Flex Terminal Emulator
Mainframe Terminal Emulation

for IBM Z® (Mainframe) via TN3270, IBM i® (Power Series or AS/400) via TN5250 and Open Systems (Unix/Linux) via VT, SCOANSI or WYSE

Replacing Your Mainframe Terminal Emulation Software

Switching from your current mainframe terminal emulation software can feel overwhelming. However, with FlexSoftware, you're in capable hands. Our team handles these transitions daily, leveraging extensive experience and expertise to ensure a smooth and painless process.

Why Consider Replacing Your Mainframe Terminal Emulation Software?

There are several reasons you might be considering a switch:

High Costs: if you're finding that your current mainframe terminal emulation software is too expensive, it might be time to explore more cost-effective solutions.
Vendor Relationships: strained relationships with your current mainframe terminal emulation software vendor can make support and services less satisfactory.
Enhanced Features: modern terminal emulators often come with enhanced features and better integration capabilities.

How FlexSoftware Can Help

At FlexSoftware, we provide comprehensive support to make your mainframe terminal emulation software transition seamless:

Macro and Script Conversion: we can assist in converting any macros or scripts - whether recorded or custom-developed by your team.
External Application Integration: if you have external applications that integrate with your current mainframe terminal emulation software, we ensure continued host connectivity without disruption.

Addressing Transition Concerns

Understandably, concerns about potential risks can make you hesitant to change your mainframe terminal emulation software. Here's how we mitigate those risks:

Detailed Migration Plan: we offer a detailed migration plan tailored to your specific needs, ensuring a clear path forward.
Expert Guidance: our team provides expert guidance throughout the process, addressing any issues promptly and effectively.

If you've been contemplating a change to your mainframe terminal emulation software but are worried about the implications, we invite you to get in touch. We'd love to discuss a migration plan that suits your requirements and helps you move forward with confidence.

Flex Terminal Emulator

Mainframe Terminal Emulation

Highlights

Ribbon Interface

Flex Terminal Emulator is written entirely in C# .NET, providing a new user interface that is long overdue for the mainframe terminal emulation community. The user interface utilizes the modern ribbon command bar to organize the program's features into a series of tabs at the top of the window. This increases discover-ability of features and functions, enables quicker learning of the program, and makes users feel more in control of their experience with the program. The ribbon replaces both the traditional menu bar and toolbars and is now fully customizable, allowing users to create their own custom tabs and tab groups.

Multiple Sessions

A Flex Terminal Emulator workspace can consist of a single session, or any number of sessions, which may be docked and displayed as tabs and/or floating. Sessions within each workspace can be easily arranged using drag-and-drop functionality.

Any combination of mainframe terminal emulation via TN3270, Power Series via TN5250, or Open Systems via VT400, VT100, VT52, SCOANSI or WYSE sessions can be configured in a workspace.

Window Management

Enhanced Session and Workspace window management provides the ability to navigate active sessions, dock/float session windows to/from the Workspace, cascade and tile either horizontally or vertically. Also, a Restore button is available to easily revert to a saved Workspace environment. This powerful function allows the user to undock session windows, resize and move them around and, with a single click, restore to the saved size and location.

Layout & Lockdown

Allows administrators to securely lock individual application menu items, ribbon groups and other user interface related elements. The layout of the Flex Terminal Emulator ribbons may also be modified to provide a more customized user experience.

Security

Utilizing the latest Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Shell (SSH) protocols, Flex Terminal Emulator provides secure access to mission critical data. With ever increasing threats to corporate data, mandated security audits, and rigorous compliance policies, you can trust that Flex Terminal Emulator will meet all of your security requirements.

See the FIPS 140-2 Compliance page for additional information.

Automation & Scripting

A robust macro scripting language is available for automating routine business processes to create a more productive end user experience.

Recorded macros may also be assigned to keyboard shortcuts, custom extension buttons and more.

Keyboard Customization

Flex Terminal Emulator provides several standard keyboard layouts to choose from, with the ability to customize individual keys on each. Keyboard keys can be mapped to host keys, text strings, macros, mouse movements and more.

Custom keyboards are saved as schemes within a Flex Terminal Emulator session, or as a separate scheme file. Along with keyboard, there are several other schemes available to enhance the look and feel of the application, including color, edit, hotspots and mouse.

Use the Search function to quickly identify existing key mappings.

File Transfer

Flex Terminal Emulator fully supports both IND$FILE for mainframe terminal emulation sessions and secure FTP transfer of files to/from host systems. Users can create custom transfer lists for performing batch file transfers.

FTP file transfers can be performed either natively from any Flex Terminal Emulator session, or for more advanced functionality using the FlexFTP Client.

Extensions

Flex Terminal Emulator Extensions is a powerful tool, which provides enhanced functionality and increased productivity for the user. Included are four system extensions for Notes, PF Keys, Print Multiple Screens and Screen Recorder, with the ability to create custom extensions with buttons for performing any Flex Terminal Emulator action.

All extensions provide:

Ability to float or dock to any side of the Flex Terminal Emulator workspace window
Docked extensions may also be pinned to provide auto-hide capability
When multiple extensions are enabled, they can be stacked

Custom extensions allow users to:

Set the rows between 1 and 14
Set the columns between 1 and 24
Customize the background color
Set buttons to text only, image only or image with text
Use any internal Flex Terminal Emulator image, or import any external image
Customize font color
Set buttons to perform any Flex Terminal Emulator action

Window Themes

Select from 23 available workspace window themes, which control the colors and styles of the window elements, allowing the user to personalize the Flex Terminal Emulator environment.

The slideshow provides a preview of some of the more commonly used themes.

Hover over the image to pause the slideshow and move the mouse away to continue. Use the navigation arrows to manually scroll through the themes, or press any of the slide buttons to jump to a specific theme.

Ready for Cloud and Virtualization

As more and more organizations are preparing for a cloud-based infrastructure to host business critical applications, Flex Terminal Emulator can be published in the cloud as a secure application.

Flex Terminal Emulator also fits well into any existing Terminal Server, Citrix or other virtual environment.

Ready for Windows

Flex Terminal Emulator has been approved by Microsoft for their Ready for Windows program with an "Always up-to-date" status and is available in the Ready for Windows Directory.

The Ready for Windows website lists software solutions that are supported and in use on Windows 10 commercial devices. This reflects our commitment to support the current release of Windows 10/11, the last two Semi-Annual channel releases and any future Windows operating systems.

For more information, please visit the FAQ page on the Ready for Windows website.

Flex Terminal Emulator Mainframe Terminal Emulation