What is PA1 key?

[demecarv]

I was in OMVS console and when I tried to get out from this by hiting pf6, I got stuck in this message "OMVS - Enter a TSO/E command, or press PA1 to return the shell". What would be the correct command to get out from OMVS window and which key is PA1?

[Robert Sample]

The original 3270 keyboard, sold by IBM -- Lo these many years ago -- had three Program Attention keys (PA1, PA2, PA3) to generate special characters to pass back to the mainframe.

However, we cannot tell you what key(s) to hit to generate a PA1. The specific key combination depends upon the 3270 emulator you are using and hence you need to use the Help function of your Reflections or PC Connection or Hummingbird or whatever terminal emulator you use to connect to the mainframe to find out how to generate the PA1. Sometimes there's a key sequence, sometimes you bring up a keyboard map via a menu drop-down, sometimes .... only your terminal emulator package can tell you for sure (or its vendor).

[demecarv]

And how to get out from OVMS window without enter in such message?

[Anuj Dhawan]

Type 'exit' and press enter key, like you do on a DOS prompt in windows.

[Anuj Dhawan]

After a thought, please see this link from IBM for a rather complete explanation: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledge ... tshell.htm

There are four situations when you might want to exit the shell:

1. To leave the shell temporarily and switch to TSO/E command mode: Press the TSO function key. You can do this any time during a session, regardless of whether you are currently running a command or script. See Performing TSO/E work or ISPF work after invoking the shell for details.
   
   If you switch to TSO/E command mode, the shell and any shell commands continue running until they attempt to read from the terminal or until the terminal output buffer is full; if either of these situations occurs, the commands are suspended until you return to the shell.
2. To exit the shell when a foreground process has completed: Type exit or <EscChar-D>. Scroll past all the output data (or use an autoscroll function key if you have customized a function key to do that), and exit.
   
   Note: The <EscChar-D> sequence does not work if you have entered set -o ignoreeof in the shell. See the set command description in z/OS UNIX System Services Command Reference.
   
   If you are using the shell option set +m or its equivalent set +o monitor to have background jobs run in the same process group as the shell, use the nohup command to run a script or program that will continue running after you log out.
   
   If you were in ISPF when you entered the shell, you are returned to ISPF; if you were in TSO READY mode, you are returned to TSO/E READY.
3. To exit the shell when a background job is running: Press the SubCmd function key and then enter the QUIT subcommand.
   
   Note: If your OMVS interface is running in SHAREAS mode (shared address space) and you quit all sessions (QUITALL subcommand or QUIT for the only session), the shell process ends immediately.
   
   If you were in ISPF when you entered the shell, you are returned to ISPF; if you were in TSO/E READY mode, you are returned to TSO READY.
   
   By default in the shell (the set -m option), a background job runs in a different process group from the shell, and the job keeps running after you exit the shell. To have background jobs run in the same process group as the shell, use the set +m command or its equivalent, set +o monitor.
4. If your application is in a loop: Try using <EscChar-C> or <EscChar-V> to interrupt it. If this does not work, press the SubCmd function key to leave the shell. Then type quit and press <Enter>. This causes the OMVS command to quit abruptly. The workstation returns to TSO/E and the shell stops processing. For more information on using escape sequences such as <EscChar-C>, see Typing escape sequences in the shell.
   Parent topic: OMVS, a 3270 terminal interface to the z/OS shell

[demecarv]

I am still getting stuck whenever I hit the message "Enter a TSO/E command, or press PA1 to return to the shell". Well, I can move forward by disconnecting but certainly there must exist a more profissional way to get out from this screen. I was in Unix screen. By Unix screen I mean, I typed omvs and then I have Unix console available for me. Then, I pressed pF6 which tells "TSO/E". Then I got stuck with screen attached obviously because I don't know which command to come back.

[Robert Sample]

Have you tried using ESC-D? Or you could enter a valid TSO/E command such as time.

[Anuj Dhawan]

I'm not sure why exit did not worked for you. Possibly get in touch with your support and know if they have tailored shop differently.

[Dxevil]

I have faced the same problem before, after doing a lot of research, I found that (ctrl+insert) keys is PF1 key to exit from TSO/E command shell. you can also find that option in Options menu in keyboard section.

I Hope this helps.....

[aliree]

To exit the "OMVS" window, you can try pressing the TSO function key or entering the command "exit" and pressing the enter key. Have you attempted these methods, and if so, did they resolve the issue?
Regarding the "PA1" key, it's a special key on the 3270 keyboard used to generate specific characters. Have you checked your terminal emulator's documentation or settings to find the key combination for PA1?