Window management

To accomplish your tasks with the greatest convenience, File-AID for Db2 Object Administration has extensive window management capabilities, which are described in this section.

Positioning windows

While using File-AID for Db2 Object Administration, you can reposition your windows to see data in two or more windows at one time. Many row and primary commands open new windows with their upper-left corner at the current cursor position. You can control the placement of the new window by moving the cursor to a new location after typing the command, but before pressing Enter.

You can also use the following positioning commands:

More information on these commands is in Primary Commands.

Customizing pop-up window placement

You can customize the placement of most pop-up windows. If the window normally opens with its upper-left corner at the cursor, you can change its pop-up placement. Use the following window placement values in your user profile to specify coordinates for the pop-up window:

• MAX COLUMN
• MAX ROW
• OPEN COLUMN
• OPEN ROW.

You can access them in the User Profile Display and Edit window. The fast-path command is MENU.PRO.

The first two values (MAX COLUMN and MAX ROW) are threshold values that represent the upper-left corner of a window. If a window normally opens to the right of the MAX COLUMN value or below the MAX ROW value, the window opens at OPEN ROW and OPEN COLUMN values.

For example, a MAX COLUMN of 40 and a MAX ROW of 12 is approximately the center of a normal screen. Any window that would normally open to the right of column 40 or below row 12 is placed at the OPEN COLUMN and OPEN ROW coordinates.

Removing windows

You can remove a window with implicit selection or primary commands. To implicitly select an END command, place the cursor on the bottom border and press Enter.

The following commands are available to remove a window:

The difference between the above commands is important when used on a File-AID for Db2 Object Administration work buffer. See About the Work Buffers.

Controlling window size

You can specify a window’s size with commands or implicit selection. The following commands are available to control the size of your windows:

You can also use the COMMAND prompt as a toggle to change the window size. Place the cursor on the word COMMAND and press Enter. File-AID for Db2 Object Administration rotates the window sizing commands for execution. For example, the first time you use the COMMAND prompt this way on a normalized window, you maximize it; the second time minimizes the window; and the third time normalizes the window.

Controlling window columns

You can expand, move, freeze, hide, or reorganize columns to create a more useful display.

Expanding Truncated Columns

A truncated column shows only a portion of the column’s width. For example, if a column is 20 characters wide, it can be truncated to 10 characters for display.

To expand a column, use the ZOOM primary command; see ZOOM-Zoom-Column.

Moving Columns Into the Display Area

Several techniques (and combinations thereof) are available to view the columns outside the currently visible area of the window:

Scrolling

Scroll columns using the same techniques as data scrolling. See Scrolling Window Contents.

Key columns in an object display window default to frozen status and cannot be scrolled without releasing (unfreezing) them. For example, in a table display window, the table name and table creator columns default to frozen.

Excluding (Hiding)

Exclude a column from display by using the HIDE primary command; see HIDE-Hide-Column. When a column is hidden, the remaining columns shift left.

Freezing

Freeze a column to keep it stationary while scrolling by using the FREEZE primary command; see FREEZE-Freeze-Column. When a column is frozen, it moves to the left-most position in the window. As additional columns are frozen, they continue shifting to the left, while unfrozen (thawed) columns are shifted to the right.

Reorganizing the Columns

Change the order and display of the columns by using the Column List window. This window opens when the FREEZE or HIDE command is used without implicit selection.

Using the Column List Window

Executing the FREEZE or HIDE primary command without pointing to a column with the cursor pops up the Column List window (Column List Window for a Database Display). In this window, you can make changes to the parent window’s columns. Changes affect the display immediately. You can specify the following types of changes:

• Reorganize the columns in the parent window. Use the M (move) row command to select the column. Use the A (after) or B (before) row commands to specify the destination.
• Hide a column (exclude from display) by using the H row command. See H-Hide-Column.
• Freeze a column (mark as stationary) by using the F row command. See F-Freeze-Column.
• Clear a frozen or hidden column by using the CLR row command. See CLR-Clear-Column.

Numeric range specifiers, block ranges, and total symbols can be used with these commands. For example, you can use the HH block format to hide a range of columns. See Ranges.

Column List Window for a Database Display

Column List Window for a Database Display shows the Column List window for a database display. In all database displays, the DBNAME column has a default status of frozen. As you hide, freeze, and reorganize columns, the current status changes.

Each time you freeze a column, it moves to the top of the list, indicating that the column has moved to the left-most position.

The following figure shows the IBMR and TYPE columns frozen and moved up in the column list.

Freezing Columns

The RESET primary command without parameters restores a window to its initial status:

• Excluded rows are unexcluded
• Hidden, frozen, or moved columns are restored.

Use a parameter for the RESET command to selectively reset column status:

• Use RESET HIDE to release (unhide) hidden columns
• Use RESET FREEZE to release (thaw) frozen columns.

Scrolling window contents

You can scroll the contents of a window using primary commands, function keys, or the scrolling characters above the sequence number field. A summary of scrolling commands and characters is in the following table. Use the KEYS primary command to change function key defaults.

Scrolling does not affect frozen columns. File-AID for Db2 Object Administration automatically designates certain key columns as frozen. You can also freeze any column with the FREEZE primary command.

 Data Scrolling Methods

Scrolling Characters

The scrolling characters (<\//\>) above the sequence numbers implicitly select data scrolling inside the window. Each character represents a direction for the scroll. For example, the character < scrolls data to the left. To use a character, position the cursor over it and press Enter.

The characters indicate in which direction you can scroll to see either additional rows or additional columns.

The following figure shows a scrolling right character and the next figure shows scrolling down characters.

Scrolling Right. The scrolling character “>” indicates additional columns are available by scrolling right. Only the top portion of this window is shown.

Scrolling Down. The scrolling characters “\/” indicate additional rows are available by scrolling down. Only the top portion of this window is shown.

You can change the scrolling characters in your session user profile. For example, you can change the > character to R (for right) and the < character to L (for left). See Window Parameter Display and Edit Window.

Generating vertical displays

Because a window may have many more columns than can be displayed at one time, you may want to generate a vertical display of the column data. When V is executed, a vertical display window opens showing the parent row’s data (see the following figure).

Vertical Display Window. The top border (1) contains information about the source of the row.

In the vertical display window, you can:

• Scroll up and down in the usual manner to view data
• Use the new PREV and NEXT primary commands to select a different row from the parent window.