Migrate from the IBM 3270 Plugin

This page helps you transition existing robotic tasks from the community IBM 3270 Workflow Library plugin to the Mainframe module. It covers the action mapping, key differences, and steps for updating your workflows.

Plugin and Mainframe module coexistence

The IBM 3270 Workflow Library plugin remains available on the Appian App Market and is accessible to all customers regardless of tier. It is not being deprecated.

The Mainframe module is available to Advanced Tier customers only. Both the plugin and the Mainframe module can coexist in an Appian RPA environment. You can continue using the plugin for existing robotic tasks while migrating workflows to the Mainframe module over time.

For prerequisites and licensing details, see Mainframe Actions.

Action mapping

Use the following table to identify the Mainframe module equivalent for each plugin action:

Plugin action	Mainframe module action	Notes
Connect To Emulator	Connect to Emulator
Disconnect from Emulator	Disconnect from Emulator
Maximize Window	Maximize Window
Find Text	Find Text
Get Text	Get Text	See Get Text column range fix below
Get Field At	Get Field at Coordinates
Write Here	Write Here	See credential input changes below
Write At	Write at Coordinates	See credential input changes below
Write At Label	Write at Label	See credential input changes below
Enter Credentials	Removed	Use Write Here, Write at Coordinates, or Write at Label with Input type set to Username or Password instead
Go To	Go to Text Position
Go To Coordinates	Go to Coordinates
Wait For Text	Wait for Text
Send Key	Send Special Control Key
Wait	Wait for Terminal Ready

Key differences

Credential input

The plugin's Enter Credentials action has been removed. The Mainframe module handles credential input directly through the Write actions.

In the plugin, you used a separate Enter Credentials action to securely type a username or password. In the Mainframe module, each Write action includes an Input type dropdown. Select Username or Password to use Appian RPA credentials directly from any Write action, without a separate step.

Improved error messages

Mainframe module actions return descriptive error messages. The plugin returned raw EHLLAPI numeric error codes, which required cross-referencing IBM documentation. Mainframe module actions describe the error condition directly, making it easier to understand and resolve failures during robotic task development.

Get Text column range fix

In the plugin, the Get Text action's column range always returned one character fewer than expected. For example, to get text from column 1 to 10, you had to set the range from 1 to 11. The Mainframe module fixes this behavior so that specifying columns 1 to 10 returns all 10 characters.

If your existing robotic tasks use Get Text with a range, you may need to adjust the End column value after migrating. Subtract 1 from the end column you used in the plugin to get the same result in the Mainframe module.

Action naming

Mainframe module action names do not include an "IBM" prefix. For example, the plugin action "IBM Write Here" is now "Write Here" in the Mainframe module.

Patterns that carry over from the plugin

The following patterns from plugin-based workflows carry over to the Mainframe module without changes:

• EHLLAPI connection model: you still specify a DLL path and session letter to connect.
• Coordinate-based navigation and reading.
• Screen reading patterns using row, column, and text search.

Replace plugin actions in an existing robotic task

To update a robotic task that uses the IBM 3270 Workflow Library plugin:

1. Open the robotic task in the Appian RPA console.
2. Identify each plugin action in the workflow using the action mapping table above.
3. Add the equivalent Mainframe module action to the workflow. Configure its parameters to match the plugin action's configuration.
4. If the workflow uses Enter Credentials, replace it with the appropriate Write action and set Input type to Username or Password. See Credential input above.
5. Remove the original plugin action.
6. Test the updated robotic task against your mainframe environment to confirm it behaves as expected.

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