Connection and Setup Actions

The Connection and Setup actions establish and manage the connection between the robotic task and the terminal emulator. You must connect to the emulator before using any other Mainframe actions.

See Mainframe Actions for prerequisites and supported emulators.

• Connect to Emulator
• Disconnect from Emulator
• Maximize Window

Connect to Emulator

This action establishes a connection between the robotic task and the EHLLAPI-compatible terminal emulator running on the host machine. Use this action at the start of your mainframe workflow before any data reading, writing, or navigation actions.

You can configure CONFIGURATION and AFTER COMPLETION parameters for this action.

Configuration

In the CONFIGURATION area of the ACTION CONFIGURATION pane, configure the following parameters:

• Emulator type: Select the EHLLAPI interface type. Choose EHLLAPI for standard EHLLAPI-compatible emulators.
• DLL path: Enter the full file path to the EHLLAPI DLL provided by your emulator. This field lets you enter a text string, choose a variable, or use the expression editor. For common DLL paths by emulator, see Supported emulators.
• Method: Select which function name the module uses to call the DLL. Choose HLLAPI for DLLs that export the standard HLLAPI function, or WinHLLAPI for DLLs that export the Windows variant. Check your emulator's documentation for the correct option.
• Interface: Select how data is passed to the DLL. Standard uses fixed-length buffers; Enhanced uses extended data structures with additional fields. Check your emulator's documentation for the correct option.
• Session Letter: Enter the single-character session letter for the mainframe session to connect to. This is typically a letter (A-Z) assigned by the emulator. This field lets you enter a text string, choose a variable, or use the expression editor.

After completion

In the AFTER COMPLETION area of the ACTION CONFIGURATION pane, configure the following parameters:

• Wait before executing next action: Enter the number of seconds the robotic task waits before it continues to the next action in the robotic task definition.
• Take a screenshot: If you select this option, the robotic task takes a screenshot of the host machine immediately after the action completes successfully.

Disconnect from Emulator

This action closes the connection between the robotic task and the terminal emulator. Use this action at the end of your mainframe workflow to cleanly release the EHLLAPI connection. Only one session can be connected at a time, so this action does not require any configuration parameters.

You can configure AFTER COMPLETION parameters for this action.

After completion

In the AFTER COMPLETION area of the ACTION CONFIGURATION pane, configure the following parameters:

• Wait before executing next action: Enter the number of seconds the robotic task waits before it continues to the next action in the robotic task definition.
• Take a screenshot: If you select this option, the robotic task takes a screenshot of the host machine immediately after the action completes successfully.

Maximize Window

This action maximizes the terminal emulator window on the host machine. Use this action after connecting to the emulator to ensure the terminal screen is fully visible before the robotic task interacts with it. Only one session can be connected at a time, so this action does not require any configuration parameters.

You can configure AFTER COMPLETION parameters for this action.

After completion

In the AFTER COMPLETION area of the ACTION CONFIGURATION pane, configure the following parameters:

• Wait before executing next action: Enter the number of seconds the robotic task waits before it continues to the next action in the robotic task definition.
• Take a screenshot: If you select this option, the robotic task takes a screenshot of the host machine immediately after the action completes successfully.

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