Allowing Users to Change VM Passwords from a Browser

You can set up VM:Webgateway so that web browser users can change VM passwords from their browser sessions. A user might simply want to change the password, or she might have to change the password because it has expired. In either case, if you set up the VIWEXIT3 user exit, VM:Webgateway will display a password change form on the browser and invoke VIWEXIT3 to change the password on VM. The user will not have to go to a 3270 session herself to change the password.

If you use VIWEXIT3, VM:Webgateway will invoke the user exit and display the password change form when a user:

• Requests a file that requires VM userid and password authentication and VM:Webgateway finds that the user's password is valid but has expired.

• Indicates that she wants to change her VM password by selecting the Change a VM Password task from the VM:Webgateway online documentation.

If you do not use VIWEXIT3, VM:Webgateway serves an error document explaining either that the password is expired or that VM:Webgateway is not configured to change VM passwords, as appropriate. The user can then go to VM to change his password.

Set Up the User Exit

You must name the VIWEXIT3 user exit VIWEXIT3 EXEC, and it must reside on a minidisk or SFS directory accessed by the VM:Webgateway service virtual machine (typically the 191 minidisk). You can use the sample VIWEXIT3 user exit VIWEXIT3 XEXEC, downloaded to the VM:Webgateway service virtual machine 192 minidisk during installation, as a model for your user exit.

Code the user exit to handle both expired and non-expired password change requests. The password change form displays with default instructions; you can set up the user exit to replace those instructions with instructions you supply. You can supply different instructions for expired and non-expired password change requests. VM:Webgateway invokes VIWEXIT3 before displaying the form to check for replacement instructions.

After a user completes and submits a password change form, VM:Webgateway invokes VIWEXIT3 again to change the password on VM. Based on return codes from the user exit, VM:Webgateway displays a page that indicates whether the password change was successful. You can code the user exit to display additional information on that page. For example, if the change was not successful, you can tell the user why.