1.9 Defining Keys

Because you will use some DCL commands repeatedly, you might want to assign them to a key so that you can execute them with a single keystroke.

The DCL DEFINE/KEY command makes it possible to define the function of many of your keys. You enter the command, then the name of a valid key, such as PF1, and then the command string of the command you want to assign to the key. This command string, known as an equivalence string, must be enclosed in quotation marks. The syntax for this command line is

<b class="bold">define/key</b> <span class="emphasis"><ikey-name "equivalence-string"</i></span>

For example, to define the PF4 key on a VT100 or VT200 keyboard, you would type

$ <b class="bold">define/key pf4 "show users"</b>%DCL-I-DEFKEY, DEFAULT key PF4 has been defined

This DEFINE/KEY command associates the equivalence string show users with the PF4 key. If you press the PF4 key, the following line appears on the screen:

$ show users

The cursor appears immediately after the last character of the equivalence string displayed by pressing the PF4 key. You must press Return to tell DCL to begin processing this command line.

To increase the usefulness of the defined key, you can use the /TERMINATE qualifier with the DEFINE/KEY command. This qualifier tells DCL to process the equivalence string command when the defined key is pressed, rather than wait for you to press Return. In effect, the /TERMINATE qualifier embeds a Return at the end of the string associated with...