Name
Synopsis
Description
Options
Modes
Character Sets
Menu Bar and Keypad
Hosts Database
NVT (ANSI) Mode
Toggles
Status Line
Actions
Keymaps
The Meta or Alt Key
File Transfer
The PrintText Action
Scripts
Composite Characters
Printer Support
Passthru
Proxy
Screen Size Switching
Resources
Files
See Also
Copyrights
Version
The full syntax for host is:
[prefix:]...[LUname@]hostname[:port]
Prepending a P: onto hostname causes the connection to go through the telnet-passthru service rather than directly to the host. See PASSTHRU below.
Prepending an S: onto hostname removes the "extended data stream" option reported to the host. See -tn below for further information.
Prepending an N: onto hostname turns off TN3270E support for the session.
Prepending an L: onto hostname causes c3270 to first create an SSL tunnel to the host, and then create a TN3270 session inside the tunnel. (This function is supported only if c3270 was built with SSL/TLS support). Note that TLS-encrypted sessions using the TELNET START-TLS option are negotiated with the host automatically; for these sessions the L: prefix should not be used.
A specific Logical Unit (LU) name to use may be specified by prepending it to the hostname with an `@'. Multiple LU names to try can be separated by commas. An empty LU can be placed in the list with an extra comma. (Note that the LU name is used for different purposes by different kinds of hosts. For example, CICS uses the LU name as the Terminal ID.)
The hostname may optionally be placed inside square-bracket characters `[' and `]'. This will prevent any colon `:' characters in the hostname from being interpreted as indicating option prefixes or port numbers. This allows numeric IPv6 addresses to be used as hostnames.
On systems that support the forkpty library call, the hostname may be replaced with -e and a command string. This will cause c3270 to connect to a local child process, such as a shell.
The port to connect to defaults to telnet. This can be overridden with the -port option, or by appending a port to the hostname with a colon `:'. (For compatability with previous versions of c3270 and with tn3270(1), the port may also be specified as a second, separate argument.)
The first part is the base model, which is either 3278 or 3279. 3278 specifies a monochrome (green on black) 3270 display; 3279 specifies a color 3270 display.
The second part is the model number, which specifies the number of rows and columns. Model 4 is the default.
Note: Technically, there is no such 3270 display as a 3279-4 or 3279-5, but most hosts seem to work with them anyway.
The default model for a color display is 3279-4. For a monochrome display, it is 3278-4.
It can also be specified as auto, which causes c3270 to fill the entire terminal or console window.
Some hosts are confused by the -E suffix on the terminal name, and will ignore the extra screen area on models 3, 4 and 5. Prepending an s: on the hostname, or setting the "c3270.extended" resource to "false", removes the -E from the terminal name when connecting to such hosts.
The name can also be specified with the "c3270.termName" resource.
Command-prompt mode is where the c3270> prompt is displayed. Interactive commands can be entered at this prompt, to connect to a host, disconnect from a host, transfer files, display statistics, exit c3270, etc. The complete list of interactive commands is listed under ACTIONS.
Session mode is where the emulated 3270 screen is displayed; keyboard commands cause the display buffer to be modified or data to be sent to the host.
To switch from display mode to command-prompt mode, press Ctrl-]. To switch from command-prompt mode to display mode, press Enter (without entering a command) at the c3270> prompt.
The default character set is bracket, which is useful for common U.S. IBM hosts which use EBCDIC codes AD and BD for the `[' and `]' characters, respectively.
Note that any of the host code pages listed above can be specified by adding cp to the host code page, e.g., cp037 for host code page 037. Also note that the code pages available for a given version of c3270 are displayed by the -v command-line option.
The on-screen menu title bar can be turned off via the "c3270.menuBar" resource.
The pop-up keypad allows the 3270-specific keys (PF keys, PA keys, Clear, Reset, etc.) to be invoked without memorizing their key mappings or switching to the c3270> prompt. The keypad can be popped up by pressing Alt-K, or can be invoked via a menu option.
You may specify a different ibm_hosts database with the "c3270.hostsFile" resource.
If the host later negotiates to stop functioning in 3270 mode, c3270 will return to ANSI emulation.
