A picture string used as a string operand in a FIND command allows you to search for a particular type of character, without regard for the specific character involved. You can use special characters within the picture string to represent the type of character to be found, as follows:

String

Meaning

P'='

Any character

P'¬'

Any nonblank character

P'.'

Any nondisplayable (invalid) character

P'#'

Any numeric character (0-9)

P'-'

Any nonnumeric character

P'@'

Any alphabetic character (uppercase or lowercase).

String

Meaning

P'<'

Any lowercase alphabetic character

P'>'

Any uppercase alphabetic character

P'$'

Any special character (not alphabetic or numeric).

If an APL or TEXT keyboard is being used, this additional character can be used in a picture string:

P''

Any APL-specific or TEXT-specific character

P'_'

Any underscored alphabetic APL character and delta.

Only the special characters listed are valid within a picture string, but the string can include alphabetic or numeric characters that represent themselves.

A DBCS subfield cannot be specified as the subject of a picture string for the FIND command.

FIND P'..'

could result in the message CHARS X'0205' FOUND.