How it Works

How the Profile Schemes Feature Works

To understand how the Profile Schemes Feature works, it helps to understand BlueZone Configuration Profiles and BlueZone Dialog Level Configuration Profiles.

BlueZone Configuration Profiles

BlueZone Configuration Profiles store information describing every aspect of a BlueZone session including; the host connection settings, keyboard mappings, color settings, font settings, emulator screen position and size, ToolBar settings and more. Having all of these settings in a single file provides a simple and elegant way to easily deploy pre-configured BlueZone sessions throughout the enterprise. We refer to the main BlueZone Configuration Profile as the "Top Level" Configuration Profile. Each BlueZone emulator has its own Top Level Configuration Profile file extension. For example, the Top Level Mainframe Display extension is .ZMD.

SEE The BlueZone Top Level Configuration Profile Table located in the Appendix, for a complete listing of the Top Level Configuration Profile file extensions.

BlueZone Dialog Level Configuration Profiles

Dialog Level Configuration Profiles are sub-configuration files. Depending on the BlueZone emulator, there can be as many as nine Dialog Level Configuration Profiles. These Dialog Level Configuration Profiles are grouped by function. The functions for Mainframe Display are, Session, Telnet, Display, Keyboard, Transfer, ToolBar, Power Pad and StatusBar settings. Each emulator has a slightly different list.

BlueZone configuration dialogs that have ToolBar Buttons located at the bottom of the dialog, support Dialog Level Configuration Profiles, as shown here:

From left to right the ToolBar functions are Default, File Open (Import File), Save, File Save As (Export File), and Help.

NOTE When configuring the Profile Schemes feature in BlueZone Web-to-Host, we only use the Save button. The other buttons are used to manually import and export Dialog Configurations Profiles and are typically used by Administrators that are deploying and supporting BlueZone desktop installations.

Any BlueZone dialog that contains a Dialog Configuration Profile Toolbar, can have that dialog's settings exported to a file (as a Dialog Level Configuration Profile) with its own file extension. Dialog Level Configuration Profiles for each emulator and dialog have unique file extensions.

SEE The BlueZone Dialog Level Configuration Profile Table located in the Appendix, for a complete listing of the Dialog Configuration Profile file extensions.

The Profile Schemes Feature

When BlueZone is first deployed from the web server, the BlueZone Administrator does not need to include any Dialog Level Configuration Profiles with the distribution. Only the potential to use Dialog Level Configuration Profiles needs to be configured by placing a check in the checkbox of any Dialog Configuration Profile that the Administrator wishes to control. In the following example, the BlueZone Administrator has chosen to check only the TN3270 checkbox. You should check all the parts of a BlueZone configuration that you wish to control.

On day one, all users make their initial BlueZone download with the same Top Level Configuration Profile. As time goes by, each user will make and save their own customizations to the parts of the BlueZone configuration that they are allowed to change.

SEE How to Lock BlueZone Emulation Features for more information on how to lock BlueZone features that you don't want your users to be able to change.

When the BlueZone Administrator decides that a BlueZone configuration modification is required, the Administrator uses the Web-to-Host Wizard to create one or more Dialog Level Configuration Profiles that will be placed on the web server and pushed out to your user community. As each Dialog Level Configuration Profile is downloaded, it overrides specific values stored in each user's Top Level Configuration Profile. All other values stay as they were thus, leaving any user configuration customizations intact.