In NVT mode, c3270 supports both character-at-a-time mode and line mode operation. You may select the mode with a menu option. When in line mode, the special characters and operational characteristics are defined by resources:
Mode/Character | Resource | Default |
Translate CR to NL | c3270.icrnl | true |
Translate NL to CR | c3270.inlcr | false |
Erase previous character | c3270.erase | ^? |
Erase entire line | c3270.kill | ^U |
Erase previous word | c3270.werase | ^W |
Redisplay line | c3270.rprnt | ^R |
Ignore special meaning of next character | c3270.lnext | ^V |
Interrupt | c3270.intr | ^C |
Quit | c3270.quit | ^\ |
End of file | c3270.eof | ^D |
Separate keymaps can be defined for use only when c3270 is in 3270 mode or NVT mode. See KEYMAPS for details.
The names of the toggles for use with the -set and -clear options are as follows:
Option | Name |
Monocase | monoCase |
Blank Fill | blankFill |
Track Cursor | cursorPos |
Trace Data Stream | dsTrace |
Trace Events | eventTrace |
Save Screen(s) in File | screenTrace |
Wraparound | lineWrap |
Underscore Mode | underscore |
These names are also used as the first parameter to the Toggle action.
Actions marked with an asterisk (*) may block, sending data to the host and possibly waiting for a response.
*Attn | attention key |
BackSpace | move cursor left (or send ASCII BS) |
BackTab | tab to start of previous input field |
CircumNot | input "^" in NVT mode, or "¬" in 3270 mode |
*Clear | clear screen |
Compose | next two keys form a special symbol |
*Connect(host) | connect to host |
*CursorSelect | Cursor Select AID |
Delete | delete character under cursor (or send ASCII DEL) |
DeleteField | delete the entire field |
DeleteWord | delete the current or previous word |
*Disconnect | disconnect from host |
Down | move cursor down |
Dup | duplicate field |
*Enter | Enter AID (or send ASCII CR) |
Erase | erase previous character (or send ASCII BS) |
EraseEOF | erase to end of current field |
EraseInput | erase all input fields |
Escape | escape to c3270> prompt |
Execute(cmd) | execute a command in a shell |
FieldEnd | move cursor to end of field |
FieldMark | mark field |
HexString(hex_digits) | insert control-character string |
Home | move cursor to first input field |
Insert | set insert mode |
*Interrupt | send TELNET IP to host |
Keypad | Display pop-up keypad |
Key(keysym) | insert key keysym |
Key(0xxx) | insert key with character code xx |
Left | move cursor left |
Left2 | move cursor left 2 positions |
Menu | Display menu bar |
MonoCase | toggle uppercase-only mode |
MoveCursor(row, col) | move cursor to (row,col) |
Newline | move cursor to first field on next line (or send ASCII LF) |
NextWord | move cursor to next word |
*PA(n) | Program Attention AID (n from 1 to 3) |
*PF(n) | Program Function AID (n from 1 to 24) |
PreviousWord | move cursor to previous word |
Printer(Start[,lu]|Stop) | start or stop printer session |
PrintText(command) | print screen text on printer |
Quit | exit c3270 |
Redraw | redraw window |
Reset | reset locked keyboard |
Right | move cursor right |
Right2 | move cursor right 2 positions |
*Script(command[,arg...]) | run a script |
*String(string) | insert string (simple macro facility) |
*SysReq | System Request AID |
Tab | move cursor to next input field |
Toggle(option[,set|clear]) | toggle an option |
ToggleInsert | toggle insert mode |
ToggleReverse | toggle reverse-input mode |
*Transfer(option=value...) | file transfer |
Up | move cursor up |
ignore | do nothing |
Any of the above actions may be entered at the c3270> prompt; these commands are also available for use in keymaps (see KEYMAPS). Command names are case-insensitive. Parameters can be specified with parentheses and commas, e.g.:
PF(1)or with spaces, e.g.:
PF 1Parameters can be quoted with double-quote characters, to allow spaces, commas, and parentheses to be used.
c3270 also supports the following interactive commands:
Multiple keymaps may be specified be separating their names with commas. Definitions in later keymaps supercede those in earlier keymaps.
In addition, separate keymaps may be defined that apply only in 3270 mode or NVT mode. For example, the resource definition c3270.keymap.xxx.nvt or the file xxx.nvt will augment the definition of keymap xxx in NVT mode. Similarly, the resource definition c3270.keymap.xxx.3270 or the file xxx.3270 will augment the definition of keymap xxx in 3270 mode.
