Action bar help

You can provide help for each action bar choice and pull-down choice with the HELP attribute on the ABC and PDC tags, respectively. By specifying the name of a help panel or message for the action bar choice or pull-down choice, ISPF knows which help information to display when the user requests help on that choice. If you do not specify help for a pull-down choice, the help for the action bar choice is displayed, when the user requests help. If there is no help defined for the action bar choice, the extended help panel is displayed.

This example adds the HELP attribute to each of the action bar choices and pull-down choices in the action bar defined in Coding an action bar definition. The values specified with each HELP attribute are the NAME values of defined help panels.

<!doctype dm system>
<panel name=mainpan3 width=50 depth=15>Sample Application
  <ab>
    <abc help=hfile>File
      <pdc help=hnew>Add Entry
        <action run=add>
      <pdc help=hopen>Delete Entry
        <action run=delete>
      <pdc help=hsave>Update Entry
        <action run=update>
      <pdc help=hexit>Exit
        <action run=Exit>
    <abc help=hview>View
⋮
    <abc help=hoption>Options
⋮
    <abc help=hhelp>Help
⋮
  </ab>
⋮
</panel>

In the preceding example, we defined a help panel named hhelp for the Help action bar choice.

Common User Access requires that you put the Help action bar choice as the last action bar choice in an action bar definition. You should code the Help action bar pull-down in this way:

<abc help=hhelp>Help
  <pdc>Extended help
    <action run=exhelp>
  <pdc>Keys help
    <action run=keyshelp>
</abc>

Help panels tells you how to define help panels.