AUTONEXT attribute

The AUTONEXT attribute forces the cursor to automatically leave the current field when full.

Syntax

AUTONEXT

Usage

With AUTONEXT, when the user types a character that completely fills the current field, the focus goes automatically to the next field in the input order.

If data values entered in the field do not meet the requirements of other field attributes like INCLUDE or PICTURE, the cursor does not automatically move to the next field. It remains in the current field, and an error message displays.

AUTONEXT is particularly useful with character fields in which the input data is of a standard length, such as numeric postal codes. It is also useful if a character field has a length of 1, as only one keystroke is required to enter data and move to the next field.