When Fields Are Selected by Option Indicators for Display Files

When PUTRETAIN is in effect on an output operation involving field selection, fields in the record format that are not selected for redisplay are not deleted; they can be partially or completely rewritten by newly selected fields.

If PUTRETAIN is in effect only for a newly selected field (specified at the field level), only the beginning attribute character of the field is sent to the display; the ending attribute character is not sent. For fields without PUTRETAIN in the same record format, the OS/400 program sends the display attribute and the data. If PUTRETAIN is in effect for the whole record (specified at the record level), only the beginning and ending attribute characters are sent to the display. Thus, the display attribute of a field can be reset to normal if the field immediately preceding this field is selected and this field is not selected.

For example, assume that the DSPATR(UL) keyword is in effect for two consecutive fields with overlapping attribute characters. If on an output operation with PUTRETAIN in effect, the first of these fields is selected and the second field is not selected, the display attribute of the second field is reset to the normal display attribute. This is because the OS/400 program sends the first field to the display with beginning and ending attribute characters, and its ending attribute character overrides the beginning attribute character of the second field.