Exercise 3.5: Invoking language-sensitive help

Before you begin, you must complete Exercise 3.4: Requesting undo and redo operations.

Inside the editor, there is cursor-sensitive language-reference help available.

This help is invaluable if you cannot remember the order of fields in an RPG specification or the allowed values for a variable field. This help is available from the LPEX Editor window.

To receive language sensitive help, press F1 in an Editor window. If the cursor is on an operation code, you receive help for that operation code; otherwise, you receive help for the current specification.

Accessing language sensitive help

To access language sensitive help:

  1. Position the cursor over the word MOVE in line 112 of the ILE RPG source.
  2. Press F1.

    Language-sensitive help for the MOVE operation code appears in a Help window.

    Text marked in blue in the Help window contains the link to detailed information about the topic in blue.
    Help for MOVE in RPG

  3. Click the link Date Data Type.

    The Help page for Date Data Type is displayed.
    Help for Date Data Type

  4. Play around in the Help window to see what else is available.
  5. Minimize the Help window.
  6. Select Help > Help Contents on the workbench menu to see a list of all help that is available in the product.
    Main Help
  7. In the left pane of the Help window, click Reference.
  8. Expand Language Reference.
  9. Expand iSeries programming information.
  10. Expand High-level languages.
  11. Expand ILE RPG.
  12. Select Language Reference.
  13. Scroll down to Moving Date-Time Data.
    Finding the RPG IV manuals

    Having the latest version of the manuals at your fingertips will make it easier to find programming information. There is also the option to search the help by specifying a search string. By default, the complete help will be searched.

Limiting the search scope

To limit the search to specific documents:

  1. Click Search scope.

    The Select Search Scope dialog opens.

  2. Select Search only the following topics radio button.
    Setting the search scope
  3. Click New.

    The New Search List dialog opens.
    Creating the search topic list

  4. In the List name field, type MyList for example.
  5. Expand Reference.
  6. Select the Language Reference check box.
  7. Click OK on the New Search List dialog.

    The Select Search Scope dialog reopens again with MyList selected in the topic list.
    Search List dialog with Mylist

  8. Click OK on the Select Search Scope dialog.
  9. In the Search field, type iSeries and programming for example.
    Completing the search query
  10. Searching requires a help index and it takes approximately 10 minutes to create the index in your workspace. If you want to complete the search query, click GO.

    The search results display.
    Search results

You have accessed language sensitive help and now are ready to begin Exercise 3.6: Prompting language specifications.