About this guide
The objective of this Quick
Start guide is to introduce you to the System z® LPEX Editor. This guide explains
the design of the editor, describes some of the frequently performed
tasks, and explains how they are performed on this editor. The guide
concludes with a brief description of some of the productivity features
and a command reference.
Background
on the System z LPEX Editor
Just
as Developer for System z is
built on top of the Eclipse platform, the System z LPEX Editor is built on top of
the base LPEX editor to provide additional features and capabilities
that are specific to the needs of z/OS® users.
This guide describes some of the features and capabilities that are
particularly helpful for z/OS users.
Some are features of the base LPEX editor and some are features of
the System z LPEX editor.
Important: To make the System
z LPEX editor behave more like ISPF, make sure to select the
ISPF profile in your Preferences (Window > Preferences
> LPEX Editor).
Differences in terminology for ISPF users
On
the ISPF editor, commands used in the prefix area are referred to
as line commands, and commands used on the command line are referred
to as primary commands. On all the LPEX editors, however, the commands
used in the prefix area are referred to as the prefix commands, while
the commands used on the command line are referred to as line commands.
- The prefix commands area. Prefix commands can be
typed over the prefix area in the editor. These commands apply only
to the line or lines they are typed on. To access the prefix area,
make sure that the prefix area option is enabled. Verify this under Window
> Preferences > LPEX Editor > Controls.
- The line commands area. Press the ESC key
anywhere on the editor to position the cursor at the beginning of
the command window. Type the command on the window and then press ENTER to
apply the command.
Using the editor
The
following is a list of some of the frequently performed editor tasks
and how they are performed on the System
z LPEX Editor.
Note: This list applies to the ISPF profile only.
- Inserting lines. Press Ctrl+Enter to
open a new line and move the cursor to the new line.
- Deleting lines. Enter D in
the prefix area and press ENTER to delete a
line. Enter DD in the prefix area of two different
lines in the document and press Enter to delete
a block of text. The DD commands delimit the block of text that you
want to delete. Press Ctrl+Backspace to delete
the current line.
- Deleting text. Press Delete to
delete the character to the right of the cursor if you are in Insert mode.
The same action deletes the character that is overlaid by the cursor
if you are in Replace mode. Text after the cursor is
shifted to fill the resulting gap. Press Backspace to
delete the character before the cursor. Text after the cursor is
shifted to fill the resulting gap.
- Splitting lines. Press Alt+S to
split the current line at the cursor.
- Replicating lines. Enter R in
the prefix area and press Enter to make a duplicate
of the specified line. Enter RR in the prefix area of two different
lines in the document and press Enter to apply
this to a block of text. The RR commands delimit the block of text
that you want to duplicate.
- Copying and moving lines. Press Alt+L to
mark one or more lines. After the selection is made, pressing Alt+C copies
the marked lines to the location just below the current line. Alternatively,
pressing Alt+M moves the selected lines. Note
that for these operations, the cursor must NOT be in the prefix area.
The C and CC prefix
commands may also be used to copy lines. Similarly, the M and MM prefix
commands can be used to move lines. With CC and MM,
the A, B, O,
or OO commands are used to specify where the
lines are to be copied or moved to (A = after, B = before, O and OO
= overlay).
- Block editing. To perform block editing, you must
first set the marking mode to rectangle (Window > Preferences
> LPEX Editor > Block). Alternatively, you can do this
for the currently opened file by entering the line command set
block.defaultType rectangle. You can select rectangular
blocks by using the mouse.
After the selection is made, you can
copy the rectangular block with Alt+C, or you
can use Alt+Z to copy the block while overlaying
the existing text. A common source of confusion is the fact that in
rectangle marking mode, cursor movement is decoupled from the unmarking
of text. In other words, if some text is marked, moving the cursor
will not unmark the text. You can unmark the text with Ctrl+U.
For
a complete explanation of marking and manipulating blocks of text,
refer to the Marking
blocks of text and Manipulating
blocks of text in the helps.
- Finding and changing data. Ctrl+F opens
the find/replace window. You can restrict the search scope by doing
either of the following actions:
- Select the Restrict search to selection check
box to search within the contents you have marked.
- Select Restrict search to columns check
box to search within specified columns only.
After making your selection, press Esc to
close the window.
- Viewing contents in HEX. You can view file contents
in HEX mode by selecting from the pop-up
menu.
Productivity features
Some available productivity features are as
follows:
- Multiple views of a file (Split screen). You can
open multiple views of the same file by selecting View
> Open new view from the pop-up menu of the editor.
- Filter view. You can use the Filter view feature
found on the pop-up menu of the editor to display only selected sections
of a file such as Comments, Divisions, Errors, and so forth. To return
from the filter view, select Show all to display
the full the content.
- File compare. You can select two files from the
Remote Systems view (hold down the Ctrl key
for multiple selection), and then select Compare With >
Each Other to perform a file comparison. Double click
on the title area of the editor window to maximize the view, if necessary.
Customization of the editor
The System z LPEX Editor can be
further customized to suit your preference. You can use options found
under Window > Preferences > LPEX Editor to
customize standard editor options such as appearance, saving, printing,
and so forth. To customize z/OS specific
editor options, you can find the options to customize under Window
> Preferences > LPEX Editor > System z LPEX Editor. For
example, if you do not like the LPEX Incremental find feature, go
to Window > Preferences > LPEX Editor > Find text and
clear Incremental find dialog.
Commands reference
The following tables
list some of the more common commands supported in the ISPF mode of
the System z LPEX editor.
Table 1. Editor commands available through the following shortcut keys
as well as the pop-up menu on the editor | Function |
Command |
| Select block |
Alt+R |
| Deselect block |
Alt+U |
| Shift selection left |
Alt+F7 |
| Shift selection right |
Alt+F8 |
| Move selection |
Position cursor, then press Alt+M |
| Copy block |
Alt+C |
| Delete block |
Alt+D |
| Split line |
Alt+S |
| Convert to lowercase |
Alt+I |
| Convert to uppercase |
Alt+K |
| Insert line |
Ctrl+Enter |
| Find (and replace) |
Ctrl+F |
| New view (Split view) |
Ctrl+2 |
| Close view (Close duplicate views) |
Ctrl+0 |
| Comment a line |
Ctrl+/ (COBOL only) |
| Uncomment a line |
Ctrl+\ (COBOL only) |
| Filter view |
Ctrl+G |
| Show all (undo filter view) |
Ctrl+W |
| Uppercase code |
Alt+Shift+K (COBOL only) |
Table 2. Prefix commands for a block of lines | Function |
Command |
| Block data shift left |
<< |
| Block data shift right |
>> |
| Block column shift left |
(( |
| Block column shift right |
)) |
| Copy block |
cc |
| Delete block |
dd |
| Overlay block |
oo |
| Repeat block |
rr |
| Exclude block |
xx |
| Convert case of block |
lcc and ucc |
Table 3. Other prefix commands| Function |
Command |
| Copy or move after line |
a |
| Copy or move before line |
b |
| Copy |
c |
| Display excluded line |
f |
| Insert a new line |
i |
| Display the last excluded line |
l |
| Move |
m |
| Overlay |
o |
| Repeat |
r |
Additional reference
Refer to the following
helps for additional information: