In-Place Copybook Editing

Once you have imported a copybook, the Plug-in stores a copy of it, preserving the original content. You can modify the copybook content directly on the Copybook page of the Copybook resource, after which the Compare with the original and Revert to the original buttons become active.

Note:
  • Copybook content is parsed and validated in real time as you type.
  • Importing a new copybook discards the original copybook and any modified state of that copybook.
  • When creating a new resource, the Plug-in does not save a copy of the original copybook content until you have clicked Save for the first time. That way, instead of importing a file, you can type or paste the copybook content, which then becomes the original.

Fields or Buttons for Editing Copybooks

Field or Button Description
Import Displays a dialog box in which you can specify the copybook file that contains COBOL, PL/I, or RPG data definitions. See Import Button.
Compare with the original Opens a window that displays the modifications to the original copybook. See Difference Viewer.
Revert to the original Reverts the content of the copybook to the original.
Save to a file… Saves the current copybook content to a file.

Difference Viewer

Clicking the Compare with the original button opens the Difference Viewer, which shows the content differences between the current (modified) copybook and the original one. For example:

Note: You can compare and copy all or individual changes from the original content to the current content. You can also navigate up and down the copybook to highlight each difference and change.