How to set up Mail Blast/400 to use alternate libraries to store templates and address files

From Support

If you have a question or seek clarification, please call Technical Support.

Problem:

Using Mail Blast/400, you may want to be able to store email letter templates and name/address files in an alternate library. When you run any of the Mail Blast/400 processing commands and specify *LIBL, the files are always picked up out of the RJSBLAST library.

Solution:

The Mail Blast/400 software commands are all designed to insure that the RJSBLAST library automatically gets added to the PRD section of the users library list so users can qualify the commands (Ex: RJSBLAST/BLMPROCESS) and not have to manually add the RJS library to the library list. Once the RJSBLAST commands complete, the RJSBLAST library is no longer in the PRD section of the library list.

If the RJSBLAST library has been manually added to the library list via ADDLIBLE, then it will also be in the USR section of the library list. The RJSBLAST commands do not alter this setting.

Because the RJSBLAST library ends up in the PRD section of the library list, it is always ahead of all libraries in the user library list. This can cause problems when users specify *LIBL as the parameter for the EMLMSGPF file (Email Templates), BLMADR00 file (Name/Address Info) or other Mail Blast/400 files because RJSBLAST will always be ahead of other libraries when Mail Blast/400 commands are running.

Listed below are a couple of ways to work around this when you want to use *LIBL with the Mail Blast/400 commands:

1. Specify the user library name where the data files are stored when calling the Mail Blast/400 commands. This is a recommended option.

2. Move the BLMADR00 and EMLMSGPF files out of the RJSBLAST library and into a user library. You can also make copies of these into multiple user libraries. Just make sure that the files no longer reside in the RJSBLAST library.

This is a recommended option, however each time you update the RJSBLAST library, you will need to remove the BLMADR00 and EMLMSGPF files out of the RJSBLAST library.

3. When you create copies of the EMLMSGPF or BLMADR00 files, give them different names other than EMLMSGPF and BLMADR00.

Example: BLMADR00 could be renamed to BLMAD001 or EMLMSGPF could be renamed to EMLMSG001 in your user libraries.

Note: If you use this method, you will have to specify these file names when running any Mail Blast/400 commands.

4. Change all commands in the RJSBLAST library to not add the RJSBLAST library to the library list.

Example: CHGCMD CMD(BLM100) PRDLIB(*NONE)

Note: This method is not recommended because you would have to make this change every time you update the RJSBLAST library. However it will work perfectly to work around the *LIBL issue.