VISTA Plus for MPE User's Guide

Chapter 7
7-16
Setting Indices
The idea behind indexing is to speed up searches in large reports (more than 100 pages). If you
have an inventory report where you always look for the string “TOTAL,” making an index
increases the speed with which you find it. If the string always appears in columns 1 through 5, you
can create the index to search all lines of the report in the specific columns for the value. If
“TOTAL” always appears on the twentieth line of a page in columns 1 and 5, you can make a more
specific index. Either way, once the index is defined, its value becomes a label for a function key
available in search mode. Since function keys are limited, you are limited to four indices per report.
To create an index:
1. Select the “REPORTS” folder you created by using the arrow keys to highlight it. Then, press
F4, Open Folder.
2. Use the arrow keys to highlight one of your files, and select it by pressing F4, View Report.
3. Press F7, Next Keys, from the Viewer screen.
4. Press F3, VISTA Funct'ns. VISTA Plus displays an options window.