Alphabetical list of directives

Important

If a directive is empty (i.e. nothing after $ or =) the directive is ignored ($ directives are not processed and = directives not copied). When using $$ substitution in a profile directive, remember that symbols not defined are simply replaced by a null string and as trailing blanks are not meaningful, the result could be an empty directive, i.e. nothing will happen at all.

Check carefully that the profile(s) create a correct session profile, i.e it is working in all conditions.

System or group administrators: If you let users define vital environment settings, make sure that the system profile (section after EGL$) contains a default value for that directive.

A number of directives dealing with user access control and system profile setup are explained in the general setup sections

AFT=

see BEF=

APR=name

Points to an archive for the APROPOS command (see text archive commands for details).

BEF=

(and AFT=) are text formatter directives included into print images while in PRINT REVIEW FORMATTER mode. The AFT= images are included after the image; the BEF= before the image. There is an internal limit set (usually five) to the number of before and after images; lines exceeding that number will be ignored.

Note that the first AFT or BEF image in the file are taken as the first line to be included etc. (position). The syntax is BEF=s where <s> is a string which will be copied as is to the print file formatted with the above command.

DF1$

This directive is used to set the initial default values settings, to a value suitable to specific uses of the software or better suited.

The directive has the following structure (fixed column formats). 

  123456789012345678901234567890123456        columns
  DF1$11112222333344445555666677778888        number
            dflt   alt

      1111    ON   OFF   ALLVARS switch
      2222    ON   OFF   ECHO commands to print file
      3333    ON   OFF   ERROR error switch for macro exec
      4444               MESSAGE  verbosity levels
        4.1   O    F     informational messages
                         O  Ok. show them
                         F  false, don't show
        4.2   F    O     computational details
                         F (default) don't show
                         O show 'em
        4.3        F     PDOC print doc info (DIR/DOC/DICT=
                         default display and print
                         F       do not print
        4.4              Control excess variables on vlist (SET VLIST)
                         default:  issue a warning
                   E     Exact: error, exact number required
                   I     Ignore: no message, ignore condition

      5555    OFF  ON    turn paging on
                   NEVE  Never perform paging
      6666
        1-2   ON   OF    AUTOREPAT (empty command lines)
          3   F    O     Option repeat (same command=same opt)
                         F repeat options
                         O remove options after each command
          4  space       <reserved for future use>
      7777               controls options of the expression
                         evaluation commands
       7.1               used internally is 'E' during expression
                         evaluation (value set here does not matter)
       7.2               what to do with descriptors/labels
                         ' ' default (LET/CALC distinction)
                          S  leave them alone (same)
                          Q  query always
                          N  query never
       7.3                blank   vector expression without target
                          ' ' error message
                           D  display
                           C  copy
                           d  display and copy
        7.4              blank    ' ' (default) no action
                            A  append new label to old
      8888               File and WA security and other switches
         8.1   ' '  M    WA security level
                         ' ' normal mode
                         'M' maximum security
                         (maybe with levels)
                      -- Not fully operational, if  non -blank
                         max security is turned on (no levels
                         currently
         8.2             O.K to overwrite switch
                N   O    N ask for confirmation of overwrite
                         O overwrite without asking
         8.3.       N    doc/nodoc switch for file saving
                         ' ' save if there are documents
                          N do not save, unless asked for

 Note:
   2222 means a 4 character field; the table shows that this field
        may contain ON or OFF: ON/OFF are left justified.

        Note: Type options as shown (upper and lower case)

    8.1 means the first character position of 8888

        Blank fields mean "accept system default"

    *)  Fields reserved for future use: leave them blank if you wish
        to avoid problems in future versions.

DFZ$<string>

Defines the Z$ string variable from within the profile. Note that on many systems the z$ contains the command line used to invoke EDA. This directive, if present, replaces any value z$ has at this point, e.g. the command line contents are replaced.

Compare to the RDZ$ directive.

DIR=

Please note: if you are in a normal teaching or research environment, where several users have a similar environment and use a number of identical files (libraries) and if there is a system or group administrator caring about those aspects you can ignore this directive.

Indicates the user WA and item directories to be searched by the GET/DIR etc. command family. Several DIR= may be present; their sequence determines the search order (order in which a WA is searched and displayed). 

