Output Disposition

Output disposition determines the state of the output and how it is handled under requests issued either online or in batch. The disposition options consist of RELEASE, HOLD, and KEEP, which are described in the following figure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Print Request Issued - Online                  Print Request Issued - Batch
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Destination                                   Destination         
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Output        Output            Sys/Net Printer              Output Library     System   
Disposition   Library             or MAIL                                       Printer  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release       Output is         Output is placed in output   Output is placed   Output is
              placed in         library and batch job is     in output library  printed on
              output library    printed on a system or       for browsing at    the system
              for browsing at   network printer               the terminal      printer in
              the terminal                                                      batch    

              Output is         No copy is retained in       Output is placed   No copy is
              placed in         output library               in output library  placed in
              output library                                 for browsing at    the output
              for browsing at                                the terminal       library  
              the terminal                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hold          Output is         Output is placed in output   Output is placed   Not      
              placed in         library and held until       in output library  applicable
              output library    released (using ALTER OUT    for browsing at             
              for browsing at   and PRINT OUT)               the terminal                
              the terminal                                                               
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keep          .                 Output is placed in output .                    Not      
              .                 library and batch job is   .                    applicable
              .                 printed on a system or     .                             
              .                 network printer            .                             
              .                                            .                             
              .                 Copy is retained in        .                             
              .                 output library             .                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note:

An output is retained in the output library until it is deleted in one of the following ways:
- With the DELETE OUTPUT command.
- When the retention period expires. The default retention period is established using a SET OUTPUT fill‑in. You can modify the retention period of a user's output through the ALTER OUTPUT RETENTION command.
- When the disposition is RELEASE and the output is printed. You can change the disposition through the ALTER OUTPUT DISPOSITION command.
- When the disposition is RELEASE and the output is viewed with a DISPLAY OUTPUT command (and a KEEP OUTPUT command is not issued).
The disposition parameter of an output in the output library is significant when the output is requested to print or after displaying an output online.
You can modify the disposition of the output on the display output status panel. The actions available on that display include the following:
- D-Display output member. S can also be entered to display output.
- Z-Delete output member.
- P-Print output member. Valid only after ALTER OUT has modified the disposition of the member.
- R-Alter the disposition to ready.
- H-Alter the disposition to hold.
- K/L-Alter the disposition to keep.