Using filters on IBM Developer to limit what is displayed

I was using IBM Developer for z/OS (known as ID/z) to use Eclipse to access files on z/OS, and so use the Eclipse editors and other facilities. The files were displayed in a window, but did not have the handy PF7 and PF8 to scroll through the list. I also had a mixture of python source files, and other files.

I knew there was a way of filtering the displays, but it was a challenge to get this to work.

The easy bit – creating a filter

Under the Remote Systems (Window -> Show view -> Remote systems) it had my connections to z/OS systems, and a tree of my USS files.

On an subdirectory in the tree, right click -> New -> Filter. This gives

• You can specify (or browse for) a subdirectory
• You can either filer on file name of file type.

To filter for file type

You cannot type in the file type field. Click on Select… . You can either select from the existing list, or create your own extension. I created .py. This appears in the File types filter box as py, .

If Show files only is unticked, then the filter will displayed the directories below the path you specified as well as any matching files. If this is selected, then only the filtered file names are displayed

When you press Next it prompts you for a name.

When you get back to the Remote systems, window, you should see your filter in the list. If you open the twistie you will see the files you specified.

Changing the filter

This was initially hard because I was not familiar with the Eclipse usage.

Right click on the filter, -> Properties -> Filter Strings and you can change the information in the filter. Click Apply and Close to finish.

Extending the filter

As well as changing a filter, you can add new filter strings. Click on “New filter string”, fill in the details and select “Apply and Close”.

I could not see how to delete a filter once created.

Go into

Although you have filtered the list of files, you have all of the connections, and other displayed information. If you right click a directory, or filter and “go into” you get just that directory or filter output displayed.

Select the folder with an up arrow in it to get back.

Filter pools

You can have a hierarchy of filters, so I could have a set

• MQ filters – with all of the filter I use for developing MQ applications
• Python filters – with the filters I use for creating python program, and python unit tests

You can display or hide this through the twistie (menu button) at the top right of the Remote Systems window.

To create a new filter pool, ignore what the documentation says. Where you have “Z/OS UNIX files”, right click on it -> new -> Filter pool.

More information

You can display more information using “Window-> Show view -> Remote Systems -> team”