If you want to clean up user profiles that have sat idle but do not want to take the time and effort to do this manually, IBM comes to the rescue once again. There is a set of commands you can use to manage inactive user profiles. These include Analyze Profile Activity (ANZPRFACT), Change Active Profile List (CHGACTPRFL), and Display Active Profile List (DSPACTPRFL).

Analyze Profile Activity (ANZPRFACT)

This command sets up a job scheduler entry, QSECIDL1, that runs nightly. This job checks whether user profiles have been inactive for the number of days specified when you run the command. The date used is the last used date, the restore date, or the creation date, in that order. The nightly job disables user profiles that it finds to have been inactive for the number of days specified. When user profiles are disabled, messages are sent to the user that ran the ANZPRFACT command.

Several IBM Q* user profiles are never considered inactive, so you don't need to be concerned that QSPL or QSYS, for example, will not work anymore.

Of course, we often have user profiles that are reserved for owning objects or for adopting authority and that never sign on. These should not be considered inactive, so there is a list of profiles that are always to be treated as active ones. The Change Active Profile List (CHGACTPRFL) command, which I'll discuss next, lets you manage this list.

ANZPRFACT INACDAYS(360) sets up the QSECIDL1 job to run every morning at 1:00 a.m., as shown in Figure 1. You can change this schedule if you like. Run ANZPRFACT INACDAYS(*NOMAX) to turn off this process; it removes the entry from the job scheduler.

Figure 1: The ANZPRFACT command puts the QSECIDL1 job on the scheduler. (Click images to enlarge.)

Change Active Profile List (CHGACTPRFL)

You can specify up to 10 user profiles on the CHGACTPRFL command and select whether to add them to the list of active profiles or to remove them.

CHGACTPRFL USRPRF(TOM DICK HARRY)adds users TOM, DICK, and HARRY to the list of user profiles that will never be disabled by this process.

CHGACTPRFL USRPRF(TOM DICK HARRY) ACTION(*REMOVE)removes those users from the active profile list.

Display Active Profile List (DSPACTPRFL)

You can view or print the list of active user profiles by running the DSPACTPRFL command. The list will look something like Figure 2:

Figure 2: View the list of active user profiles with DSPACTPRFL.

Note that the Tivoli licensed product added its users to the list when it was installed.

You need *ALLOBJ, *SECADM, and *JOBCTL special authorities to run the ANZACTPRF command and *ALLOBJ for the CHGACTPRFL and DSPACTPRFL commands.

Vern Hamberg works on the software development team of RJS Software Systems, primarily in native iSeries applications. He has over 15 years experience on the various System i machines. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..