 The DIR= has the following format:


     col 1- 4   DIR='
         5-12   WA-directory name (8 chars)
           13   type
                 L = library
                 U = user file directory
        14-80   file name where this DIR can be found
Library files are only searched on GET, never on PUT (except (see below) for system administrators). Include at least one user file directory, choosing a file name which is not too common. You need not create that file, EDA will do it automatically. This directory is normally located in the users area, whereas the library directories are stored elsewhere.

When sharing files (system/group administrators: Please do not frustrate your users!): Be aware of access problems (file protection) and variations in group environments (full path names, logical symbols etc). (System/group administrators: It is very useful to have at least two logins/accesses to the system: one as a priviledged user allowing you to perform administrator tasks, and a normal user entry, identical to the one your users have (no privileges, the same limitations etc).

Here is a example (for the VAX). The first two are libraries, whereas the third is the users directory. Here SYS$LOGIN is a (VAX) symbolic name (logical name) meaning the users login directory. 

     DIR=SHARE   LPCK:[EDA.STUDAT]EDAEDA.EDR
     DIR=SPO3    LPCK:[EDA.STUDAT]SPO3.EDR
     DIR=USER    USYS$LOGIN:EDAEDA.EDR
Note also that $$U might be useful here to substitute the user's name. For instance in a PC environment a profile might contain 
     DIR=LIB1    LD:\EDALIB\edaeda.edr
     DIR=USER    UC:\$$U\edaeda.edr
i.e. c:\$$U\edaeda.edr points to a directory bearing the same name as the user, for instance if the user is DUPONT this will point to C:\DUPONT\EDAEDA.edr, i.e. here you have an organization where each user has his/her own directory on the C: disk.

You could also organize the work in a way, that users have their files on floppy disks, then the last line would read something like: 

     DIR=USER    UA:\edaeda.edr

Related directive: DIP= used to indicate, where the files you PUT are stored in your file system.

DIP=

This directive is now obsolete as the directory path is now taken directly from the DIR= directive. 
    col   1 -4   'DIP='
          5-12   WA directory name (8 characters)
            13   'L' for library
                 'U' for user
         14-     Directory path
The prefix is added to files PUT by the user, i.e. determines where the files PUT are actually written.

Columns 5-12 and column 13 are identical to the fields of the DIR= directive. They should match the corresponding DIR= command.

If the directory name field is left blank the prefix will be the default prefix for all files created by PUT, but not for directories mentionned on previous DIP= records. In order to work properly this blank DIP= should be the last in the resulting active profile (i.e. should be defined in the system profile after the global section).

The directory prefix is prepended to all files created by PUT. The system concatenates this field with the work area name; make sure that this results in a correct file name. Remember also that EDA adds a suffix (which is fixed at implementation time); therefore a PUT command creates file names as follows 

     <DIPrefix><workareaname><suffix>
Still remember, that this is an installation problem, i.e. the user is not aware of these internal workings, i.e. only <workareaname> is visible in EDA commands.

This may be useful to keep all EDA files in a single directory; DIP is then a directory reference or some other way (logical name e.g.) pointing to a location where the files may be stored.

Note that if you omit a DIP= directive and if there is no default DIP=, the files will be stored in the current directory of the user, i.e. it is possible, that the files are spread all over your directories. This is not a problem if this is what you want. However for reasons of security (backup) it is probably better (1) to store the files in an EDA library in a single file directory (sounds logical) or (2) to make sure that the user works always in the same directory.

DLG$

DLG$fsFS
        Col  1- 4   DLG$
             5      First preference (may be blank)
             6      Second preference (may be blank)
             7      First preference teaching language 
             8      Second preference for teaching language
Lets you set the preferred data documentation and teaching languages (converted to upper case).

The preferred documentation language is used for data documentation (labels, documents) or other information (text documents, didactical material). Data files can be set up in several languages and information be looked up in language sensitive folders.

Note that language reference letters are purely conventional, i.e. the directory entries or documentation folders need to be set up in a way to match your choice of language(s). Language preference is also available as a substitution symbol in profiles (see $$D and $$E).

Note that preferred language can also be set from the command line (/L= option); please note that when it is present it will override DLG$ settings.

The preferred teaching language is used for teaching materials. If not specified, it will automatically take the same values as the default documentation language.

