The ISPF command table contains an entry named NRETRIEV. On enabled panels such as Edit, NRETRIEV retrieves the library names from the current library referral list, or data set name, z/OS® UNIX file name, or workstation file name from the current data set referral list. The user is responsible for assigning the NRETRIEV command to a PF key.

When the cursor is not in the Other Data Set Name field, the Volume Serial field, or the Workstation File Name field, and the NRETRIEV key is pressed, the ISPF library fields are filled in from the current list. As long as the cursor is not placed in these fields, subsequent presses of the NRETRIEV key will retrieve the next library concatenation from the list.

When the cursor is in the Other Data Set Name field, the Volume Serial field, or the Workstation File Name field, and the NRETRIEV key is pressed, the data set name, z/OS UNIX file name, or workstation name is filled in from the current data set list. ISPF attempts to determine if the name in the list is a workstation z/OS UNIX file name, or data set name. As long as the cursor is placed in these fields, subsequent presses of the NRETRIEV key will retrieve the next data set name, z/OS UNIX file name, or workstation name from the list.

Use the personal list settings panel to force the NRETRIEV command to verify the existence of a data set before retrieving it. If verification is active, then a check is made to see if a data set name exists before a retrieval attempt. If a volume name is not in the personal list entry, then the catalog is checked to see if the data set name is cataloged. If a volume name exists, an OBTAIN macro is used to check the volume for the data set. Verification does not check ISPF library names, z/OS UNIX file names, or workstation names, and does not check for the existence of PDSE members. In the data set list Dsname Level field, verification is inactive and workstation names are never retrieved.