Each line (rule) in a keymap specifies actions to perform when a particular key or sequence of keys is pressed. Keymap rules have the following syntax:
[Meta][Ctrl]<Key>key...: action[(param[,...])] ...
Here is a sample keymap definition from a file:
! Lines beginning with ! are ignored and can
! occur anywhere.
! Definition of keymap xxx
! When Alt-c is pressed, clear the screen.
Alt<Key>c: Clear()
! When PageUp is pressed, send PF7 to the host.
<Key>PPAGE: PF(7)
! When Ctrl-a is pressed, then F1, send PF13
! to the host.
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>F1: PF(13)
Here is the same definition as a resource:
! Lines beginning with ! are ignored, but NOT
! within a definition.
! Note that the \ is required at the end of the
! first line, and \n\ is
! required at the end of every other line except
! the last.
! Definition of keymap xxx
c3270.keymap.xxx: \
Alt<Key>c: Clear() \n\
<Key>PPAGE: PF(7) \n\
Ctrl<Key>A <Key>F1: PF(13)
The optional Alt or Ctrl modifiers specify that the Alt and Ctrl keys are pressed along with the specified key, respectively. Key is either an ISO 8859-1 symbol name, such as equal for `=' and a for `a', or a symbolic ncurses key name, such as UP. More than one key can be specified, indicating that a sequence of keys must be pressed in order for the rule to be matched. The action is an action from the ACTIONS list above. More than one action may be specified; they will be executed in order.
Keymap entries are case-sensitive and modifier-specific. This means that a keymap for the b key will match only a lowercase b. Actions for uppercase B, or for Alt-b or Control-B, must be specified separately.
The base keymap is:
Key | Action |
Ctrl<Key>] | Escape |
Ctrl<Key>a Ctrl<Key>a | Key(0x01) |
Ctrl<Key>a Ctrl<Key>] | Key(0x1d) |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>Tab | BackTab |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>c | Clear |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>e | Escape |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>r | Reset |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>k | Keypad |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>l | Redraw |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>m | Compose |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>n | Menu |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>p | PrintText |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>^ | Key(notsign) |
Ctrl<Key>k | Keypad |
Ctrl<Key>n | Menu |
<Key>UP | Up |
<Key>DOWN | Down |
<Key>LEFT | Left |
<Key>RIGHT | Right |
<Key>F(n) | PF(n) |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>F(n) | PF(n+12) |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>1 | PA(1) |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>2 | PA(2) |
Ctrl<Key>a <Key>3 | PA(3) |
The base 3270-mode keymap adds:
Key | Action |
Ctrl<Key>c | Clear |
Ctrl<Key>d | Dup |
Ctrl<Key>f | FieldMark |
Ctrl<Key>i | Tab |
Ctrl<Key>l | Redraw |
Ctrl<Key>r | Reset |
Ctrl<Key>u | DeleteField |
<Key>BackSpace | BackSpace |
<Key>Return | Enter |
<Key>Tab | Tab |
<Key>Linefeed | Newline |
<Key>BACKSPACE | BackSpace |
<Key>DC | Delete |
<Key>HOME | Home |
<Key>IC | ToggleInsert |
The resource c3270.metaEscape and the termcap km attribute control how c3270 will interpret these sequences. When c3270.metaEscape is set to true, or when c3270.metaEscape is set to auto and the termcap km attribute is set, the keyboard is assumed to have a separate Meta key. The Escape key can be used as an ordinary data key and has no special meaning.
When c3270.metaEscape is set to true, or when c3270.metaEscape is set to auto and the termcap km attribute is not set, the keyboard is assumed to use the Escape character as a prefix to indicate that the following character is supposed to have the high-order bit set. When c3270 sees an Escape character from the keyboard, it sets a short timeout. If another character arrives before the timeout expires, then c3270 will combine the two characters, setting the high-order bit of the second. In an event trace file, the combined character is listed as derived. In a keymap, only the combined character or the Meta prefix may be used. The Escape key can still be used by itself, but only if there is a short pause before pressing another key.
The default value for c3270.metaEscape is auto.
The Transfer action can be entered at the command prompt with no parameters, which will cause it to prompt interactively for the file names and options. It can also be invoked with parameters to define the entire transfer.
