Defining hardware tab positions

Hardware tab definitions do not take effect until you turn on tabs mode by using the TABS primary command. The asterisks define the column positions, but the insertion of attribute bytes (hardware tabs) or the repositioning of data strings (logical tabs) does not occur unless tabs mode is on.

To define hardware tab positions:

Type TABS in the line command field and press Enter.
Type an asterisk (*) at each desired column position on the =TABS> line.
Press Enter again.

When tabs mode is turned on using either the ON or ALL operand, the Tab Forward and Tab Backward keys can be used to move the cursor to the space following the next attribute byte.

Note: If the ALL operand is not used, attribute bytes are inserted only in spaces that contain a blank or null character, causing the Tab Forward and Tab Backward keys to recognize only these tab definitions.

When tabs mode is turned on using the tab-character operand, the Tab Forward and Tab Backward keys do not recognize hardware tab definitions because no attribute bytes are inserted.