Locating an item in a list

Sometimes lists of items such as members of a PDS extend over several screens. Rather than use the DOWN PF key (PF 8) to scroll through the list to find a single item, you can use the LOCATE command followed by the complete or partial name of the item. LOCATE can be abbreviated to LOC or L. When you use LOCATE, the screen automatically scrolls to the item and displays it at the top of the screen.

In the following example, to scroll to member SEPT04, enter L sept04.

LIBRARY - PREFIX.MEMO.TEXT ---------------------------------- ROW 00001 OF 00020
COMMAND ===> L sept04                                           SCROLL ===> PAGE
   NAME     RENAME    VV.MM   CREATED       CHANGED     SIZE   INIT   MOD  ID
  APR13             01.02  87/04/13   87/05/21 09.55    44     39     4   YOURID
  AUG01             01.00  87/08/01   87/08/01 10.01    24     24     0   YOURID
  FEB27             01.01  87/02/27   87/03/07 14.52    12     11     2   YOURID
  JAN10             01.00  87/01/10   87/01/10 17:07    21     21     0   YOURID
  JUL01             01.01  87/07/01   87/07/07 12.52    10     10     1   YOURID
  JUL03             01.01  87/07/03   87/07/21 17.22    08     09     1   YOURID
  JUL07             01.06  87/07/07   87/10/01 09.33    33     24     5   YOURID
  JUL14             01.00  87/07/14   87/07/14 16.15    20     20     0   YOURID
  JUL24             01.00  87/07/24   87/07/24 17.02    10     10     0   YOURID
  JUN04             01.00  87/06/04   87/06/04 11.23    85     85     0   YOURID
  JUN18             01.04  87/06/18   87/06/27 08.43    34     36     6   YOURID
  MAR30             01.02  87/03/30   87/04/01 11:07    15     15     2   YOURID
  NOV10             01.01  87/11/10   87/11/21 14.02    10     12     0   YOURID
  NOV14             01.00  87/11/14   87/11/14 10.23    20     20     0   YOURID
  OCT14             01.00  87/10/14   87/10/14 08.10    20     20     0   YOURID
  OCT24             01.02  87/10/24   87/11/02 15.59    10     21     2   YOURID
  SEPT05            01.00  87/09/05   87/09/05 09.17    85     85     0   YOURID
  SEPT08            01.01  87/09/08   87/10/21 13.44    34     36     1   YOURID
  SEPT12            01.00  87/09/12   87/09/12 14:02    21     21     0   YOURID
  SEPT30            01.01  87/09/30   87/11/07 10.31    10     10     0   YOURID
  **END**

Because SEPT04 does not exist and the list is sorted by member name, you scroll to the member closest to that name.

LIBRARY - PREFIX.MEMO.TEXT ---------------------------------- ROW 00016 OF 00020
COMMAND ===>                                                    SCROLL ===> PAGE
   NAME     RENAME    VV.MM   CREATED       CHANGED     SIZE   INIT   MOD  ID
  OCT24             01.02  87/10/24   87/11/02 15.59    10     21     2   YOURID
  SEPT05            01.00  87/09/05   87/09/05 09.17    85     85     0   YOURID
  SEPT08            01.01  87/09/08   87/10/21 13.44    34     36     1   YOURID
  SEPT12            01.00  87/09/12   87/09/12 14:02    21     21     0   YOURID
  SEPT30            01.01  87/09/30   87/11/07 10.31    10     10     0   YOURID
  **END**

Exercise

Display a list of data set members. If you don't have a PDS with members, see Allocating a data set and Using ISPF/PDF edit to create a PDS with several members.

To position the screen to display a specific member second from the top line, enter L member_name.

Now enter the LOCATE command with the first three letters of another member name and observe what happens.

You might also try to locate a non-existent member.