Because of the complexity and number of options for file transfer, the parameters to the Transfer action take the unique form of option=value, and can appear in any order. Note that if the value contains spaces (such as a VM/CMS file name), then the entire parameter must be quoted, e.g., "HostFile=xxx foo a". The options are:
Option | Required? | Default | Other Values |
Direction | No | receive | send |
HostFile | Yes | ||
LocalFile | Yes | ||
Host | No | tso | vm |
Mode | No | ascii | binary |
Cr | No | remove | add, keep |
Remap | No | yes | no |
Exist | No | keep | replace, append |
Recfm | No | fixed, variable, undefined | |
Lrecl | No | ||
Blksize | No | ||
Allocation | No | tracks, cylinders, avblock | |
PrimarySpace | No | ||
SecondarySpace | No | ||
BufferSize | No | 4096 |
The option details are as follows.
\b | Left |
\exxxx | EBCDIC character in hex |
\f | Clear* |
\n | Enter* |
\pan | PA(n)* |
\pfnn | PF(nn)* |
\r | Newline |
\t | Tab |
\T | BackTab |
\uxxxx | Unicode character in hex |
\xxxxx | Unicode character in hex |
Note that the numeric values for the \e, \u and \x sequences can be abbreviated to 2 digits. Note also that EBCDIC codes greater than 255 and some Unicode character codes represent DBCS characters, which will work only if c3270 is built with DBCS support and the host allows DBCS input in the current field.
An example keymap entry would be:
Meta<Key>p: String("probs clearrdr\n")
Note: The strings are in ASCII and converted to EBCDIC, so beware of inserting control codes.
There is also an alternate form of the String action, HexString, which is used to enter non-printing data. The argument to HexString is a string of hexadecimal digits, two per character. A leading 0x or 0X is optional. In 3270 mode, the hexadecimal data represent EBCDIC characters, which are entered into the current field. In NVT mode, the hexadecimal data represent ASCII characters, which are sent directly to the host.
The mappings between these pairs of ordinary keys and the symbols they represent is controlled by the "c3270.composeMap" resource; it gives the name of the map to use. The maps themselves are named "c3270.composeMap.name". The default is "latin1", which gives mappings for most of the symbols in the ISO 8859-1 Latin-1 character set that are not in the 7-bit ASCII character set.
Note: The default keymap defines Meta<Key>m as the "Compose" key. You may set up your own "Compose" key with a keymap that maps some other keysym onto the Compose action.
The action Printer Start starts a printer session, associated with the current LU. (This works only if the host supports TN3270E.)
The action Printer Start lu starts a printer session, associated with a specific lu.
The action Printer Stop stops a printer session.
The resource c3270.printer.command specifies the command used to print each job; it defaults to lpr. The resource c3270.printer.assocCommandLine specifies the command used to start an associated printer session. It defaults to:
pr3287 -assoc %L% -command "%C%" %P% %H%
The resource c3270.printer.luCommandLine specifies the command used to start a specific-LU printer session. It defaults to:
pr3287 -command "%C%" %R% %P% %L%@%H%
When the printer session command is run, the following substitutions are made:
Token | Substitition |
%C% | Command (value of c3270.printer.command) |
%H% | Host IP address |
%L% | Current or specified LU |
%P% | Proxy specification |
%R% | Character set |
See pr3287(1) for further details.
The resource c3270.printerLu controls automatic printer session start-up. If it is set to `.', then whenever a login session is started, a printer session will automatically be started, associated with the login session. If it is set an LU name, then the automatic printer session will be associated with the specified LU.
type:host[:port]The supported values for type are:
The special types socks4a and socks5d can also be used to force the proxy server to do the hostname resolution for the SOCKS protocol.
Because the curses library does not support mode switching, the escape sequences and resulting screen dimensions must be specified explicitly to c3270. These are specified with the -altscreen and -defscreen command-line options, or the altScreen and defScreen resources. -altscreen or altScreen defines the alternate (132-column) mode; -defscreen or defScreen defines the default (80-column) mode.
