PIC X is used rather than PIC 99 with the COMP-X and COMP-5 data types. Unlike PIC 99, PIC X shows the length of the data
item and so demonstrates more clearly the use of COMP-X, which is to define a binary item of the specified number of bytes.
Command Line Format
Words printed in italics are generic terms representing names to be devised by you.
Words printed in nonitalic characters are the actual words you must enter. You must type them in upper or lower case as shown.
Material enclosed in square brackets [ ] is optional.
When material is enclosed in braces { }, you must choose from the options within them. If there is only one option in the
braces, the braces indicate repetition.
The ellipsis (. . .) follows { } or [ ] and means you can repeat the material in the { } or [ ]. The number of repetitions
allowed is unlimited unless otherwise stated. If the ellipsis is used with [ ] the material can be omitted altogether.
If a command line does not fit across the page, it is continued on the next line; the continuation line is indented.
Command line options can be specified as /option or -option.
Keyboard Keys
Key names and menu choices are emboldened within the text.
Enter refers to the carriage return or Enter key. Where commands to be typed are shown, the Enter key is not explicitly shown;
it is treated as implicit that Enter must be pressed at the end of the line.
The keys described in this book are not available in all environments. When there is a reference to use of a key such as a
status or function key, this refers to the logical press and release of this key, rather than physical keystroke. If your
environment does not support the key given, please refer to your accompanying
Read Me for the equivalent key.
Numbers
Hexadecimal numbers are enclosed in quotation marks and preceded by a lower-case "x" or "h"; for example, x"9D", h"03FF".
The "x" is used when the hexadecimal number represents a character string; the "h" when it represents a numerical value.
Path Specifications
All path specifications are based on installation to the default installation directory. If you have installed
Visual COBOL to a non-default installation directory, adjust the path specifications accordingly.
All path specifications show default paths for installation on the Windows 7 operating system. If you have installed on an
alternative operating system, adjust the path specifications accordingly.
All path specifications show the physical directory name. This might be different than the paths shown by default in the Windows
Explorer address field. For example, a folder listed as
Computer > (OS)C: > Users > Public > Public Documents, or something similar, in the Explorer address field usually describes a physical location of
c:\users\public\documents. To see the physical location, click the address field in Explorer. You also see the physical path at a command prompt.
Some path specifications use an environment variable to represent dynamic drive and directory names. For example, if your
%PUBLIC% environment variable is set to
c:\users\public, then substitute
c:\users\public in place of a
%PUBLIC% specification in the documented path.
Some path specifications use the %ProgramFiles(x86)% environment variable to represent the drive and directory containing
your program files for both 32-bit and 64-bit machines. If you are running on a 32-bit machine, resolve this to the value
of the %ProgramFiles% environment variable.
User Interface
Menu choices, and UI control and field names are emboldened within the text.
In some environments, you might notice that what appears on your screen differs in minor ways (for example, version numbers)
from that illustrated in this Help. This does not affect the operation of your software.