Command prompt parameter expansion with ampersand

["Peter Dow" <pcdow@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

As I'm sure most of you know,  when prompting a command, it is possible to
expand the entry area for a particular parameter by entering an ampersand
('&') in the first position, clearing the rest of the field, and pressing
enter.

1) Where is this documented? I thought the obvious place would be the CL
Programming or CL Reference manual, but if it's there I couldn't find it. I
did find a discussion under parameter length of the discrete sizes used by
the command prompter ("1 through 12 characters and 17, 25, 32, 50, 80, 132,
256, and 512 characters") and that the prompter will use the next larger
size.  But nothing that says you can use an ampersand to expand the entry
area.

2) How do I get the prompter to use a smaller initial size? As an example,
the CHGDTAARA command allows you to change up to 2000 positions of a data
area at once. On the initial  prompt, it provides space for 32 characters,
not 512 (the most the command prompter will allow). But you can expand it up
to 512 by using the ampersand method. How do I define a parameter to act
this way?

3) What manual is available to a new user that explains command prompting
etc.? I have a vague memory of a Workstation User's Guide or some such, but
a search of the SoftCopy Library and the Info Center found nothing. Is it my
search technique? Is there a different manual? Or is there nothing for a new
user to read on how to use a green screen?  I don't actually have any new
user to point to this, but in searching for answers to 1 & 2 I got to
wondering.

Peter Dow
Dow Software Services, Inc.
909 425-0194 voice
909 425-0196 fax

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