DTR=directory-path

DTR defines the default text file name root, i.e. if a text file is not found in the current file area (current directory etc), then it looks at this location. E.g. let us suppose that your are looking for a file called mytext, and the current directory is d:\X (PC example) and your profile contains a directive DTR=C:\EDALIB\. Then EDA will look first for d:\x\mytext; if it cannot be found there it will look for c:\edalib\mytext.

Important: this directive is operational for EDA text files, i.e. files know to contain information on EDA (all text archive commands, as well as the VIEW command). This does not affect "normal files", i.e. raw data files, files you edit with TED etc, nor the EDA archive files, which follow other rules. 

    col 1- 4  DTR=
    col 5-80  path name (root)

DIS$<message>

Displays <message on the screen. This is similar to the SCI$ directive, used to send an initialization string to the screen. Use this to display normal messages to the user. See the MSG$ directive, used to display the contents of a file.

EGL$ (end global section)

See section on system profiles.

ELD=directory-path

This directive is used to define the $$L symbol, which normally contains the EDALIB directory, i.e. the directory where EDA keeps important files like map archives, macro or WA libraries.

Note that on a number of systems (PCs for instance) the $$L symbol is defined at startup time (see the system specific documentation for more details). In this case an ELD= directive would replace the current contents of $$L by the directory specified on the directive.

Note also that if $$L is defined at startup time an entry tagged ELB= is inserted into the profile (first record) and contains the EDALIB directory. This is useful in situation where you need to have access to the the initial EDALIB, even if a ELD= directive is specified in some other profile. ELB= is defined because some EDA facilities use it (to locate special information files).

EMD=directory-path

Defines the directory reference for the user's EDA Master directory. Currently this directive is only used to define the $$M symbol. Note that "Master directory" does not mean anything special, i.e. the administrator has to define it and use it in profiles in a coherent way, e.g. as the directory where most things are stored for a user, group or the system.

EPD=directory.$-path

Defines the $$P symbol, i.e. the EDA program directory. In many EDA implementations the $$P symbol is determined by EDA itself, when executed, i.e. i contains the directory in which the EDA program resides. This directive is useful in two situations (1) You have an EDA implementation which cannot determine where the program is located, then you may used EPD= to tell EDA where it is or (2) as a macro programmer you need to retrieve the EDP symbol from the profile. The EPD symbol is only found in the active profile when an EPD directive is present; then the record would in most case be EPD=$$P, i.e. force EDA to write a profile record with the program directory on it.

ERS$s

This directive is not implemented on all systems and may have no effect whatsoever. 
   col 1-4   ERS$
   col 5     B  Acoustic signal (beep)
             O  dialog box (user forced to acknowledge)
Controls error message behaviour in windowing environments.

By default messages are displayed in the standard location (normal output or special message section of the display window). To attract the user's attention you may specify an acoustic signal, together with the message or a dialog box that forces the user to acknowledge the problem.

EXP=name

Points to an archive for the EXPLAIN command (see text archive commands for details).

EPF= Print file editor

This directive is used to tell EDA, that - when you leave EDA and a print file is active - you are offered a possibility to quit EDA and immediately enter a text editor with the print file automatically loaded. Note that this may not work on all systems. Check the system specific information.

The directive is followed by a command string. The string must contain a &P& directive to indicate the location of the print file name in the command string, e.g. EPF=ED &P&/COMMAND=edapf.ini, i.e. call the editor with an option where an init file tailor made for EDA print files is loaded; before passing control to the editor EDA will fill in the actual print file name, hence the need to indicate its location with the &P& tag.

Technical note: In order to work, the EDA version you are using should be able to chain to a program at program termination; this is not the same as the system interface, where a child process is created, i.e. after the process terminates control returns to EDA. Here control never returns to EDA.

HAL= HTML: Add link

Click here for more details.

HAP= Helper applications

[Currently not yet implemented] This tag defines helper applications, that are usually system dependend and used for various purposes. 
   col  1- 4     HAP=    Identifies tag
        5- 8     4 char  identifies application type (mandatory)
		         WBRO    Web Browser
			 WEDI    Web Editor
	9-12     ext1    File extension 1
       13-16     ext2    File extension 2
       17-20     sys     System identification
       21-80     appl    Full path name to application*
The application is called passing a file name to the application (appended to the appl name (full appl field) with a separating space. If you need to specify options that must be inserted after the appl string, you may use a &F tag to indicate the file position. Furthermore you can use &&N if the application does not need a file to operate.

HFC=/HFO= HTML output images (fonts)

Click here for more details.

