Introduction to ISPF Editor

The ISPF editor is very versatile, and this document describes only basic editing capabilities. For detailed descriptions of the commands discussed here or for more information about using the ISPF editor, see the IBM manual ISPF/PDF Edit and Edit Macros

ISPF Primary Option Menu

Starting an Edit Session

The Edit Screen

When you specify an empty sequential data set or new PDS member, your first edit session will display a screen that contains blank lines between special fields called the Top of Data and Bottom of Data message labels. There will be 'quote marks' ('''''') on the left of the screen, which will be replaced by line numbers after you type information on the lines. The 'quote marks' are in the line command fields; these fields are where you will type commands which apply to a specific line. The top line on your screen shows the name of the data set you are editing. The next line is the command line (Command ===>), where you enter some types of edit commands.

Figure 3. Editing an Empty Data Set or PDS Member

Note

Before you begin entering data, you may want to check your caps mode. In some situations, the editor will translate what you type to all capital/upper-case letters when you press <Enter>. To ensure that you get mixed (upper/lower) case, enter CAPS OFF on the command line. See the section titled "Edit Profiles" for more information about caps mode and saving caps settings between sessions.

To begin entering data, <Tab> your cursor down to the first blank line after the TOP OF DATA message field. Enter your text or data. When you come to the end of the line, use your <Tab> key to move to the next blank line. As you continue typing lines, eventually you will fill up the screen. See the section "Inserting Lines and Entering Data" for information on how to input data.
When you press <Enter>, the 'quote marks' in the line command fields will be changed to line numbers. From here, see the section on "Using the Editor."
If you see ISPF messages (denoted by the word ==MSG> in the line command fields) below the main Command ===> line, enter the command RESET on the Command ===> line to get rid of them. RESET also gets rid of the 'quote marks' in the line command fields, and the unused blank lines .
The top line on your screen shows the name of the data set you are editing. The next line is the Command ===> line, where you enter some types of edit commands. At the top-right corner, the editor shows you the columns it is displaying (usually columns 1 to 72, depending on the width of your screen). Below it is the Scroll field that lets you specify how you want the screen to be scrolled. The next line is a message field that indicates the top of your data set (Top of Data). (Similarly, after the last line of your data set, which may not be visible on your screen, is a message line for the Bottom of Data.)
Next, the editor displays the first several lines of the data set (a screen's worth). Each line has a line number on the left of the screen. These are for entering line edit commands (commands which apply to a specific line) and are not part of your data.
Occasionally, the editor displays messages for you. These appear immediately after the command line and are denoted by ==MSG> in the line command field. If you see messages, you can get rid of them by entering the command RESET on the Command ===> line at the top of the screen.

Special Keys and Moving Around the Screen

All references to keys are to the IBM 3270 function that a key performs. Refer to your own keyboard mapping chart to determine which key you actually need to press to get the desired function.

• The arrow keys move your cursor up, down, left, or right.
• The <Home> key moves the cursor quickly up to the Command ===> line.
• The <Insert> key lets you enter data within a line. (See the discussion of NULLS in "Edit Profiles.")
• The <Delete> key deletes characters on a line.

At the bottom of the screen, the editor displays the default function key settings (<Fn>). Particularly useful ones include:

<F1>=Help

invoke the ISPF help utility

<F3>=Exit

exit the editor

<F7>=Up

move toward the beginning of the data set

<F8>=Down

move toward the end of the data set

Other function keys perform more complex tasks, which are not discussed here. Refer to the documentation provided by IBM for detailed information on all the F-key functions.

Saving Your Work

As you edit your data set, periodically move your cursor to the Command ===> line (using the arrow keys or your <Home> key) and enter the SAVE command to save your work. This saves the information in the data set and leaves you in the editor to continue working.

Ending An Edit Session

When you are through, move your cursor to the Command ===> line and enter the SAVE command to save your work. Then exit the editor either by entering the END command on the command line or by pressing <F3>. This returns you to the Edit Entry Panel. Press <F3> again to return to the ISPF Primary Option Menu. To exit ISPF, choose option X (enter X on the command line) or press <F3>.
ISPF lets you specify an automatic save option in the editor, called AUTOSAVE. If this option is turned ON, then ISPF will automatically save your data set or file when you type END or press <F3> in the editor. For more information, see the section titled "Edit Profiles."

Cancelling An Edit Session

Sometimes, you realize that you have made changes to a data set that you do not want to keep. You can cancel an edit session by moving your cursor to the command line and entering CANCEL. This returns you to the Edit Entry Panel.

Warning

The CANCEL command cancels all changes since the beginning of the edit session or the last SAVE command, whichever is most recent.