The syntax for the options and resources is rowsxcols=init_string, where rows and cols give the screen dimensions, and init_string is the escape sequence to transmit to the terminal to enter that mode. For defscreen, the minimum dimensions are 24 rows and 80 columns. For altscreen, the minimum dimensions are 27 rows and 132 columns. Within init_string, the usual escape sequences are supported (\E for escape, \r, \b, etc.). For example, the init string for a 132-column xterm is:
\E[?40h\E[?3h
Note: When defscreen and altscreen are specified, the model number is always set to 5.
Resource | Default | Option | Purpose |
allBold | Auto | -allbold | Display all characters bold |
altScreen | -altscreen | 132-col screen definition | |
blankFill | False | -set blankFill | Blank Fill mode |
charset | bracket | -charset | EBCDIC character set |
composeMap | latin1 | Name of composed-character map | |
cursesColorForHostColorn | (note 6) | Color mapping | |
cursesColorForDefault | green | Default color mapping | |
cursesColorForIntensified | red | Default color mapping | |
cursesColorForProtected | blue | Default color mapping | |
cursesColorForProtectedIntensified | white | Default color mapping | |
cursesKeymap | True | Set curses keymap option | |
defScreen | -defscreen | 80-col screen definition | |
dbcsCgcsgid | Override DBCS CGCSGID | ||
dsTrace | False | -trace | Data stream tracing |
eof | ^D | NVT-mode EOF character | |
erase | ^H | NVT-mode erase character | |
extended | True | Use 3270 extended data stream | |
eventTrace | False | -trace | Event tracing |
hostsFile | -hostsfile | Host alias/macro file | |
icrnl | False | Map CR to NL on NVT-mode input | |
inlcr | False | Map NL to CR in NVT-mode input | |
intr | ^C | NVT-mode interrupt character | |
keymap | -keymap | Keyboard map name | |
keymap.foo | Definition of keymap foo | ||
kill | ^U | NVT-mode kill character | |
lineWrap | False | -set lineWrap | NVT line wrap mode |
lnext | ^V | NVT-mode lnext character | |
m3279 | (note 1) | -model | 3279 (color) emulation |
metaEscape | Auto | Interpret ESC-x as Meta-x | |
mono | (note 5) | -mono | Ignore terminal color capabilities |
monoCase | False | -set monoCase | Mono-case mode |
noPrompt | False | -noprompt | Disable command-prompt mode |
numericLock | False | Lock keyboard for numeric field error | |
oerrLock | True | Lock keyboard for input error | |
oversize | -oversize | Oversize screen dimensions | |
port | telnet | -port | Non-default TCP port |
printer.* | (note 4) | Printer session config | |
printerLu | (note 4) | Printer session config | |
quit | ^\ | NVT-mode quit character | |
reconnect | False | -reconnect | Automatically reconnect to host |
rprnt | ^R | NVT-mode reprint character | |
sbcsCgcsgid | Override SBCS CGCSGID | ||
secure | False | Disable "dangerous" options | |
termName | (note 2) | -tn | TELNET terminal type string |
traceDir | /tmp | Directory for trace files | |
traceFile | (note 3) | -tracefile | File for trace output |
typeahead | True | Allow typeahead | |
werase | ^W | NVT-mode word-erase character |
Note 1: m3279 defaults to True if the terminal supports color, False otherwise. It can be forced to False with the proper -model option.Note 2: The default terminal type string is constructed from the model number, color emulation, and extended data stream modes. E.g., a model 2 with color emulation and the extended data stream option would be sent as IBM-3279-2-E. Note also that when TN3270E mode is used, the terminal type is always sent as 3278, but this does not affect color capabilities.
Note 3: The default trace file is x3trc.pid in the directory specified by the traceDir resource.
Note 4: See PRINTER SUPPORT for details.
Note 5: mono defaults to false if the terminal supports at least 8 colors and to true otherwise.
Note 6: The default curses color mappings for host colors 0 through 15 are: black, blue, red, magenta, green, cyan, yellow, white, black, blue, yellow, blue, green, cyan, black and white.
In .c3270pro, lines are continued with a backslash character.
-xrm options override definitions found in .c3270pro. If more than one -xrm option is given for the same resource, the last one on the command line is used.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY PAUL MATTES, DON RUSSELL, DICK ALTENBERN, JEFF SPARKES AND GTRC "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL PAUL MATTES, DON RUSSELL, DICK ALTENBERN, JEFF SPARKES OR GTRC BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.