IBM iAccess Client Solutions

Implementation Steps for Blue Prism

Document Revision 1.0

 IBM iAccess Client Solutions | Implementation Steps for Blue Prism

Trademarks and copyrights

The information contained in this document is the proprietary and confidential information of Blue Prism Limited and should not be
disclosed to a third party without the written consent of an authorised Blue Prism representative. No part of this document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying without the written
permission of Blue Prism Limited.
© Blue Prism Limited, 2001 – 2020
®Blue Prism is a registered trademark of Blue Prism Limited
All trademarks are hereby acknowledged and are used to the benefit of their respective owners.
Blue Prism is not responsible for the content of external websites referenced by this document.
Blue Prism Limited, 2 Cinnamon Park, Crab Lane, Warrington, WA2 0XP, United Kingdom
Registered in England: Reg. No. 4260035. Tel: +44 870 879 3000. Web: www.blueprism.com

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions | Implementation Steps for Blue Prism

Contents
Trademarks and copyrights ........................................................................................................................................2
Contents .......................................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................4
Pre-requisites ...............................................................................................................................................................4
iAccess Client Solutions Installation ...........................................................................................................................5
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration .......................................................................................................................6
Blue Prism Configuration .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Identifying elements in ACS Mainframe emulator .................................................................................................... 18
Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................................................................ 19

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 Data Sheet

Introduction
Blue Prism does not currently support IBM iAccess Client Solution (ACS) using EHLLAPI Interface. The ACS
software can however be automated with Blue Prism using specific configuration. ACS is a Java application
and the configuration steps include using Java spy mode.
A troubleshooting section is provided at the end of this guide to assist during configuration.

Pre-requisites
The following are recommended versions (as opposed to specific requirements):
• Blue Prism versions: v6.0.0 and later
Note: This guide has been written using Blue Prism v6.5.1 and some of the screen shots may differ from the
version being used and have been provided where possible.

• IBM iAccess Client Solutions v1.1.7.3 (Windows 7 only) or later

Note: The version used in this guide is v1.1.8.0 (32-bit)

• Window 10 Operating System

Note: Version used in this guide is 64-bit

• Java Runtime v1.8.221 (32-bit)

Note: Java 32-bit must be installed, even if the Operating System is 64-bit, for Blue Prism to successfully
connect to the emulator

• The PCSHLL32.DLL library

Note: The “PCSHLL32.dll” library is a system file which provides functions required. For more information
refer to the IBM website:

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSEQ5Y_12.0.0/com.ibm.pcomm.doc/books/html/em
ulator_programming07.htm

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Installation

Supported versions of the emulator are available for download from the IBM website (account required):

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg3T1026805

iAccess Client Solutions Installation

Once the download is unpacked, the install files will reside in the directory specified during that process. For
example, in below screenshot this was specified as C:\ACS. The iAccess is then installed using the installer
program found in the Windows Application sub-folder of that directory:

Select the required 32-bit or 64-bit installer depending on the Operating System bitness in use.
In this guide, the “install_acs_64” (64-bit) package was installed.
As part of the installation process, a shortcut is placed on the User Desktop. The shortcut links to the
executable acslaunch_win-64.exe which is located in folder
C:\<install_folder>\Start_Programs\Windows_x86-64:

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

Perform the following steps to configure iAccess Client Solutions:
1. Launch the iAccess Client Solutions interface and click on the 5250 Session Manager to reveal the
configuration screen:

2. When the Session Manager window appears, click the New Display Session button:

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

3. When the 5250 Display window appears, under Connection, set the Session Name value to a suitable
name (e.g.: “BP5250 Display”). Enter the Mainframe IP Address or Hostname in the Destination Address
field and the port number in the Destination Port field (this information can be obtained from the
customer’s IT team, or by looking at the settings of an existing session):
Configure Mainframe connection:
a. Session Name
b. Hostname or IP address of Mainframe
c. Connection Port

4. Select the Preferences > Start Options view and set the Session ID to A. Click the OK button at the bottom of
the window to launch the Session.

The ACS emulator session starts automatically.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

5. Enter Signon Information (User and Password) and click OK.

6. Wait for the Emulator Session to come up and connect to the host.
7. Confirm the title bar reads A – BP5250 Display (i.e.: Session ID – Session Name):

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

8. In the menu bar, click ‘File > Save As’, then provide a filename (e.g.: BP5250Display.hod) and save the Session
File.

Note: The location of the saved session file (.HOD) can vary. Sometimes, the file is stored in the user’s
Documents folder (e.g.: C:\Users\<user>\Documents\IBM\iAccessClient\Emulator) and other times, it may be
stored in the user’s specific AppData location (e.g.: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\...)

