<—Data Shift Left

The < (data shift left) line command moves the body of a program statement to the left without shifting the label or comments. This command attempts to prevent loss of data. See Shifting data for more information.

Syntax


      .-2-.   
>>-<--+---+----------------------------------------------------><
      '-n-'


       .-2-.   
>>-<<--+---+---------------------------------------------------><
       '-n-'

n: A number that tells the ISPF editor how many positions to shift. If you omit this operand, the default is 2.

Description

To data shift one line toward the left side of your display:

Type < in the line command field of the line to be shifted. Beside the command, type a number other than 2 if you want to shift the data other than 2 columns.
Press Enter.

To data shift a block of lines toward the left side of your display:

Type << in the line command field of the first line to be shifted. Beside the command, type a number other than 2 if you want to shift the block of lines other than 2 columns.
Type << in the line command field of the last line to be shifted. You can scroll (or use FIND or LOCATE) between typing the first << and the second <<, if necessary.
Press Enter. The lines that contain the two << commands and all of the lines between them are data shifted to the left.

The BOUNDS setting limits data shifting. If you shift data beyond the current BOUNDS setting, the text stops at the left bound and the shifted lines are marked with ==ERR> flags. If an error occurs in an excluded line, you can find the error with LOCATE, and remove the error flag by using RESET.

Examples

To use a data shift to delete 5 blanks before a segment of three lines, specify the shift and the range in the line command field, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Before the < (Data Shift Left) line command

When you press Enter, the editor deletes 5 blanks on the specified lines. Notice that the editor does not shift data within the BOUNDS setting, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. After the < (Data Shift Left) line command