CPF9897: General-purpose message (program text, no period)

What it means

CPF9897 is one of the general-purpose messages in the IBM i system message file QCPFMSG. Its whole text is a substitution variable, so the program that sends it supplies the words. It is the sibling of the better-known CPF9898. The practical difference IBM i programmers point to is the ending. CPF9898 adds a period after the text, and CPF9897 doesn't, so programmers who want to control the punctuation or show a value on its own use CPF9897.

Programs use these messages because some kinds of message need a message ID. A program can send plain text as an informational message, but an escape message, the kind that ends the sender and reports failure to its caller, must have an ID. CPF9897 and CPF9898 give application code a ready-made one, so a CL program can run SNDPGMMSG with MSGID(CPF9897), MSGF(QCPFMSG) and its own text in MSGDTA.

Because the text is the message, CPF9897 tells you nothing until you read it and find who sent it.

Common causes

• An application program sent its own error or status text with CPF9897, for example to report a failed business rule.
• A CL error routine resent an earlier failure as CPF9897 with a short description.
• A vendor tool or utility reported its own condition using CPF9897.
• A program sent it as an informational or status message, which only adds a line to the job log or the message line and isn't an error at all.

How to find the problem

1. Read the text. On the message screen or in DSPJOBLOG, put the cursor on CPF9897 and press F1 to see it in full.
2. Press F9 on the help screen for the message details. The sending program and library show which application sent it.
3. Check the message type in the details. An escape message means the sender failed. An informational or completion message is usually just a note.
4. Search the program source for CPF9897, or for a phrase from the text, to find the line that sends it.

How to fix it

• Act on what the text says. The fix is usually in the data, the setup or the run order of the application, not in IBM i.
• If the text isn't clear, send the application's support team the full text, the sending program from F9 and the job log.
• If the message was an escape message and nothing monitored it, the caller will show a CPF9999 function check after it. Fixing the condition in the text clears both.
• For your own code, think about defining your own message IDs with CRTMSGF and ADDMSGD. They can carry their own help text, typed values such as numbers, and a severity you choose. A general-purpose message only carries your text.

DSPMSGD MSGID(CPF9897) MSGF(QSYS/QCPFMSG)

Technical reviewer: Albert Joseph, WND Software.

Last reviewed 2026-10-18 by the WND Software team. Written in our own words. For the full reference, check IBM’s documentation for your IBM i release.