Command Window

Common Functionality

Getting Started : Command Window

For most purposes you will want to use the application through the GUI. However, by using commands you are able to streamline its methods of working and save time on repeated tasks. In particular, you may want to:

•

Create macros to automate repetitive procedures. Refer to Macros and MACRO Object for further information.

•

Design and create new windows and menus for the graphical user interface that match the working needs precisely. Refer to Form Concepts: Getting Started and Forms and Menus Objects for further information.

In some cases it can be slightly quicker to use commands rather than the GUI for simple operations. For example:


Q MEM	- list the members of the current element
Q ATT	- list the attributes of the current element

Note:

You must always use the GUI to create elements.

You have the option to type in commands instead of using the command prompts, windows and menus.

Note:

By default the Command Window is not displayed.

Type a command in the Command Window text box and press Enter to enter the command. The scrollable list shows the previous commands entered and any resulting output. The list maintains approximately the last 1000 lines of output. The keyboard Up and Down arrow keys can also be used to scroll through the history of entered commands.

Any line in the command window can be double-clicked to copy it as the active line.

The right-click mouse button in the window displays a pop-up menu:


Copy	Copies highlighted text in the command window.
Paste	Pastes copied text into the command window. Macro text, which has been copied from any source, can be submitted for processing by pasting it into the Command Window. The paste option executes each line of the copied text as a separate command as if they had been typed into the Command Window.
Paste as Macro	Paste as Macro first creates a temporary file containing the copied macro commands and executes this as a macro. For a large number of commands this gives better performance.
Font Size	Allows you to select the font size for the text in the Command Window. The choices are Large, Medium and Small.
Clear	Clears the Command Window.

Note:

Macro files can also be dragged into the command window from their location in Windows Explorer.