Defining the position of reserved lines

The OPTIONS element LINE defines position of dedicated screen lines.

Syntax

OPTIONS
{ MENU LINE line-value
| MESSAGE LINE line-value
| COMMENT LINE {OFF|line-value}
| PROMPT LINE line-value
| ERROR LINE line-value
| FORM LINE line-value
}

Usage

The OPTIONS statement can define the positions of reserved lines for menus, forms and messages.

Reserved window lines are used in TUI mode. These options are not required in GUI mode. In GUI mode, these options have no effect, except when using the traditional mode, where program windows are rendered as in a dumb terminal.

  • COMMENT LINE specifies the position of the comments for fields. Field comments are defined with the COMMENT attribute in the form specification file. The default is (LAST-1) for the SCREEN, and LAST for all other windows. The field comment display can be disabled with COMMENT LINE OFF.
  • ERROR LINE specifies the position on the screen for the text of the ERROR statement. The text of the ERROR statement is always displayed independently to the current window. The default is the LAST line of the screen.
  • MESSAGE LINE specifies the position of the message line in the current window. This reserved line displays the text of the MESSAGE statement. The default is FIRST+1 (line 2 in the current window). Note that the default message line position is the same as the MENU option comment line.
  • FORM LINE specifies the window line where forms are displayed. The default is FIRST+2 (line 3 in the current window).
  • MENU LINE specifies the position of the menu line in the current window. This line displays the menu name and options, as defined by the MENU statement. The default is the FIRST line in the current window.
  • PROMPT LINE specifies the position of the prompt line where the text of PROMPT statements is displayed. The default value is the FIRST line in the current window.

You can specify any of the following positions for each reserved line:

Table 1. Reserved line expressions
Expression Description
FIRST The first line of the screen or window.
FIRST + integer A relative line position from the first line.
integer An absolute line position in the screen or window.
LAST - integer A relative line position from the last line.
LAST The last line of the screen or window.