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OpenVMS DCL Dictionary
To use the Help facility on OpenVMS in its simplest form, enter the
HELP command from your terminal. The Help facility displays a list of
topics at your terminal and the prompt Topic?. To see information on
one of the topics, type the topic name after the prompt. The system
displays information on that topic.
If the topic has subtopics, the HELP command lists the subtopics and
displays the Subtopic? prompt. To get information on one of the
subtopics, type the name after the prompt. To see information on
another topic, press Return. You can now ask for information on another
topic when the Help facility displays the Topic? prompt. Press Return
to exit the Help facility and return to DCL command level.
If you use an asterisk (*) in place of any keyword, the HELP command
displays all information available at the level that the asterisk
replaces. For example, HELP COPY * displays all the subtopics under the
topic COPY.
If you use an ellipsis (...) immediately after any primary keyword, the
Help facility displays all the information on the specified topic and
all subtopics of that topic. For example, HELP COPY... displays
information on the COPY topic as well as information on all the
subtopics under COPY. The ellipsis can only be used from the topic
level; it cannot be used from the subtopic level.
The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters are
allowed in the keyword.
Qualifiers
/EXACT
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE and /SEARCH qualifiers to specify a search
string that must match the search string exactly and must be enclosed
with quotation marks (" ").
If you specify the /EXACT qualifier without the /SEARCH qualifier,
exact search mode is enabled when you set the search string with the
Find (E1) key.
/HIGHLIGHT[=keyword]
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE and /SEARCH qualifiers to specify the type of
highlighting you want when a search string is found. When a string is
found, the entire line is highlighted. You can use the following
keywords: BOLD, BLINK, REVERSE, and UNDERLINE. BOLD is the default
highlighting.
/INSTRUCTIONS (default)
/NOINSTRUCTIONS
Displays an explanation of the HELP command along with the list of
topics (if no topic is specified). By default, the HELP command display
includes a description of the facility and the format, along with the
list of topics. If you specify the /NOINSTRUCTIONS qualifier, only the
list of topics is displayed.
/LIBLIST (default)
/NOLIBLIST
Displays any auxiliary help libraries.
/LIBRARY=filespec
/NOLIBRARY
Uses an alternate help library instead of the default system library,
SYS$HELP:HELPLIB.HLB. The specified library is used as the main (root)
help library, and is searched for Help facility information before any
user-defined default help libraries are checked.
If you omit the device and directory specification, the default is
SYS$HELP, the logical name of the location of the system help
libraries. The default file type is .HLB.
The /NOLIBRARY qualifier excludes the default help library from the
library search order.
/MESSAGE
Displays descriptions of system messages. See the HELP/MESSAGE command
in this manual.
/OUTPUT[=filespec]
/NOOUTPUT
Controls where the output of the command is sent. By default, the
output is sent to SYS$OUTPUT, the current process default output stream
or device.
If you enter the /OUTPUT qualifier with a partial file specification
(for example, /OUTPUT=[JONES]), HELP is the default file name and .LIS
is the default file type. The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%)
wildcard characters are not allowed.
If you enter the /NOOUTPUT qualifier, output is suppressed.
/PAGE[=keyword]
/NOPAGE (default)
Controls the display of information on the screen.
You can use the following keywords with the /PAGE qualifier:
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CLEAR_SCREEN
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Clears the screen before each page is displayed.
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SCROLL
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Displays information one line at a time.
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SAVE[=
n]
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Enables screen navigation of information, where
n is the number of pages to store.
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The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier allows you to navigate through screens of
information. The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier stores up to 5 screens of up to
255 columns of information. When you use the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier, you
can use the following keys to navigate through the information:
| Key Sequence |
Description |
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Up arrow key, Ctrl/B
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Scroll up one line.
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Down arrow key
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Scroll down one line.
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Left arrow key
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Scroll left one column.
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Right arrow key
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Scroll right one column.
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Find (E1)
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Specify a string to find when the information is displayed.
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Insert Here (E2)
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Scroll right one half screen.
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Remove (E3)
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Scroll left one half screen.
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Select (E4)
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Toggle 80/132 column mode.
