What are edit macros?

You can use edit macros, which look like ordinary editor commands, to extend and customize the editor. You create an edit macro by placing a series of commands into a data set or member of a partitioned data set. Then you can run those commands as a single macro by typing the defined name in the command line or, if you have specified a user line command table to the editor, by entering a user line command in the line command field of one or more lines of the data set.

Edit macros can be either CLISTs or REXX EXECs written in the CLIST or REXX command language, or program macros written in a programming language (such as FORTRAN, PL/I, or COBOL). This documentation uses the CLIST command language for most of its examples, with a few examples in REXX. Examples of program macros are in Program macros.

Edit macros can also contain edit assignment statements that communicate between a macro and the editor. These statements are made up of two parts, keyphrases and values, that are separated by an equal sign. Edit assignment statements are described in Edit assignment statements.

Edit macros have access to the dialog manager and system services. Because edit macros are CLISTs, or REXX EXECs, programs, they have unlimited possibilities.

Note: All edit macros must have an ISREDIT MACRO statement as the first edit command. For more information see Syntax.

You can use edit macros to:

Perform repeated tasks
Simplify complex tasks
Pass parameters
Retrieve and return information

These topics show examples of these tasks:

Note: To run an edit macro against all members of a PDS you can use a program containing a loop that uses a LMMLIST service to obtain the names of PDS members. For each member issue an ISPEXEC edit command with the initial macro keyword. For an example, see Figure 1.