Program Function (PF) Keys

Some of the defaults for PF keys in Session Manager are different from defaults used in other products. The following summarizes the PF key default values in Session Manager:

PF Key

Function

PF2 (or 14)

This key sets the value for the scroll amount window located on the lower right-hand side of your display screen (SCROLL===>). Initially, this value is set to HALF. This means that if you press one of the scroll PF keys, the MAIN window scrolls your session journal one-half page.

You can change the scroll amount by typing a new value and pressing PF2 (or 14).

The valid scroll amounts are:

Page: Scrolls one page, with page being the number of lines in your MAIN window. You can abbreviate page by just typing in P.
Half: Scrolls one-half page. You can abbreviate half by just typing in H.
Max: Scrolls the maximum length or width of your session journal depending on which scroll PF key you press. You can abbreviate max by just typing in M.
A number from 1 to 999999: Scrolls that number of lines forward or backward when you press PF7 (or 19) or PF8 (or 20).
A number from 1 to 32767: Scrolls that number of columns left or right when you press PF10 (or 22) or PF11 (or 23).

If you enter a not valid value, or press PF2 (or 14) without typing in a value, Session Manager places the value you typed (or blanks if you did not type anything) in the scroll amount window as if it were valid. You will not get an error message until you attempt to use one of the scroll PF keys. You can easily change the scroll amount by typing in a valid value and pressing PF2 (or 14).

PF5 (or 17)

Occasionally, you might want to locate a particular line of output in your session journal. Session Manager defines PF5 (or 17) to do this search for you. All you have to do is type in a character string from the line you want to find and press PF5 (or 17). You can also repeat the search by pressing the key again. Session Manager remembers what you typed.

Some important facts to remember when using this key are:

You must type the character string exactly as it appears in your session journal. For example, if the character string you want to find is in uppercase letters, you must type it in uppercase letters.
When you use PF5 (or 17) to find a line in your session journal, Session Manager begins the search from where your MAIN window is located and goes backward towards the top. Therefore, it might be best to position the MAIN window at the bottom of your session journal so that occurrences of the string are not overlooked.

PF6 (or 18)

Session Manager defines PF6 (or 18) to change the lines that the CURRENT window displays. When you first log on, this window lets you see the last two lines in your session journal. If you press PF6 (or 18), the CURRENT window changes to display the last two lines of input. This can be useful if you want to remember the last two commands or lines of input you entered without having to scroll the MAIN window back over your session journal. So, in effect, PF6 (or 18) "flip-flops" the CURRENT window to let you see either the last two lines that you typed in or the last two lines of output in your session journal.

The remaining PF keys are the scroll PF keys.

The following four scroll PF keys move the MAIN window a specific amount over the information in your session journal. How far the window moves depends on the value that is set in the scroll amount window.

PF Key: Function
PF7 (or 19): Causes the MAIN window to scroll backward towards the top of your session journal.
PF8 (or 20): Causes the MAIN window to scroll forward towards the bottom of your session journal.
PF10 (or 22): Causes the MAIN window to scroll to the left side of the information in your session journal.
PF11 (or 23): Causes the MAIN window to scroll to the right side of the information in your session journal.
If you have lines of output that are wider than your display screen, use this key to look at the rest of the output.

If, after doing several things at your terminal, you want to look at the information at the very beginning or the very end of your session journal, you do not have to repeatedly press PF7 (or 19) or PF8 (or 20) to scroll to this information. Session Manager defines the following two scroll PF keys to move the MAIN window either to the top or the bottom of your session journal.

PF Key: Function
PF9 (or 21): Causes the MAIN window to scroll backward all the way to the top of your session journal.
PF12 (or 24): Causes the MAIN window to scroll forward all the way to the bottom of your session journal.