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Prev Screen (E5)
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Get the previous page of information.
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Next Screen (E6), Return, Enter, Space
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Get the next page of information.
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F10, Ctrl/Z
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Exit. (Some utilities define these differently.)
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Help (F15)
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Display utility help text.
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Do (F16)
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Toggle the display to oldest/newest page.
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Ctrl/W
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Refresh the display.
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The /PAGE qualifier is not compatible with the /OUTPUT qualifier.
/PROMPT (default)
/NOPROMPT
Permits you to solicit further information interactively. If you
specify the /NOPROMPT qualifier, the Help facility returns you to DCL
command level after it displays the requested information.
If the /PROMPT qualifier is in effect, one of four different prompts is
displayed, requesting you to specify a particular help topic or
subtopic. Each prompt represents a different level in the hierarchy of
help information. The four prompt levels are as follows:
- Topic?---The root library is the main library and you are not
currently examining the Help facility information for a particular
topic.
- [library-spec] Topic?---The root library is a library other than
the main library and you are not currently examining the Help facility
information for a particular topic.
- [keyword] Subtopic?---The root library is the main library and you
are currently examining the Help facility information for a particular
topic (or subtopic).
- A combination of 2 and 3.
When you encounter one of these prompts, you can enter any one of the
responses described in the following table:
| Response |
Current Prompt Environment |
Action |
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keyword[...]
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1,2
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Searches all enabled libraries for the keyword.
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3,4
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Searches additional help libraries for the current topic (or subtopic)
for the keyword.
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@filespec
keyword[...]
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1,2
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Same as above, except that the library specified by @filespec is now
the root library. If the specified library does not exist, the Help
facility treats @filespec as a normal keyword.
Displays a list of topics available in the root library.
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3,4
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Same as above; treats @filespec as a normal keyword.
Displays the list of subtopics of the current topic (or subtopics)
for which help exists.
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[Return]
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1
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Exits from the Help facility.
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2
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Changes root library to main library.
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3,4
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Prompts for a topic or subtopic at the next higher level.
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[Ctrl/Z]
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1,2,3,4
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Exits from the Help facility.
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/SEARCH="string"
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier to specify a string that you want to
find in the information being displayed. Quotation marks are required
for the /SEARCH qualifier, if you include spaces in the text string.
You can also dynamically change the search string by pressing the Find
key (E1) while the information is being displayed. Quotation marks are
not required for a dynamic search.
/USERLIBRARY=(level[,...])
/NOUSERLIBRARY
Names the levels of search for information in auxiliary libraries. The
levels are as follows:
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PROCESS
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Libraries defined at process level
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GROUP
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Libraries defined at group level
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SYSTEM
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Libraries defined at system level
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ALL
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All libraries (default)
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NONE
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No libraries (same as the /NOUSERLIBRARY qualifier)
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Auxiliary help libraries are libraries defined with the logical names
HLP$LIBRARY, HLP$LIBRARY_1, HLP$LIBRARY_2, and so on. Libraries are
searched for information in this order: root (current) library, main
library (if not current), libraries defined at process level, libraries
defined at group level, libraries defined at system level, and the root
library. If the search fails, the root library is searched a second
time so that the context is returned to the root library from which the
search was initiated. The default is the /USERLIBRARY=ALL qualifier. If
you specify only one level for the Help facility to search, you can
omit the parentheses.
/WRAP
/NOWRAP (default)
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier to limit the number of columns to the
width of the screen and to wrap lines that extend beyond the width of
the screen to the next line.
The /NOWRAP qualifier extends lines beyond the width of the screen and
can be seen when you use the scrolling (left and right) features
provided by the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier.
Examples
| #1 |
$ HELP
HELP
.
. (HELP message text and list of topics)
.
Topic?
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In this example, the HELP command is entered without any qualifiers or
parameters. This example produces a display of the help topics
available from the root help library, SYS$HELP:HELPLIB.HLB.
If you enter one of the listed topics in response to the Topic? prompt,
the Help facility displays information about that topic and a list of
subtopics (if there are any). If one or more subtopics exist, the Help
facility prompts you for a subtopic, as follows:
Topic? ASSIGN
ASSIGN
.
