Entries in positions 69 through 74 test the status of a field or of an array element as it is read into the program. Field indicators are specified on the same line as the field to be tested. Depending on the status of the field (plus, minus, zero, or blank), the appropriate indicator is set on and can be used to condition later specifications. The same indicator can be specified in two positions, but it should not be used for all three positions. Field indicators cannot be used with arrays that are not indexed or look-ahead fields.
Positions 69 and 70 (plus) and positions 71 and 72 (minus) are valid for numeric fields only. Positions 73 and 74 can be used to test a numeric field for zeros or a character, graphic, or UCS-2 field for blanks.
The field indicators are set on if the field or array element meets the condition specified when the record is read. Each field indicator is related to only one record type; therefore, the indicators are not reset (on or off) until the related record is read again or until the indicator is defined in some other specification.