HLH= Local home page< (HTML)

Click here for more details.
HLL= Insert HTML code at the beginning of output file
Click here for more details.

HLM$ Help level and mode

    col  1-4 'HLM$'
         5    Help level
              0 Beginner
              1 Normal, standard user(default)
              2 Advanced user
         6    Help mode
              0 Built-in help (default mode)
              1 Replace with external help if available
              2 Built-in followed by external
This directive lets you define the default mode and level of the help command as SET by the SET HELP command (see also there). See the appendix of this manual for information on how to build external help files.

HTM$

Sets HTML-mode, i.e. EDA is used to return a html page and is used as a Web server. This is the same as specifying the /HTML option on the command line.

HTM$ currently has no arguments.

INF=name

Points to an archive for the INFO command (see text archive commands for details).

L11$, L12$, L13$

L11$licinfo
Tags identifying and validating the software license. Copy these tags as you have received them; do not edit or change anything, as this will simply invalidate the software licence and EDA will be started up in demo mode.

LFL$

LFL$fnam
fnam is the fully qualified licence file name; this lets you stored the software licence in a location that is convenient to you (changes the defaults). As an alternative you might copy the second, third and fourth record from the file into the L11, L12 and L13 directive.

LMC$

This directive is used to define line macros (abreviations). Up to NMACS line macros (LMC$ records) may be defined that way (NMACS is a implementation constant (see SET LIMITS). The directive has the following format: 
col  1-4 LMC$
     5-8 macro name
     9-  macro definition
On some EDA version line macros may be executed by hitting function keys, i.e. in this case defining line macros, means define function keys for use with EDA.

LRN=

col  1-4  LRN=
col  9-   path name
Defines the location (pathname) of documentation, learning material etc. specific to the currently defined user type. See also WST$, where you may also specify this path; if it is present there this directive will have no effect.

MAC=name

This directive tells EDA where to look for macros executed by the RUN command. <name> may take two different forms. Either it is a file name, then EDA expects a macro-library or a path name, then a command like RUN MYMACRO will look for a file called MYMACRO stored in that directory.

Note that only one MAC= record should be present as EDA looks only for the first.

MAC= is in fact identical to the other text archiv tags, except it implicitly does an EXTRACT operation to the macro scratch file and then EXECUTES the current macro.

MAP=file name

MAP=name indicates the file name, where the current map and casid archive is kept. Only one MAP= directives is admitted in all profiles. If more than one is present only the first will be effective.

MAN=name

Points to the archive for the MAN command. (see text archive commands for details).

ML1$html-document

Defines the location of the document accessible throught the "Learn" item from the HELP menu. [Currently available only through menus]. It can refer to HTM(L) or PDF files. Currently you should make sure that WBR$ and WB1$ are correctly configured. In future versions this might be configured automatically.

MSD$file-name

This directive is identical to the MSG$ directive, with an important difference: after the contents have been displayed the file is deleted (unless the user has no write access to that file). This is useful to put one-time messages or first-caller messages into some special location.

MSG$file-name

MSG$name contains a file name whose contents are to be displayed at start up several are possible. e.g. by system,group or user. Compare to the DIS$ diretive, used to send a single line to the screen.

If the file-name has an extension of .htm or .html, the document is launched through the current Web Browser.

NPF$ (Next profile file)

See section on system profiles.

NRC$

Defines default row and column names (system default variable and case. 
      col  1 - 4   NRC$
           5-24    default row (variable) name
           25-     default col (case) name
Note that names are up to 10 characters long, use singular, not plural. If the plural form cannot be obtained by simply appending the letter 's' to it, refer to the user's manual, documentation of the SET ROWNAM command (special remark). If you specify 'countr y/ies' you will produce 'country' and 'countries'. Invariant forms can be specified as 'series /' (the single quotes ARE NOT part of the specification!). Note also if the field is empty the system's default will be used.

NXY$

Used to set the default names used for x and y variables in regression like situations. By default EDA uses "independant" and "dependant". The SET command can be used to change the names. 
      col  1 - 4   NXY$
           5- 16   x variable name (default independant)
           17-28   y-variable name (default dependant)

PCL$

      col  1 - 4   PCL$
           5- 12   reserved
           13      reserved
           14      Printer form feed character
This directive (Printer control) lets you change defaults related to the print file. Currently only the Form feed (internally known as specff) character can be change. This is usually either '1' for Fortran convention, the form feed character or space.

