Message area

Message Format Service (MFS) designates the first ten lines of the screen as the message area if the subsystem is not Extended Recovery Facility (XRF) capable, or the first nine lines of the screen under the status line, if it is XRF capable. When you signal readiness to receive output, IMS displays the new data on the top line in the area, overriding the previously displayed data, and inserts a blank line following the new line to separate it from the old messages.

These lines receive such messages as:

• Responses to IMS commands (except /DISPLAY, QUERY, and /RDISPLAY)
• Messages sent from other terminals or applications
• IMS system messages

When the message area is full and more data is ready for output, MFS sends a message in the warning message area.