. (HELP message text and subtopics)
.
ASSIGN Subtopic?
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If you type a subtopic name, the Help facility displays information
about that subtopic, as follows:
ASSIGN Subtopic? Name
ASSIGN
Name
.
. (HELP message text and subtopics, if any)
.
ASSIGN Subtopic?
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If one or more sub-subtopics exist, the Help facility prompts you for a
sub-subtopic; otherwise, as in the previous example, the facility
prompts you for another subtopic of the topic you are currently
inspecting.
Entering a question mark (?) redisplays the Help facility message and
options at your current level. Pressing Return does either of the
following:
- Moves you back to the previous help level if you are in a subtopic
level.
- Terminates the Help facility if you are at the first level.
Pressing Ctrl/Z terminates the Help facility at any level.
The HELP command in this example displays a description of the COPY
command and of the command's parameters and qualifiers. Note that the
ellipsis can be used only from the topic level; it cannot be used from
the subtopic level.
| #3 |
$ HELP/NOPROMPT ASSIGN/GROUP
.
. (ASSIGN/GROUP HELP message)
.
$
$ HELP/NOPROMPT/PAGE EDIT *
.
. (HELP messages on all first-level EDIT subtopics)
.
$
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The two HELP commands request help on specific topics. In each case,
the HELP command displays the help message you request and then returns
you to DCL command level and the dollar sign prompt ($).
The first command requests help on the /GROUP qualifier of the ASSIGN
command. The asterisk (*) in the second example is a wildcard
character. It signals the Help facility to display information about
all EDIT subtopics, which are then displayed in alphabetical order. The
/NOPROMPT qualifier suppresses prompting in both sample commands. The
/PAGE qualifier on the second HELP command causes output to the screen
to stop after each screen of information is displayed.
| #4 |
$ HELP FILL
Sorry, no documentation on FILL
Additional information available:
.
. (list of first-level topics )
.
Topic? @EDTHELP FILL
FILL
.
. (FILL HELP message)
.
@EDTHELP Topic?
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When you enter a request for help on a topic that is not in the default
help library, you can instruct the Help facility to search another help
library for the topic. In this example, entering the command @EDTHELP
FILL instructs the Help facility to search the help library
SYS$HELP:EDTHELP.HLB for information on FILL, an EDT editor command.
The Help facility displays the message and prompts you for another EDT
editor topic.
| #5 |
$ SET DEFAULT SYS$HELP
$ DEFINE HLP$LIBRARY EDTHELP
$ DEFINE HLP$LIBRARY_1 MAILHELP
$ DEFINE HLP$LIBRARY_2 BASIC
$ DEFINE HLP$LIBRARY_3 DISK2:[MALCOLM]FLIP
$ HELP REM
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You can use logical names to define libraries for the Help facility to
search automatically if it does not find the specified topic in the
OpenVMS root help library. This sequence of commands instructs the Help
facility to search libraries in addition to the default root library,
SYS$HELP:HELPLIB.HLB.
The four DEFINE statements create logical names for the four
user-defined help libraries that the Help facility is to search after
it has searched the root library. The first three entries are help
libraries in the current default directory. By default, the Help
facility searches for user-defined help libraries in the directory
defined by the logical name SYS$HELP. The fourth entry is the help
library FLIP.HLB in the directory DISK2:[MALCOLM]. Note that the
logical names that you use to define these help libraries must be
numbered consecutively; that is, you cannot skip any numbers.
The Help facility first searches the root library for REM. It then
searches the libraries HLP$LIBRARY, HLP$LIBRARY_1, HLP$LIBRARY_2, and
so on, until it finds REM or exhausts the libraries it knows it can
search. When it finds REM in the BASIC.HLB library, the Help facility
displays the appropriate help information and prompts you for a
subtopic in that library. If you request information on a topic not in
the BASIC.HLB library, the Help facility once again searches the help
libraries you have defined.
HELP/MESSAGE
Displays descriptions of system messages.
