On OpenVMS systems, the option file is referenced via the PMDF_OPTION_FILE logical name. By default, this points to the file PMDF_TABLE:option.dat. On UNIX systems, the option file is the file specified with the PMDF_OPTION_FILE option in the PMDF tailor file.¹ By default, this is file /pmdf/table/option.dat. On NT systems, the option file is the file specified with the PMDF_OPTION_FILE PMDF Tailor NT Registry entry. Typically this points to the file C:\pmdf\table\option.dat.

Each time a PMDF program begins running, this file is read and loaded into memory. This overhead can be avoided by compiling your PMDF configuration, in which case the contents of the option file will be incorporated into the compiled configuration. The disadvantage to this, however, is that it means that the configuration must be recompiled and reinstalled whenever a change is made to the option file. See Chapter 8 for details on compiling your configuration.

The PMDF option file should be world readable.