IBM Mainframe Forum

Have a FB12 file where I want to have data consisting of numbers (in all 12 columns)



Pressing Enter and End and then doing a Edit again, the profile is changed to Number on STD, even the linenumbers is changed.



How can I keep it "number off"

//Lasse

Probably because you are using CNTL as your low level qualifier. This dataset is recognised by ISPF as a JCL library (LRECL=80) so it is possibly that.

The only way to keep "NUM OFF" if a dataset has valid sequence numbers is to use an initial macro. Similar to saving a dataset in all-UPPERCASE with CAPS OFF. Edit it again, and ISPF will set CAPS ON.

And line-numbers are totally irrelevant to this.

These users thanked the author prino for the post:

LasseH (Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:25 pm)

since the record format is FIXED and in the last eight positions there are valid sequence numbers, then ISPF assumes NUMBER ON

it is the BASIC rule of ISPF NUMBER/ON/OFF VB/FB

as Prino has suggested, use an initial edit macro to set up things the way You like/want/need

These users thanked the author enrico-sorichetti for the post:

LasseH (Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:26 pm)

Thnx guys

So whatever I do I will be overruled by the ISPF-editor.

Wonder why "he" doesn't trust me, knowing what I'm doing.

//Lasse

This is telling us you are editing a data set with LRECL=12 records. By default, ISPF will use sequence numbers in columns 5 through 12 (the rightmost 8 column) in the data if this data area contains numeric data in ascending order when it initially reads the data set. Mr. Sorichetti sort of said the same thing. I don't think any of us realized this is not a "normal" JCL data set with LRECL=80. I've been using ISPF and its ancestors for roughly 40 years, and I didn't realize it until I asked myself, "What does FIXED-12 actually mean?" and did 5 minutes, if that, of research.

It's not an issue of "trust." ISPF has rather fixed ideas about where sequence numbers are located. For fixed length records, it is the rightmost 8 columns of each record; for variable length records it is the first 8 data bytes after the RDW. For "undefined" length records, it is immaterial since ISPF can't "edit" these data sets.