New Edit line cmds

Introduction

Doug Nadel's LMAC

The following text is copied from an IBM web site describing the seamless integration of user-written ISPF Edit line macros. The referred tool LMAC and the corresponding driver macro LINEMAC have been developed by Doug Nadel.

The basic functionality is provided by LMAC, a load module which could be downloaded from the before mentioned IBM web site. The driver macro LINEMAC including the original extensions together with new commands could be downloaded from the link provided at the bottom of this page.

Abstract

LMAC allows you to run user-written line commands in the ISPF editor without having to enter an additional command or assign each new command to a PF key.

Download Description

The ISPF editor has allowed you to write your own line commands (sometimes called prefix commands) for a long time. However, those line commands were only recognized when you also typed a macro name on the command line. As a result, edit line commands are not ‘seamless’ and not many line command edit macros have been written. People who do use them, often end up assigning a program function key to the name of each edit line command macro that they use.

LMAC is a tool developed internally within IBM that provides seamless edit line commands. It allows you to run line command macros without entering another command on the command line and without giving up any PF keys.

You must enter the LMAC command once during the ISPF session to enable line macros. This can be done automatically by specifying !LMAC as an initial macro or by invoking the command ISREDIT !LMAC within an initial macro. On the ISPF command line, type TSO LMAC to customize the name of the macro that gets invoked, otherwise the default is LINEMAC.

When you press the Enter key in ISPF Edit, LMAC scans the screen looking for line commands that the editor doesn’t support. If a command is found in the line command area that the editor won’t recognize, LMAC puts the name of an edit macro on the command line before the ISPF editor examines the screen. As a result, ISPF invokes this macro to handle the line command. LMAC can accept a list of commands to search for or it can pass all unrecognized line commands to your macro.

All line commands will be processed by the same macro. The macro receives the name of the command as a parameter. Because edit macros can call other edit macros, LINEMAC can be written as a small command routing program that simply calls other existing macros.

Note: You cannot use LMAC to override built-in line commands.

Available Line Commands

In my version of LINEMAC you'll find those line commands originally provided by Doug Nadel together with authorized modifications and additional commands by Bill George. I also added line commands developed by Mark Zelden, published on CBT file 434. CMT is a stand-alone program by Lionel B. Dyck. Last but not least you'll find some macros of my own.

Here is a list of line commands: