Defining control keys

The OPTIONS logical-key KEY physical-key instruction defines physical keys for logical keys (TUI mode).

Syntax

OPTIONS logical-key KEY physical-key
where logical-key is one of:
{ ACCEPT | HELP | INSERT | DELETE | NEXT | PREVIOUS }
  1. logical-key identifies a logical key corresponding to a dialog action or operation.
  2. physical-key defines the keyboard accelerator (F1, CTRL-Z), to be associated with the logical-key.

Usage

The OPTIONS logical-key KEY physical-key instruction can be used to associate physical keys (F2) for logical keys correspongding to a dialog operation (screen record page up/down) or dialog action (such as insert), to be triggered in the current interactive instruction.

This form of the OPTIONS instruction is provided for backward compatibility with the TUI mode: In GUI mode, use the action configuration to define accelerator keys for actions.

Table 1. Description of OPTIONS logical keys
OPTIONS clause Corresponding action / dialog function Default Physical Key
OPTIONS ACCEPT KEY The accept action, that validates the current dialog. ESCAPE
OPTIONS HELP KEY The help action, to display help messages. CONTROL-W
OPTIONS INSERT KEY The insert action, to insert a new row in an INPUT ARRAY. F1
OPTIONS DELETE KEY The delete action, to deletes the current row in an INPUT ARRAY. F2
OPTIONS NEXT KEY Scrolls to the next screen record page in an INPUT ARRAY or DISPLAY ARRAY. F3
OPTIONS PREVIOUS KEY Scrolls to the previous screen record page in an INPUT ARRAY or DISPLAY ARRAY. F4

In TUI mode, the key to cancel a dialog is the interruption key CTRL-C. In this context, the key to cancel dialogs can only be configured with the TTY settings, to raise an interruption signal (see stty command).

You can specify the following keywords for the physical key names:

Table 2. Keywords for physical key names
Key Name Description
ESC or ESCAPE The ESC key (not recommended, use ACCEPT instead).
INTERRUPT The interruption key (on UNIX™, interruption signal).
TAB The TAB key (not recommended).
CONTROL-char A control key where char can be any character except A, D, H, I, J, K, L, M, R, or X
F1 through F255 A function key.
LEFT The left arrow key.
RETURN or ENTER The return key.
RIGHT The right arrow key.
DOWN The down arrow key.
UP The up arrow key.
PREVIOUS or PREVPAGE The previous page key.
NEXT or NEXTPAGE The next page key.

You might not be able to use other keys that have special meaning to your version of the operating system. For example, CONTROL-C, CONTROL-Q, and CONTROL-S specify the Interrupt, XON, and XOFF signals on many UNIX systems.