9. Close the emulator window by clicking the CLOSE button on the right side of the title bar (i.e.: ‘X’). The
window should close without prompting to save changes.

Note: Changes made to the window size save automatically.

10. Return to the Session Manager window. Check if you see the BP5250Display session (as shown below):

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
iAccess Client Solutions Configuration

11. If the BP5250Display session is NOT displayed in the Session Manager, it is because the Session Manager is
not pointed to the directory containing the BP5250Display.hod file you created. On the File menu, click
Change Directory. Navigate to the directory containing the saved session file, select BP5250Display.hod and
then click Open.

The BP5250Display session should now appear in the Session Manager window (as depicted in a previous
screenshot).

12. In the Session Manager, double-click the BP5250Display display to Launch BP5250Display session.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

Blue Prism Configuration

Since the IBM iAccess Client Solutions is a Java-based application and the emulator itself is a Mainframe
application, it is necessary to create two separate Business Objects.

One Business Object is used to spy ACS GUI screen by Java Spy mode and/or other spy modes, and the second
Business Object is used to spy the Mainframe screen using the Mainframe Spy mode.

Business Object 1 (ACS GUI screen):

The first Business Object is to Launch/Attach the ACS GUI and logging in to Mainframe. This needs to use the
Java Spy mode.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

To Attach the new window Session Manager, sometimes, another Business Object may need to be created.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

For more details on how to spy a Java application, refer to the Java Automation Guide Guide available from the
Blue Prism Portal > Documents section.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

Business Object 2 (Mainframe screen):

The following instructions work only with an open session, i.e. the ACS Mainframe session emulator must be
running already before attempting to Attach.

After launch and logging in to the Mainframe screen (the session is opened), the second Business Object is
going to connect to the running session and use Mainframe Spy mode.

1. Create a new Business Object.

2. In the Application Modeller Wizard select Mainframe Application, then click Next.

3. For IBM Mainframe or AS400 select IBM Personal Communicator (HLLAPI), then click Next.

Note: Blue Prism currently does not support IBM iAccess Client Solution with EHLLAPI Interface For
Windows, therefore the options shown below that are highlighted with red square should NOT be selected.

Blue Prism version 6.5.1 and above:

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

For earlier versions of Blue Prism (prior 6.5.1) the option will show as IBM iAccess (EHLLAPI):

4. Select the Session Identifier and click Next.

Note: The Session Identifier must match with the Session ID that was selected in the session profile. Refer to
below screenshot.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Blue Prism Configuration

5. Set the Application Manager mode to match the bitness of the ACS software (Note - “Embedded” mode
works for both bitness, however sometimes, you may need to set it to “External, 64-bit mode” if using 64-bit
ACS software).

6. Click the Launch button in Application Modeller to Attach to the running session.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Identifying elements in ACS Mainframe emulator

Identifying elements in ACS Mainframe emulator

Using the Identify button, highlight the inner window using Win32 Mode spy mode and confirm the selection
by using the left-click mouse button.

This will produce the identification grid as below:

For more details on how to spy a Mainframe application, refer to the Using the Blue Prism Mainframe Spy Guide
available from the Blue Prism Portal > Documents section.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions
Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

• Problem 1:
If the following error message pops up:

o Cause 1:
There is a mismatch of Session ID between ACS Mainframe session ID and Blue Prism Application Modeller
Session ID.

To resolve, check the Session ID matches between the ACS Mainframe session configuration and the Blue
Prism Application Modeller Session ID.

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 IBM iAccess Client Solutions

o Cause 2:
The Mainframe Session has not launched yet and is not connected to the Mainframe. To resolve, ensure
the Mainframe Session is launched and already attached.

• Problem 2:
If the following error message pops up, it is because Blue Prism cannot find the relevant library dll file:

"Could not load the dll - PCSHLL32.DLL. "

Solution:
Search PCSHLL32.DLL file on the PC and then:

1. Copy PCSHLL32.dll to your "C:\Program Files\Blue Prism Limited\Blue Prism Automate" directory.
2. Copy PCSHLL32.dll to the Windows system directory.

The %windir%\system variable retrieves the path of this directory for 64-bit files on a 64-bit OS, and 32-bit
files on a 32-bit OS.
For 32-bit files hosted on a 64-bit OS the directory is %windir%\SysWOW64

• Problem 3:
If the Java spy mode does not work on the ACS GUI, then the cause often relates to the Java Access Bridge
either not being installed or not being activated.

To resolve this issue, please refer to the Java Access Bridge User Guide document available on the Blue Prism
Portal > Documents section.

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