BROWSE
Shows a dataset or member on screen. Read only.
Also written BR
Why it matters. When you only need to read something, BROWSE is the safe way. You can't damage it.
Syntax
No TSO command. In ISPF: option 3.1, enter the dataset, then B ISPF option 3.4: type B beside a dataset in the list
- dsname
- The dataset to read. In MF/OS, quote it. A plain file needs no member.
- (member)
- For a library, the member to show, in brackets after the name.
- B
- The ISPF line command that opens Browse beside a dataset (option 3.4) or a member.
- FIND text
- Inside ISPF Browse: jump to the next line that holds the text.
Try it BROWSE
- 1
Read the member NOTES in ZB0001.DEV.JCL.
BROWSE 'ZB0001.DEV.JCL(NOTES)' - 2
Now read the customer file, ZBANK.DATA.CUSTOMER. It has no members.
BROWSE 'ZBANK.DATA.CUSTOMER' - 3
Try a member that isn't there: MISSING.
BROWSE 'ZB0001.DEV.JCL(MISSING)'
Remember
- BROWSE is read only.
- A library needs the member name in brackets.
- You need READ access to see it.
The usual mistake
BROWSE 'ZB0001.DEV.JCL'
That is a library with many members. BROWSE needs to know which one to show.
BROWSE 'ZB0001.DEV.JCL(NOTES)'
On real z/OS
BROWSE is not a TSO command. MF/OS offers it as a shortcut that prints the lines on the terminal with line numbers. Real ISPF Browse is a full-screen panel with scrolling, FIND and LOCATE, and a library shows a member list first.
Where can I practise BROWSE?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and use BROWSE in real work, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
Start at ZedBankRelated
- ISPF editorThe full-screen text editor used to write and change JCL, COBOL, REXX and anything else held in a dataset.
- DatasetWhat a mainframe calls a file: a named collection of records with a defined structure, rather than a loose stream of bytes.
- MemberOne named item inside a partitioned dataset, such as a single program, job or copybook within a library.
- Partitioned datasetA dataset that works like a library or folder, holding many separately named members inside one dataset.
- TSOTime Sharing Option: the interactive login environment on z/OS, where you get a command prompt and a session of your own.