Format
HELP/MESSAGE [/qualifier [...]] [search-string]
Parameter
search-string
Specifies a message identifier or one or more words from a message's
text. By default, HELP/MESSAGE displays a description of the message
produced by the last executed command (that is, the message
corresponding to the value currently stored in the CLI symbol $STATUS).
The Help Message utility (MSGHLP) operates on the search string using
the following conventions:
- Words containing fewer than three alphanumeric characters are
ignored.
- Words can be specified in any order.
You can minimize search
time by specifying the most unusual word first.
- Nonalphanumeric characters are ignored in the search. Exceptions
are the percent sign (%) and hyphen (-) when they prefix a message;
therefore, you can paste a full message into the search string,
provided you include these special characters and delete any variables
(such as file names) that were inserted into the message.
If Help
Message fails to find a pasted message in the database, submit the
command again and omit the leading special character, facility, and
severity. Some common messages are documented as "shared" messages
rather than facility-specific messages.
- Help Message matches all words that begin with the characters
specified in the search string. Use /WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD to specify
that only whole words be matched.
Description
The Help Message utility accesses message descriptions in a text file.
This text file is derived from the latest OpenVMS system messages documentation and,
optionally, from other source files, including user-supplied message
documentation. By default, Help Message provides information on how the
last executed command completed.
You can extract all messages produced by one or more specified
facilities. By directing this output to a file, you can create and
print your own customized message documentation.
For full details about adding comments or messages to the Help Message
database, refer to the OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users.
Qualifiers
/BRIEF
Outputs the message text only.
/DELETE=filename.MSGHLP
Deletes all messages contained in the specified .MSGHLP file from
whichever of the following files is found first:
- A .MSGHLP$DATA file specified with the /LIBRARY qualifier
- The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in a search path specified by the
/LIBRARY qualifier
- The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in the default search path (defined by
logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY)
- SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA (the default .MSGHLP$DATA file)
You must have write access to .MSGHLP$DATA files supplied by Compaq to
delete messages from the database supplied by Compaq.
Note
If you create a .MSGHLP file by specifying a search string, check the
output .MSGHLP file to be sure the search did not pick up any
unexpected messages that you do not want to delete from the database.
Edit any such messages out of the .MSGHLP file before you perform the
delete operation.
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/EXTRACT=filename.MSGHLP
Extracts messages from the database and generates a .MSGHLP file that
can be edited, if desired, and used as input for /INSERT and /DELETE
operations. /EXTRACT retrieves data from a .MSGHLP$DATA file or logical
search path specified by /LIBRARY or, by default, from files in the
search path defined by logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY. When /EXTRACT is
not specified, Help Message produces output in standard text format by
default (see /OUTPUT).
/FACILITY=?
/FACILITY=(facility-name [,...])
/FACILITY=ALL
Specifies which facilities in the database are to be searched for a
match.
Enter /FACILITY=? to output a list of all facilities in the default
database or in a database specified by /LIBRARY.
To narrow your search, specify one or more facility names with
/FACILITY. (Multiple facilities must be enclosed in parentheses and be
separated by commas.) Help Message then outputs only matching messages
produced by the specified facility or facilities.
Specify /FACILITY=ALL to output messages for all facilities in the
database. /FACILITY=ALL is the default unless another facility is
implied; for example, specifying /STATUS or defaulting to the value of
the CLI symbol $STATUS automatically identifies a specific facility.
Similarly, cutting and pasting a message that includes a facility name
invalidates use of the /FACILITY qualifier.
Refer to the OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users for more details about using the /FACILITY
qualifier.
/FULL (default)
Outputs the complete message description, including message text,
facility name, explanation, user action, and user-supplied comment, if
any.
/INSERT=filename.MSGHLP
/INSERT=TT:
Updates the first of the following files to be found with new or
changed information from the specified .MSGHLP file, or, if TT: is
specified, with the data entered immediately at the terminal:
- A .MSGHLP$DATA file specified with the /LIBRARY qualifier
- The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in a search path specified by the
/LIBRARY qualifier
- The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in the default search path (defined by
logical logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY)
- SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA (the default .MSGHLP$DATA file)
You must have write access for the .MSGHLP$DATA files supplied by
Compaq to insert data into these files. User-supplied data is
identified by change bars in Help Message output.