PFE=

Print file epilogue, see PFP=.

PFP=

PFP= Print file prologue and PFE= print file epilogue are directives used to specify control strings for the print file.

The prologue contains a string or strings are inserted into the print file before EDA starts writing results to the print file and the epilogue string(s) are written before EDA closes the print file. Note that the prologue and epilogue are always written to the print file, even if the print file is not printed. 

   Col 1- 4  PFP= or PFE=
       5-12  printer name see SPR=
       13    reserved
       14     ' ' epilogue/prologue string(s) in col 15-80
              @  look for the profile in a file, i.e. cols 15-80
                 contain a file name.
      15-80  either the string to send to the print file or
             a file name (see above)
An example (PC) 
PFP=         @c:\edalib\prologue.prt
PFE=         @c:\edalib\epilogue.prt
Here the prologue/epilogue are to be found in a file called prologue.prt (epilogue.prt). Note that you may insert these directives without actually creating those files. EDA will ignore the directive. But as soon as the files are present they will be used. Anything found in the file will be written on top of the print file (PFP) or at the end of the print file (PFE) before closing it, with the exception of any line starting with a $$S mark. These lines will be submitted to the system interface and might include some command to initialize the printer or a network. A $$D tag may be used to display that line on the screen. This is useful to instruct or inform the user to perform some task. Note also that lines cannot be longer than 80 caracters.

PLT$

This directive defines the default plot dimensions and other plot options. There are two kinds of plots normal plots and time series plots. See the SET PLOT command, for more information (PLT$ sets the initial defaults; SET PLOT performs the same service from within. 
     col   1 - 4   'PLT$'
           5 -12   name, reserved for future extensions
              13   disp type, reserved for future extensions
           14-22   numercial field  aaabbbcde
                   defines normal plots (PLOT plt() function)
                   14-16  x dimension (characters)
                   17-19  y dimension (characters)
                      20  set to 0 (reserved)
                      21  symbol width for symbols (1..8)
                      22  symbol type
                          0 dots
                          1 numbers
                          2 gvars
                          3 casid
           23-31  num field, defines time series plots
                   23-25  x dimension
                   26-28  y dimension
                      29  reserved
                      30  reserved
                      31  reserved
Important: There are two fields on this directive. You may omit either field, but when specifying an item within a field you should specify all items or none (all blank).

RDD$file-name

This directive is identical to the RDZ$ directive, except that the file is deleted, after the file has been read. This provides a way to convey special messages or produce some first time initialization.

RDZ$file-name

This directive reads a single line from the file on the directive and stores that line into Z$. Note that Z$ may have been set previously by either the DFZ$ directive or from the command line. This command replaces the current contents of Z$. See also RDD$.

SCI$

Send a string to the screen 
       1- 4    SCI$
       5-12    do not use (reserved for future use)
      13-80    any string
If present this is the first string sent to the screen, i.e. this is intended to send control characters putting the screen in some specific mode. On many machines this is not useful at all. Several SCI$ lines may be present.

SCR$

Define screen and printer paper characteristics 
       1- 4    SCR$
       5-12    do not use (reserved for future use)
      13-16    type
               blank = default
               DUMB  dumb terminal
      17-19    Number of lines on screen (blank/0= default)
      20-22    Screen width
      23-25    Print paper number of lines per page
      26-28    Print paper: number of columns
Note that the different settings will be adjusted when read to fit the maximal sizes defined for the current EDA implementation. Use the STAT SCREEN command to command to check the adjusted settings. If you run into trouble you can always type SET SCREEN RESET to go back to the default settings.

Note that some commands will not user screen or page widths over 130 columns. Look up SET SCREEN in the user's manual for more detail.

SDX$ SDY$ SDZ$

1-4 SDX$ 5- default string to use. These three directives are used to set the X,Y or Z variable to a default string, if X, Y or Z are not defined when the directive is executed. This is useful to make sure that a particular variable has a value in all situations, e.g. when the profile is built with information that the user should supply but does not or when an environment variable is not defined etc.

SED$

  col 1-4   SED$
      5-    description (optional)
Tells EDA to use a system editor instead of the built-in text editor TED. This tag performs the same function as the SET EDITOR SYSTEM command from within EDA. Note that SED$ works only if the EDA implementation offers an interface to a system editor. If this is not the case SED$ does not have any effect (no message is issued). The <description> part can be used to have a short description of the editor; it is displayed by the STAT EDITOR command if the editor is set to the system editor. <Description> may be left blank, i.e. only the tag name is needed to set the default editor to "system editor".

SPC$

Defines the special characters used in the EDA syntax (used to change the defaults). Use this directive with care and check the results carefully, as errors here will change the user's world radically. 
    col 1-4     SPC$
          5     default  #    variable name tag
          6              \    control structure separator
          7              ]    comment begin
          8              @    correction delimiter
          9-10           //   end of input
          11             $    substitution character
          12             ~    control character introducer
          13             $    system interface (col 1 of
                              a command)
          14             ;    multiple command separator

SPR=

Tells EDA how to print a file. This directive allows to change the default printing built into EDA. Note that printing can be more or less complex on a given system. Therefore before adding this directive check your system specific documentation for your EDA version. It might well be that you will find there the functionality your are looking for.

When using this directive, especially in group profiles, check carefully that it works for everybody in the intended way.

NOTE: This directive does not work correctly if the system interface is not installed in your EDA version (except when using the &E& or the &N& tags). (see the system specific documentation). Even if it is installed it might not always be available due to e.g. memory problems on a PC, access/authorization on a network.

The syntax is as follows: 

   col  1  - 4    SPR=    directive id
   col  5-  12            printer name
                          DEFAULT  = default printer
   col  14-80             how to print, includes a &F& or &K& string
                          or possibly in cols 14:16 &N&, &E& or &P&
The printer-id (upper case letters) specifies the name the user may use with the SET PRINTER command.

This field may contain the string DEFAULT, it then defines the default way of printing. Beware: When using this you will TURN OFF completely the default EDA printing, i.e. until this directive is removed this is the only way to print by default. Other SPR= directives may however provide additional options. Therefore use and check this carefully. This option is provided when you need to turn off direct printing because e.g. there is no printer attached to the workstation and printing means e.g. calling up some special procedure for transfer to a different machine.

The remainder of the line contains a description how to print the file. This line contains a &F& tag (uppercase F) to indicate the file name location. After the file has been submitted to the system interface the file is deleted, unless you use the &K& (upper case K) tag instead of the &F& tag, then the file is submitted for printing and kept (a message tells the user what is going on).

Note that the presence of a tag is not checked by EDA it just submits the resulting string to the system interface. Again check carefully.

Instead of using the system interface you may also start the print method description with a &E& tag; then the remainder of the line will be executed as an EDA command, just after the current (PRINT) command terminates. This can be any EDA command, but probably you should like to run some EDA macro, performing a number of operations (e.g. using the toolbox to do some filtering or preprocessing). Note also that the macro can retrieve the file name from the Z$ variable. (This will be the full file name).

&P& Tag: The print method description may also start with a &P& tag. Then the the file is submitted to the EDA default printer, together with the remaining information on the line. This is only meaningful, when the sysprt() subroutine has various ways of printing; then this is a possibility of having different printer names, i.e. the user does not see any difference. This could also be used to supply one or several synonyms for a printer.

&N& Tag: The print-method definition may also contain in its first three columns (!) a &N& telling EDA, that there is no printer at all. This causes EDA to display a message containing the print file name telling the user that EDA could not print it. (i.e. EDA behaves as if the user had entered the Keep option.

If you specify a string on the directive, this string will be displayed instead of the default message; you should add a &F& with the string. 

12345678901234567890
SPR=LASER    netprint &F& -noheader
SPR=SPECIAL  &E&RUN PRINTMAC
In this example we define a printer called LASER, where you print with the operating system command netprint. &F& indicates the position where EDA is to insert the file name.

The second printer called SPECIAL does not print directly but calls an EDA macro called PRINTMAC. This macro of course must be present in the EDA macro library, otherwise an EDA error message will be displayed.

Note also that in order to use one of the printers you will need to issue a SET PRINTER "LASER" or a SET PRINTER "SPECIAL" command before printing.

SRF$

col  1-4 SRF$
     5-  File containing the record(s).
This directive designates and activates the session record file feature, i.e. recording some information on the current session at startup. This directive is needed with some options of the $BASE directive. See there fore more information.

Note that you need write access to the file on the directive. Make sure that the file is always available when EDA is called if you are using this feature (if e.g. students use floppies for their own files, this file should be written to the floppy disk).

Beware: Do not create that file, EDA will create it the first time a user calls EDA.

STX$<string>

Defines the $$X variable for substitution.

The explanation below apply also to STY and STZ (but define the $$Y resp. $$Z variable).

You then may use the $$X for any purpose you like. Among the possibilities are

(1) Parametrize the profile file(s): instead of using the same string (.e.g. a directory name) in many different locations you can just define at the beginning and then use the $$X in the remaining sections of the profile(s). This lets you easily modify a profile setup, avoid typing errors etc.

(2) Build up some string from user name, group names and the like.

STY$<string>

Defines the $$Y tag. See STX$ for more information.

STZ$<string>

Defines the $$Z tag. See STX$ for more information. Note that $$? defines $$Z (see there), as well as the SYS$ directive asking for an environment variable ('EV' operation).

SYC$ and SYC=

  Pos: 1-4    SYC$ or SYC=
       5-12   character set name
       13-80  contains system specific special characters
              (plot symbols, semi-graphical characters)
These characters replace the default characters at initialization time. The original characters are written to the profile and may be used for resetting. The SYC$ directive is used to define the default character set. It will also be copied to the user's profile and will be called 'DEFAULT' SYC= may be used to add alternative character sets you may retrieve and use with the SET GRAPH command. If no SYC directive is present, the standard built-in character set will be used. [This set is known as STANDARD and also copied to the user's profile].

See the user manual for an explanation of the characters. (SET GRAPH command).

Currently not all columns (13-80) are used. But do not use the remainder of the line for comments, as future version might use these positions.

SYD$

This directive is used to modify default settings for the definition of the fences, fuzz value and the system replacement values. 
col 1 - 4   SYD$
    5 - 9   value multiplied by step defines the inner fences
   10 -14   value multiplied by step defines the outer fences
   15 -24   default fuzz value
   25 -     replacement value
Note that the values may be placed anywhere within the specified column boundaires (integers or decimal values, no exponential representation).

SYS$

 col 1-4  'SYS$'  Directive identification
     5            What to do in case of error
                  'A' Abort. Do not continue EDA. (Severe error)
                      Message "Eda terminates. Contact administrator"
                  'P' Pass. No message at all.
                  ' ' (default) Issue a warning and continue.


 Format 1


 col 6     '$'    Use one of the built in system commands.
     7-8          Operation to perform
                  'MD' make a directory.
                  'DF' delete a file
                  'SR' lock a file (set read-only)
                  'SW' unlock a file (set write allowed)
                  'RF' rename a file
                  'EV' get a name from environment
                       Result stored into $$Z.
    9-            file or directory to operate upon
                  RF (rename) : specify two names, separated
                  by a ",".


 Format 2
 col 6-80       command line to pass to the system interface.
This directive performs a number of operating system functions using the built in interface to the operating system.

Not all platforms will support all options shown above, make sure to test everything before handling the profile over to users. If you are using an option not available on your system profile processing will be aborted.

Note also that on some systems success or failure of a call to the system may depend on the availability of system ressources at execution time (especially memory to perform the requested function may not always be available).

There are two different command formats. The first, identified by a dollar sign in col 6, uses built-in functions. These functions, if they are implemented on your system usually provide a faster and more robust way of performing the requested task than the second format. Prefer this form when implemented.

The second form invokes the system interface. This means on most systems that a child process is created (spawned) requesting system resources to do so. This may be critical in a PC-type DOS environment, where memory is scarce, i.e. this facility can be used to call small utility programs or perform a number of system tasks, but not to call complex programs. In other environments, for instance VMS or Unix any kind of task can be performed.

TAR=name

Points to an archive for the TAR command. (see text archive commands for details).

TEA=name

Points to an archive for the TEACH command (see text archive commands for details).

TUT=name

Points to an archive for the TUTORIAL command (see text archive commands for details).

UCF= (User collection file)

See section on system profiles.

UED=directory-root

(See also section on system profiles) Defines the directory reference for the User's EDA directory. Currently this is useful for (1) defining the location of the user's profile (then the root is prepended to the default profile file name) and (2) to define the $$R symbol.

In some implementations (PC) the $$R symbol may be defined by EDA at startup time (PC: name of the EDAWORK directory if defined).

USR$

See section on user profiles.

VRF$

This directive is used to check the existence of some file for a number of purposes and take action accordingly.

The format of the VRF$ is as follows: 

col 1- 4   VRF$
    5-12   verification string
      13   action tag
           W    issue a warning, that EDA is not correctly installed
           ' '  just check, no messages
           else file must exist, and if present the string must
                match the string in the file. Otherwise EDA may
                not be accessed.
   14-80   path name (file to be checked)
There are basically two uses: (1) Check whether a specific environment is set up correctly in the context of a particular project or (2) to read an string from a file.

If no verification string is present, then the file is read (first line only) and stored (first 40 characters only) into the $$V symbol.

If a verification string is present on the VRF$ directory, the same string must be specified in columns 1-8 of that file; the remaining of the line is stored into $$V (up to 40 characters).

WB1$

See WBR$

WBR$ Web Browser

   1-4  WBR$  or WB1$
   5-   Web browser name (full path name)
WBR$ Defines the current web browser, used in various places around the program. Used to display the contents of html pages.

WB1$ Defines an alternative browser/viewer. Currently it should point, if used to ACROBAT (Reader or full product). This option provides for displaying PDF files.

See also the HAP= directive

WST$ User working profile settings

WST$  
   
    col 5   First preferred language
        6   Second preferred language
  7-14    Defines user and preferences [tentative]
    col 7   User personality type
        8   User personality: statistical approach/background/purpose
        9   Difficulty/advancement level 
       10   Preferences for teaching/working style
       11   reserved 
       12
       13
       14
       15-18 path name where documents related to the user type
             can be found (defines the LRN path)
This directive attempts to define the user's personality to adapt the general flavour of EDA as far as possible to the style/profile of the users.

Currently this is quite experimental, and does mostly affect teaching/learning oriented documentation displayed; it depends heavily upon what is set up and what documentation is available and could be used to define hierarchies of documents.

The path name may or may not be present. If specified it defines the LRN path. This path can also be define with the LRN= tag; if it is defined here if overrides any path specified by LRN.

User personality types
Basically used to define access to specific ressources for the user type. Currently the following types are defined:
' ' default user
L Learner
T Teacher
B User beginner
A User advanced
N User normal, same as default
Z System administrator
Personality with respect to statistics
This attribute is attended to add (alternative) information according to the personality type. It defines a person's attitude towards statistics and the main purpose of its use.
S Statistically minded (university statistician)
T Statistically minded, "official" statistics
A Applied scientist
H Applied scientist: Human Sciences
B Business person
Skills: difficulty etc
Expresses skill level or difficulty level using integer values from 0-9, where 0 is "beginner" and 9 the highest level.
Personal preferences
Expresses preferences regarding details. 0 Means shortest version of what is available and 9 as much detail as available.

XQT$ EDA command

col 1-4  'XQT$'  directive identification
    5-80         EDA command to queue for execution
The <command> is placed on the execution stack, i.e. before you can type a command this command will be executed automatically.

Note that several XQT$ records can be defined. The maximal number depends upon the NMACS implementation parameter (see STAT LIMITS).

XLS, XSP, XSA, XSN, XSL, XJM : output destination path

These tags are used to indicate the destination path for the *WRITE command options exporting to a number of statistical packages supported by EDA.

XLS is used as an example below. 

   
  cols  1 - 4  'XLS='  tag identification
        5 -12   ext    file extension, leave blank if default is
                       acceptable
        13      opt    Additional default options (see below)
       14-             Output path name
Tag namedefault-extensionPackage name
XLSLSP Xlisp-stat
XSLS Splus or New-S
XSPSPS SPSS
XSASAS SAS
XSNDAD/LAD *) SPAD.N
XJMTXT JMP
*) As the SPAD option generates two distinct files, you cannot change the extensions.

Additional default options 

  Package      Available options (field 13)


SPSS          'P' Default mode is new SPSS (7 or later, SPSS-PC)
              'O' Old SPSS version (does not support
                      SET DECIMAL=DOT command).
By default the files are written to the current directory. This directive might be used to indicate the directory to which the output should be written. This directive may also be used to change the default extension of the files.

Make sure to check the results carefully. When issueing a *WRITE XLISPSTAT "MYFILE", a correct file name should be built using <pathname>MYFILE<sysfsp><extension>, where pathname and extension are supplied on the directive record, and sysfsp is the system specific file separator characters as defined in the EDA implementation (DO NOT specify it with the extension).