Setting PL/I Editor preferences

You can set preferences that control the appearance and function of the PL/I Editor.

To open the Preferences window:
  • On Windows: Window > Preferences
  • On macOS: IBM® Developer for z/OS® > Preferences
  • From the editor: right-click and select Preferences

Setting global editor preferences

The settings under General preference are global settings that apply at the workbench level.
Preference Description For more information
Appearance > Colors and Fonts The text font and color that are used by the editor. Setting colors and fonts
Content Types Edit content types and their associated file names and character sets. You can also associate arbitrary file names or file extensions with content types. Setting content type associations
File Associations Associate the editors with certain file extensions, and select the default editor to use. Associating file types with an editor

Setting options that are specific to the PL/I Editor

There are several preferences under the Editor preference. On the Editor preference page, you can define which margins are displayed, where sequence numbers begin, and tab stops, and enable locating matching parenthesis in source files. More preference pages include the following.

Preference Description For more information
Editor > Margins Specify the margins to display. Setting margins
Editor > Custom tab stops Defined tab stops used in the editor. Setting tabs
Editor > Column indicator line Enable a vertical line indicator next to the cursor when editing a file. Setting a visual cue for the cursor position
Editor > Enable folding of code blocks Enable the editor to collapse and expand code blocks for IFELSE, IF, ELSE, DO, SELECT, WHEN, OTHERWISE, PACKAGE, BEGIN, and PROCEDURE statements. Folding code blocks
Editor > Highlight matching parenthesis

Highlight a corresponding parenthesis in the editor when the cursor is placed on the right side of a parenthesis.

 Locating matching parenthesis
Formatter Specify format of code in the editor, such as capitalization, indentation, and line length. Formatting PL/I code elements
Marked Occurrences Specify to highlight references for selected elements in the list. Setting preferences for mark occurrence action
Preprocessor Integration Customize the process for identifying preprocessor statements. Setting preferences for preprocessor statements
Save Actions Configure editor save actions to occur when you save a source or copybook file. Save actions
Sequence Numbers Manage sequence numbers in the file. Enabling sequence number handling
Syntax coloring Specify the appearance of code syntax in the editor, Setting colors and fonts for language elements
Task Tags Manage task tags that are used within the editor. Setting task tags
Real-time Syntax Checking Enable real-time syntax that causes programming errors to be identified as you edit the file. Setting options for real-time syntax checking
Templates Manage the PL/I code templates are contributed to the PL/I content assist. Setting preferences for PL/I code templates

Setting options that are specific to data management elements

The Data Management preference contains settings for working with EXEC SQL statements in the editor.

Preference Description For more information
SQL Development > EXEC SQL statements Define options for content assist and real-time syntax checking for EXEC SQL statement in the editor. Setting preferences for EXEC SQL statements

Setting options that are specific to parsing data

The LPEX Editor preference contains settings for the parser.

Preference Description For more information
Parsers Define parser name and class associations to the editor. Setting parser styles