scrolling horizontally

don.leahy · Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 9:13 pm

A little OT, but still on the subject of screen geometry, I grew tired of trying to design my panels to fit on a 24 line screen so I always code them as a (vertical) scrollable area, even when not really needed. ISPF makes this trivial to do using the )AREA statement.

This has freed me to create deeper panels without losing any functionality for the stick-in-the-mud traditionalists who insist on using an obsolete screen size. Let them scroll.

Willy Jensen · Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 10:04 pm

Yup, I do that too.

don.leahy · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 1:41 am

The worst were the 24x80 diehards who also had PFSHOW turned on.

Lynne · Active User Joined: 15 Jan 2015 Posts: 107 Location: USA

I tried some model variable lines based on the above posts - but I kept getting errors. probably adapting it incorrectly.

so, i decided to start really simple. just 1 variable, and see if I could anything displayed at all.

so, I'm uploading some snaps. snap 1 is what I originally did with creating a display with multiple rows - but I set the panel width to ZSCRMAXW. You can see in snap 2 that it shows a wider screen, but with col 81 on blank because I only define cols 1-80.

snaps 3 and 4 is where I define 1 variable - &big - in the initialization section. I put that one variable in the model line. No scrolling - I just wanted to see if I could get the variable model line to display at all.

and I get the error in screen 4.

Pedro · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 6:51 am

You are violating rule #5.

Pedro · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:03 am

fyi. in s3.png, you have defined EXPAND(//) but later use \\ characters instead. Also, the number of 'z's specified is different that the number of zvars named.

Lynne · Active User Joined: 15 Jan 2015 Posts: 107 Location: USA

I read the IBM 1 sentence explanation. and I didn't understand it.

do they mean I need to initialize the variable in the rexx exec before I display the panel? not in the Init section?

"Dear IBM - it would have been so much simpler to designate a continuation char to continue a model line to describe the rest of a display line on the next physical record line"

If I have 132 chars, I won't need to scroll right. which I don't even want to think about anymore. i just want to be able to display the 132 chars / row

Pedro · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 8:35 am

Lynne · Active User Joined: 15 Jan 2015 Posts: 107 Location: USA

ok. I thought that was what the )INIT did - set up values before the initial display of the panel, but I guess the variable model lne must need something more.

I will go ahead and try that.

Pedro · Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 10:27 am

Lynne · Active User Joined: 15 Jan 2015 Posts: 107 Location: USA

Pedro, I hope they take your suggestion. Your message is much clearer and specific.

I did change the function to create the model line variable in the Rexx and that worked great. I was able to create a much nicer display with the 132 chars.

but I was thinking about this, and to use a 132 record length panel library to begin with is much more straightforward. You can create the model line in the Panel because there the rec length of the panel is the same as the displayed record length.

I thought I would ask the people in charge of the "finished" version of panels if they would consider adding a 132 rec length panel library. Leave the existing panels as is, but add a wider panel pds to ISPPLIB.

so, i set it up.. but when I LIBDEF with STACK specifying DATASETS with 2 panel PDSs of different record lengths - ISPF does NOT like it. Keeps telling me I can't do that. ok. maybe I will try doing LIBDEF with the library option.

but has anyone else set this up? an application with panel libraries with 2 different record lengths? How did you attach your libraries before selecting your application?