Changes to Existing Features › Commands Changes › Long Line Commands

Long Line Commands

Commands that are entered in a VTAM or TSO/ISPF interface environment are no longer limited to the top line of the screen. In most cases, you can only enter 79 characters on the top line, which is also known as the command line. A command with more than 79 characters is called a long command.

With r11.3, you can enter part of the command followed by the command continuation character (CCC), which is a plus sign (+). When the CCC is the last character on the command line, the following happens when you press ENTER:

• The screen blanks.
• The command that was entered shows without the CCC.
• The cursor positions after the last nonblank character.
• The two top rows, totaling 160 characters, are available for command input.

This happens because the CCC generates the new /CONT command internally. The /CONT command is documented, but we recommend that customers use the CCC instead of the /CONT command when it is necessary to enter a long command.

A plus sign that is not the last character in the command is treated as part of the command. The maximum length command that can be entered is 160 characters.

The CCC is not valid with the following commands:

• /AUTO
• /ECHO
• /FETCH (The command ignores the CCC.)
• /LOGON

When displaying a long command, /FETCH first blanks out the screen.

The CCC is not available in a batch environment.

Note: For more information about long online commands, see the Command Reference Guide.

For more information about continuation characters in a CAICCI terminal environment, see the Interface Reference Guide.