CMDACT (Command Action)

The CMDACT tag defines the action that occurs when the associated command is issued.

Syntax


>>-<CMDACT--+------+--ACTION=----------------------------------->
            '-MIXC-'            

>--+-'SELECT select-parameters'----------------------+-->------->
   +-'ALIAS internal-command-name--+------------+--'-+      
   |                               '-parameters-'    |      
   +-PASSTHRU----------------------------------------+      
   +-SETVERB-----------------------------------------+      
   +-BACKWARD----------------------------------------+      
   +-CANCEL------------------------------------------+      
   +-EXIT--------------------------------------------+      
   +-EXHELP------------------------------------------+      
   +-FKA---------------------------------------------+      
   +-FORWARD-----------------------------------------+      
   +-HELP--------------------------------------------+      
   +-PANELID-----------------------------------------+      
   +-RETRIEVE----------------------------------------+      
   +-'%varname'--------------------------------------+      
   '-application-command--+------+-------------------'      
                          '-ASIS-'                          

>--+-----------+-----------------------------------------------><
   '-</CMDACT>-'

Parameters

MIXC

Specifies that the following ACTION attribute is not to be converted to uppercase.

ACTION=

This attribute indicates the action that should be performed when the associated command is issued. The ACTION attribute value is limited to 240 characters. The value must be one of these:

SELECT select-parameters

Causes the ISPF SELECT service to be issued.

ALIAS internal-command-name

Provides an alternate way to express a command. For example, you can assign QUIT as an alias for the command EXIT.

The ALIAS internal-command-name has a maximum length of 8 characters.

In the command table, an alias must precede the command for which it is an alias.

You can create a chain of command aliases in a command table, as long as the result is a valid executable action. The last command and parameter values that ISPF encounters in the alias chain are the ones executed. The command and the parameter values do not necessarily come from the same command definition entry. For example:

Command Name: Command Action
EASYKEY: ALIAS CMD PARM1 PARM2
CMD: ALIAS CMD1 PARM3
CMD1: ALIAS CMD2

In this example, if the EASYKEY command is issued, the command that would ultimately be executed would be CMD2 PARM3.

parameters: If any ALIAS parameters are specified, they take precedence over any parameters included with the command when issued from a command line or the ACTION tag RUN attribute when a pull-down choice is selected.
If the ALIAS internal-command-name does not include parameters, ISPF accepts parameters from the command line or ACTION tag.

PASSTHRU

The PASSTHRU action causes the command and any parameters to be passed to the dialog program in the ZCMD dialog variable.

SETVERB

This is an alternate way to pass a command to the dialog. The SETVERB action causes the internal-command-name to be passed to the dialog in the ZVERB dialog variable. Any command parameters are passed in the ZCMD dialog variable.

BACKWARD

Specifies the ISPF system command BACKWARD as the command action.

CANCEL

Specifies the ISPF system command CANCEL as the command action.

EXIT

Specifies the ISPF system command EXIT as the command action.

EXHELP

Specifies the ISPF system command EXHELP as the command action.

FKA

Specifies the ISPF system command FKA as the command action.

FORWARD

Specifies the ISPF system command FORWARD as the command action.

HELP

Specifies the ISPF system command HELP as the command action.

PANELID

Specifies the ISPF system command PANELID as the command action.

RETRIEVE

Specifies the ISPF system command RETRIEVE as the command action.

%varname

You can specify a command action dynamically at run time by specifying the name of a variable (using % notation) for the ACTION attribute. If you specify a variable name, ISPF retrieves the action value when the command is issued. The variable value must be one of the actions previously listed.

The "%varname" entry must follow the naming conventions described in Rules for “%variable” names.

application-command

Specifies an application-unique command as the command action. The command action is created as an ALIAS unless the ASIS keyword is specified.

ASIS: Specifies that the application-unique command is to be created without the ALIAS designation.

Comments

The CMDACT tag defines the action that occurs when the associated command is issued.

Restrictions

The CMDACT tag must be coded within the CMD definition it is associated with. See CMD (Command Definition) for a complete description of this tag.
You must specify the ACTION attribute on the CMDACT tag.

Processing

None.

Examples

Here is source file markup contains a command table that defines the commands UPDATE, ADD, DELETE and SEARCH. The ADD command sets the ZVERB variable equal to add. The DELETE command sets the ZCMD variable to delete. The UPDATE command is an alias for ADD.

<!DOCTYPE DM SYSTEM>

<CMDTBL APPLID=conv>
  <CMD NAME=update>Upd<T>ate
    <CMDACT ACTION='alias add'>
  <CMD NAME=add>Add
    <CMDACT ACTION=setverb>
  <CMD NAME=delete>Del<T>ete
    <CMDACT ACTION=passthru>
  <CMD NAME=search>Search
    <CMDACT ACTION=passthru>
</CMDTBL>

This table shows the resultant ISPF application command table.

Table 1. ISPF application command table
ZCTVERB	ZCTTRUNC	ZCTACT
UPDATE	3	ALIAS ADD
ADD	0	SETVERB
DELETE	3	PASSTHRU
SEARCH	0	PASSTHRU