/LIBRARY=disk:[directory]filename.MSGHLP$DATA
/LIBRARY=disk:[directory]
/LIBRARY=logical-name
Defines the messages database for the current command to be a
particular .MSGHLP$DATA file, all the .MSGHLP$DATA files in a specified
directory, or all the files in a search path defined by a logical name.
For most operations, the default database is either
SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA or a search path of .MSGHLP$DATA
files defined by the logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY.
For /DELETE and /INSERT operations, the default database is either
SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA or the first file in a search path
defined by the logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY.
/OUTPUT=filespec
Writes output to the specified file. By default, Help Message writes
output to SYS$OUTPUT, which is normally the terminal. (Use of
/OUTPUT=filespec is incompatible with /PAGE.)
/PAGE (default for screen display)
/NOPAGE
Displays terminal output one screen at a time. The page length is
automatically set to one line less than the value specified by SET
TERMINAL/PAGE. (Use of /PAGE is incompatible with /OUTPUT=filespec.)
/SECTION_FILE=*
/SECTION_FILE=file-spec
Identifies the specified message section file to the system so that
Help Message can interpret the $STATUS values for the messages in that
file. The default file specification is SYS$MESSAGE:.EXE. Specifying
/SECTION_FILE=* automatically includes all message section files
supplied by OpenVMS. For more information, refer to OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users.
Note
The results of using this qualifier are entirely independent from those
created by the SET MESSAGE command. The Help Message utility and
Message utility do not interact. You must separately code each utility
to obtain the results you want.
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/SORT
/NOSORT (default)
Sorts output in alphabetical order. If a sort fails, retry the
operation using the /WORK_FILES qualifier.
/STATUS=status-code
/STATUS='symbol'
/STATUS='$STATUS' (default)
Outputs the message corresponding to the specified status code. You can
specify the status code with a decimal or hexadecimal number or a
symbol enclosed in apostrophes. You can omit leading zeros, but you
must prefix any hexadecimal number with "%X".
If a HELP/MESSAGE command does not include a search string, Help
Message by default outputs the message corresponding to the CLI symbol
$STATUS; that is, Help Message displays information on how the last
executed command completed.
You cannot specify a search string or /FACILITY with /STATUS. /FACILITY
is also illegal if you omit the search string and default to
/STATUS='$STATUS'.
/WORD_MATCH=INITIAL_SUBSTRING (default)
/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD
/WORD_MATCH=INITIAL_SUBSTRING matches all words that begin with a word
specified in the search string. The search string can contain multiple
words to be matched. Only messages that match every word in the search
string (in any order) are output.
/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD matches whole words only and refines your search
to the exact words specified. For example, an exact search on ACC
screens out dozens of other messages containing words that begin with
the letters ACC.
/WORK_FILES=nn
/WORK_FILES=0 (default if qualifier is omitted)
/WORK_FILES=2 (default if qualifier is entered with no value)
Specifies that work files are to be used if the /SORT qualifier is
specified. You can specify a value from 0 to 10 for nn. This
qualifier has no effect if /SORT is not specified.
Examples
| #1 |
$ SHOW DEVICE KUDOS
%SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHDEV, no such device available
$ HELP/MESSAGE
|
The first command creates an error. The default HELP/MESSAGE command
(with no qualifiers) displays a description of the SYSTEM facility
message NOSUCHDEV.
| #2 |
$ HELP/MESSAGE ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE/FACILITY=SYSTEM ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE VIRTUAL ACCESS
$ HELP/MESSAGE/STATUS=12
$ HELP/MESSAGE/STATUS=%XC
|
These commands demonstrate how you can use various qualifiers to access
and display the ACCVIO message (sometimes several!) in different
formats.
| #3 |
$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF ACC
$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD ACC
|
In the first command, Help Message by default matches dozens of words
beginning with the string "ACC." The /WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD
qualifier dramatically refines the search to match the exact word only.
| #4 |
$ HELP/MESSAGE/FACILITY=(BACKUP,SHARED)/SORT/OUTPUT=MESSAGES.TXT
|
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