NET/MASTER Network Control Language (NCL) Programmer's Guide

Testing a Panel
Working With Panels
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message by assigning a new message in the &SYSMSG variable, or redisplay the panel
using the #OPT ERRFLD statement to display the error message unchanged and place
the cursor on the field in error. In this last case, you can define the ERRFLD operand
in the #OPT statement as ERRFLD=&SYS.PANEL.FLD to simplify processing.
Using this return code is an ideal way of providing an escape mechanism (such as the
F3 function key) even though the panel has been defined as having mandatory input
field (using REQ=YES).
Return Code 12
This return code indicates that the display operation has been scheduled. The panel
will be displayed either for the first time or to update an earlier display of the same
panel. You cannot determine if the panel is being displayed for the first time or it is
overwriting (updating) a previous display of the same panel.
Return Code 16
This return code indicates that the panel was not displayed. This can mean that the
panel does not exist or that an error exists in the panel description file. The &SYSMSG
variable contains a message describing the error condition.
Testing a Panel After you create a panel description file in Edit Services, you can test the panel
description file for errors by using the Test a panel option.
Note The Test a panel option assumes that the panel to be tested is a synchronous panel and that CONTROL
PANELRC is set. The values of the &SYS.RETCODE, &SYS.PANEL.FLD, and &SYSMSG variables
returned from synchronous panels (listed earlier in this section) are used to determine the result of testing
a panel and the error message displayed.
You can test a panel by following these steps:
1. Specify the name of the panel library in the Subvolume field and press the ENTER
key.
2. Move the cursor before the name of the panel description file you want to test.
3. Type the letter T.
4. Press the ENTER key. Edit Services uses Panel Services to attempt to display the
panel description file.
5. Examine the Edit Services message line for the message reporting the result of the
test.
Note Edit Services searches for the panel using the default search path, regardless of which file you actually
select for testing (the specified subvolume is irrelevant). For example, if two files of the same name exist
in both your user panel library and the customized panel library, and you select the file in the latter for
testing, Edit Services tests the file in your user panel library instead.