Parameters

Specifies an initial option or an initial command stack variable to be processed by the primary option menu. If you specify an option or an initial command stack variable that is not valid, the primary option menu displays an appropriate error message.

panopt

Specifies an initial option, which should be a valid option on the primary option menu. This causes direct entry to that option without displaying the primary option menu. The primary option menu is processed in nondisplay mode, as though the user had entered the option.

A NULL panopt value, OPT(), can be used to bypass processing of the ZSTART variable. When this is used, the primary option menu is displayed in display mode with no option selected and without executing any options listed in variable ZSTART.

BASIC

When the default initial command stack variable ZSTART is defined, BASIC can be used to bypass processing of the ZSTART variable. When this is used, the primary option menu is displayed in display mode with no option selected and without executing any options listed in variable ZSTART.

cmd_stack_var_name

The name of an ISPF profile variable that contains an initial command stack to be processed by ISPF. The specified command stack is processed by ISPF as though it had been entered on the initial display of the primary option menu. The first four characters of the variable value must be "ISPF" followed by the command delimiter character followed by the initial command stack.

Note: The default command delimiter is a semi-colon (;). You can change it in the ISPF settings.

The following example specifies a command stack to have three logical screens created when ISPF starts:

Screen 1 - Data Set List Utility (ISPF option 3.4)
Screen 2 - z/OS® UNIX Directory List Utility (ISPF option 3.17)
Screen 3 - SCLM (ISPF option 10)

The Data Set List Utility is the initial logical screen displayed:

ISPF;3.4;START 3.17;START 10;SWAP 1

When the PANEL parameter is specified and the OPT parameter is not specified, the default cmd_stack_var_name value ZSTART is used. If the ZSTART variable is defined and valid, ISPF executes the command stack contained in the ZSTART variable as though entered on the initial display of the primary option menu. If ISPF cannot retrieve the ZSTART variable or the variable definition is not valid, ISPF displays the primary option menu.

To support an initial command stack being provided in an ISPF variable, ISPF puts the variable name (or "ZSTART DEFAULT" when the default cmd_stack_var_name value ZSTART is used) into the ZCMD variable. Then, the )PROC section of the first primary option menu displayed is executed before the initial display of the panel. The primary option menu must not perform verification of the ZCMD variable in the )PROC section unless the verification allows for the initial command stack variable name (for example, ZSTART) to be stored in ZCMD.

   ISPSTART CMD(MYCLIST parm1 parm2 …)

These parameters are passed to the command procedure. For information about specifying CLIST parameters, see z/OS TSO/E CLISTs. For information about specifying REXX parameters, see z/OS TSO/E REXX User's Guide.

However, if the program dialog consists of multiple tasks and if any of the subtasks use ISPF services, the CMD keyword, not the PGM keyword, must be used. Dialog developers should avoid using prefixes ISP and ISR, the ISPF component codes, in naming dialog functions. Special linkage conventions, intended only for internal ISPF use, are used to invoke programs named ISPxxxxx and ISRxxxxx.

The parameters within the parentheses are passed as a single character string, preceded by a half-word containing the length of the character string, in binary. (The length value does not include itself.) This convention is the same as that for passing parameters by use of the PARM= keyword on a JCL EXEC statement.

XXX:  PROC (PARM) OPTIONS(MAIN);
      DCL PARM CHAR (nnn) VAR;
 

If the value of the PARM field is to be used as an ISPF dialog variable, it must be assigned to a fixed character string because the VDEFINE service cannot handle varying length PL/I strings. In PL/I the first character of the PARM field must be a slash (/), as PL/I assumes that any value before the slash is a runtime option.

Specifies an initial option or an initial command stack variable to be processed by the default primary option menu. If you specify an option or an initial command stack variable that is not valid, the default primary option menu displays an appropriate error message.

option

Specifies an initial option, which should be a valid option on the default primary option menu. This causes direct entry to that option without displaying the default primary option menu. The default primary option menu is processed in nondisplay mode, as though the user had entered the option.

BASIC

When the default initial command stack variable ZSTART is defined, BASIC can be used to bypass processing of the ZSTART variable. When this is used, the default primary option menu is displayed in display mode with no option selected and without executing any options listed in variable ZSTART.

cmd_stack_var_name

The name of an ISPF profile variable that contains an initial command stack to be processed by ISPF. The specified command stack is processed by ISPF as though it had been entered on the initial display of the default primary option menu. The first four characters of the variable value must be "ISPF" followed by the command delimiter character followed by the initial command stack.

Note: The default command delimiter is a semi-colon (;). You can change it in the ISPF settings.

The following example specifies a command stack to have three logical screens created when ISPF starts:

Screen 1 - Data Set List Utility (ISPF option 3.4)
Screen 2 - z/OS UNIX Directory List Utility (ISPF option 3.17)
Screen 3 - SCLM (ISPF option 10)

The Data Set List Utility is the initial logical screen displayed:

ISPF;3.4;START 3.17;START 10;SWAP 1

When none of these three options (option, BASIC, and cmd_stack_var_name) is specified, the default cmd_stack_var_name value ZSTART is used. If the ZSTART variable is defined and valid, ISPF executes the command stack contained in the ZSTART variable as though entered on the default primary option menu. If ISPF cannot retrieve the ZSTART variable or the variable definition is not valid, ISPF displays the default primary option menu.

To support an initial command stack being provided in an ISPF variable, ISPF puts the variable name (or "ZSTART DEFAULT" when the default cmd_stack_var_name value ZSTART is used) into the ZCMD variable. Then, the )PROC section of the default primary option menu is executed before the initial display of the panel. The default primary option menu must not perform verification of the ZCMD variable in the )PROC section unless the verification allows for the initial command stack variable name (for example, ZSTART) to be stored in ZCMD.

If your terminal or emulator does not support code pages, these values are used as the host code page and character set. Otherwise, these values are ignored.

User Profile   -  xxxxPROF
Edit Profile   -  xxxxEDIT
Command Table  -  xxxxCMDS

Applications can choose to display their own LOGO panel directly. These applications can determine whether the user specified the NOLOGO keyword on ISPSTART by retrieving the ISPF system variable ZLOGO. Applications that choose to display their own LOGO panel are responsible for controlling that display operation during split-screen operations and logical-screen restart situations.

All screen sizes from 24 x 80 to 62 x 160 are valid.