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Extended Functions of ASF › Defining Column Attributes › Mapping Considerations › Defining Map Attributes

Defining Map Attributes

Screen Display

An attribute is a characteristic provided by a terminal. Different characteristics can be assigned to fields on a map. For example, the BRIGHT attribute can be assigned to fields that should be displayed at a brighter-than-normal intensity. The BLINK attribute can be assigned to fields that should blink at run time.

You can specify the map attributes for a column on the Extended Column Definition screen. If you do not specify attributes for a column, default attributes are used for the column.

The attributes for a column take effect when the table is displayed on the screen at run time. The following table describes the attributes typically provided by 3270- and 3279-type terminals.

Attributes Provided by 3270- and 3279-type Terminals

Terminal

Attribute

Description

3270

 

PROTECTED/

UNPROTECTED

A PROTECTED column will not accept data from a terminal operator. An UNPROTECTED column will accept data from a terminal operator.

3270

 

DISPLAY/BRIGHT/

DARK

DISPLAY specifies that the column entry will appear on the screen at normal intensity. BRIGHT specifies that the column entry will appear at high intensity. DARK specifies that the contents of a field are not visible on the screen at run time.

3279

 

BLINK/NOBLINK

BLINK specifies that the column will blink at run time. NOBLINK specifies that the column will not blink.

3279

 

NORMAL VIDEO/

REVERSE VIDEO

NORMAL VIDEO specifies that the color of the column and of the background are not reversed. REVERSE VIDEO specifies that the colors are reversed.

3279

 

BLUE/RED/PINK/

GREEN/TURQUOISE/

YELLOW/WHITE/

NOCOLOR

Any one of these color attributes can be assigned to a column. NOCOLOR specifies that the default display color for the terminal will be used at run time.

ASF defines the following default attributes for columns:

REVERSE VIDEO and BLINK are mutually exclusive; they can be specified in conjunction with other attributes, but they cannot be specified with each other.

The Blank When Zero field, which is listed with the map attributes, indicates how a numeric column is to be displayed when the value of the column is zero. The default is N (zeros are displayed), but you can specify Y so that the column is blank when zero.