software installed on their system. If this is the case, then when the journaling was started, it was done so with only the "after" record images being captured. Before making a change for this, we strongly recommend that you check with your HA software vendor to make sure that their software will still work correctly once you have changed the journaling to capture both "before" and "after" record images.

To make this change, just use the CHGJRNOBJ command as follows for each file where you want to change the configuration for iFileAudit:

CHGJRNOBJ OBJ((mylib/myfile *FILE)) ATR(*IMAGES) IMAGES(*BOTH)

When this has been done, then the analysis process in iFileAudit will properly show all before and after field content when changes are made to your database.

Yes, an No. iFileAudit will track the changes just fine. The problem is the way most utilities work with source files. For example, IBM PDM utility makes a complete copy of a source file when it is being updated. When the update is done, the entire file contents are replaced. In the iFileAudit product, this ends up yielding a lot of update activity and none of it is very meaningful for anyone attempting to track individual source statement changes. We generally recommend that iFileAudit not be used for this purpose.

This can be done by adding the STRIFAQ command to your startup program as specified in system value QSTRUPPGM. Add the following command to this program:

FILAUD/STRIFAQ STRTYPE(*DEFER) STIME(2000) ITIME(1440)

Yes - If you have never used journaling and are concerned about possible overhead and performance, then there are tools available from IBM to help you estimate the effect on your system.

Link to here at an IBM site. At this page, you will find a section on Journal Sizing and Planning Tool (Pseudo Journal) that includes downloadable code, installation instructions and a tutorial on how to use the tools. This can be used on your system to get an estimate on overhead and disk use for the file or files that you want to journal. Remember, iFileAudit runs with both before and after images enabled, this will affect how you interpret the results.

Yes - iFileAudit provides OS-style commands to easily register multiple files within a library.

No - The current version does not work with PC type files stored in the IFS.

Yes! If a journal is already active for a file when it is registered to iFileAudit, the software will use the existing journal information.

iFileAudit works on any physical file (PF). For best results, the file should be DDS described. Externally described files will still work but the field interpretations will be incorrect. Also, while iFileAudit will work on Source Physical Files, it is of dubious value with these files because of the way the OS processes those files when they are updated.