If you select the retain option, window services retains data that is in the window. When you reference a block in the window the first time, the block contains the same data it contained before the reference.

When you select the retain option, window services considers all of the data in the window as changed. Therefore, if you call CSRSCOT to update a scroll area or a temporary object, or call CSRSAVE to update a permanent object, window services updates all of the specified blocks to which a window or scroll area are mapped.

Select the retain option when you want to replace data in an object without regard for the data that it currently contains. You also use the retain option when you want to initialize a new object.