Syntax Editor Window

The Syntax Editor window is divided into four areas:

  • The editor pane is the main part of the Syntax Editor window and is where you enter and edit command syntax.
  • The gutter is adjacent to the editor pane and displays information such as line numbers and breakpoint positions.
  • The navigation pane is to the left of the gutter and editor pane and displays a list of all commands in the Syntax Editor window and provides single click navigation to any command.
  • The error pane is below the editor pane and displays runtime errors.

Gutter Contents

Line numbers, breakpoints, bookmarks, command spans, and a progress indicator are displayed in the gutter to the left of the editor pane in the syntax window.

  • Line numbers do not account for any external files referenced in INSERT and INCLUDE commands. You can show or hide line numbers by choosing View > Show Line Numbers from the menus.
  • Breakpoints stop execution at specified points and are represented as a red circle adjacent to the command on which the breakpoint is set.
  • Bookmarks mark specific lines in a command syntax file and are represented as a square enclosing the number (1-9) assigned to the bookmark. Hovering over the icon for a bookmark displays the number of the bookmark and the name, if any, assigned to the bookmark.
  • Command spans are icons that provide visual indicators of the start and end of a command. You can show or hide command spans by choosing View > Show Command Spans from the menus.
  • The progress of a given syntax run is indicated with a downward pointing arrow in the gutter, stretching from the first command run to the last command run. This is most useful when running command syntax containing breakpoints and when stepping through command syntax. See the topic Running Command Syntax for more information.

Navigation Pane

The navigation pane contains a list of all recognized commands in the syntax window, displayed in the order in which they occur in the window. Clicking on a command in the navigation pane positions the cursor at the start of the command.

  • You can use the Up and Down arrow keys to move through the list of commands or click a command to navigate to it. A double click will select the command.
  • Command names for commands containing certain types of syntactical errors--such as unmatched quotes--are colored red and in bold text by default. See the topic Color Coding for more information.
  • The first word of each line of unrecognized text is shown in gray.
  • You can show or hide the navigation pane by choosing View > Show Navigation Pane from the menus.

Error Pane

The error pane displays runtime errors from the most previous run.

  • The information for each error contains the starting line number of the command containing the error.
  • You can use the Up and Down arrow keys to move through the list of errors.
  • Clicking on an entry in the list will position the cursor on the first line of the command that generated the error.
  • You can show or hide the error pane by choosing View > Show Error Pane from the menus.

Using Multiple Views

You can split the editor pane into two panes arranged with one above the other.

  1. From the menus choose:

    Window > Split

Actions in the navigation and error panes--such as clicking on an error--act on the pane where the cursor is positioned.

You can remove the splitter by double-clicking it or choosing Window > Remove Split.