The Delete Message File (DLTMSGF) command deletes the specified message files from the system, including all the message descriptions stored in the file. If any messages that use this file exist on queues, no message text will be available for those messages.

Restrictions: To delete the specified message file, you must have object existence (*OBJEXIST) authority for the file. The IBM-supplied message files, QCPFMSG (for OS/400 messages) and the licensed program message files (such as QRPGMSG), cannot be deleted (unless authorized by the security officer).

Parameters

Keyword	Description	Choices	Notes
MSGF	Message file	Qualified object name	Required, Positional 1
	Qualifier 1: Message file	Generic name, name
	Qualifier 2: Library	Name, *LIBL, *CURLIB, *USRLIBL, *ALL, *ALLUSR

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Message file (MSGF)

Specifies one or more message files to be deleted.

This is a required parameter.

Qualifier 1: Message file

message-file-name

Specify the name of the message file to be deleted.

generic*-message-file-name

Specify the generic name of the message file that is to be deleted. A generic name is a character string that contains one or more characters followed by an asterisk (*). If a generic name is specified, then all message files that have names with the same prefix as the generic message file name are deleted.

Qualifier 2: Library

*LIBL

All libraries in the library list for the current thread are searched until the first match is found.

*CURLIB

The current library for the job is searched. If no current library exists in the library list, library QGPL is used.

*USRLIBL

If a current library entry exists in the library list for the current thread, the current library and the libraries in the user portion of the library list are searched. If there is no current library entry, only the libraries in the user portion of the library list are searched.

*ALL

All libraries in the system, including QSYS, are searched.

*ALLUSR

All user libraries are searched. All libraries with names that do not begin with the letter Q are searched except for the following:

#CGULIB     #DSULIB     #SEULIB
#COBLIB     #RPGLIB
#DFULIB     #SDALIB

Although the following Qxxx libraries are provided by IBM, they typically contain user data that changes frequently. Therefore, these libraries are considered user libraries and are also searched:

QDSNX       QRCLxxxxx   QUSRIJS     QUSRVxRxMx
QGPL        QSRVAGT     QUSRINFSKR
QGPL38      QSYS2       QUSRNOTES
QMGTC       QSYS2xxxxx  QUSROND
QMGTC2      QS36F       QUSRPOSGS
QMPGDATA    QUSER38     QUSRPOSSA
QMQMDATA    QUSRADSM    QUSRPYMSVR
QMQMPROC    QUSRBRM     QUSRRDARS
QPFRDATA    QUSRDIRCL   QUSRSYS
QRCL        QUSRDIRDB   QUSRVI

1. 'xxxxx' is the number of a primary auxiliary storage pool (ASP).
2. A different library name, in the format QUSRVxRxMx, can be created by the user for each previous release supported by IBM to contain any user commands to be compiled in a CL program for the previous release. For the QUSRVxRxMx user library, VxRxMx is the version, release, and modification level of a previous release that IBM continues to support.

library-name

Specify the library to be searched.

Examples

DLTMSGF   MSGF(INV)

This command deletes the message file named INV. All message descriptions stored in INV are also removed.

Error messages

*ESCAPE Messages

CPF2105

Object &1 in &2 type *&3 not found.

CPF2110

Library &1 not found.

CPF2113

Cannot allocate library &1.

CPF2114

Cannot allocate object &1 in &2 type *&3.

CPF2117

&4 objects type *&3 deleted. &5 objects not deleted.

CPF2182

Not authorized to library &1.

CPF2189

Not authorized to object &1 in &2 type *&3.