Word-processing Fields

Screen Editor

Introduction

To edit the contents of WORD-PROCESSING-type fields in files, you need to use a word processing editor. VA FileMan provides two standard editors: the Screen Editor and the Line Editor. The Screen Editor provides flexibility and freedom not provided by the Line Editor. The Screen Editor provides such features as full-screen editing, automatic text wrapping, and search-and-replace. In most cases you would want your default editor to be the Screen Editor.

NOTE: To set your default editor, please refer to the "Choice of Word-processing Editors" chapter in this manual.

For most people, the Screen Editor should be your Preferred Editor for WORD-PROCESSING fields.

If you enter <PF1>H at any time in the Screen Editor, you can get online Help that lists all the available commands.

At any time, while entering text using the Screen Editor, you can select a command. For example, at any time you can change your left margin, move to a different screen, save your document, or get online Help. To invoke most commands, you need to enter only two keystrokes: the <PF1> key and a character key, such as D for delete line.

You'll usually find the <PF> keys at the right-hand side of your terminal keyboard, along with the numeric keypad. If you're using a personal computer rather than a computer terminal, the <PF> keys are mostly likely re-mapped to another set of keys (consult your IRM to find out to what keys the <PF1> through <PF4> are re-mapped).

Main Screen

The Screen Editor display consists of a status bar at the top and a ruler at the bottom. Between the two status bars is the area where you create and edit text:

Entering Text

When using the Screen Editor, you type your text as you normally would. As you type, the Screen Editor automatically wraps lines of text to fit within the left and right margins. There is no need to press the Enter/Return key at the end of each line. The Screen Editor accepts any printable characters as keyboard input. However, it cannot be used to edit text that contains control characters.

Entering Commands

Editor commands are invoked using keyboard command sequences. The Screen Editor makes use of the <PF> keys, the cursor keypad, and, if available on the keyboard, the edit keypad to perform its editing functions.

Cursor Movement (Navigation)

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to navigate while in the Screen Editor:

You can move forward quickly across a line by pressing the Tab key (<Tab>). The Tab key in the Screen Editor does not insert anything into the text. The Tab key is for navigation only and simply moves the cursor to the next tab stop to the right. Another way to move across a line, either forward or backward, is to move a word at a time, using <Ctrl-J> or <Ctrl-L>.

Saving and Exiting

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to exit and/or save text while in the Screen Editor:

If your editing session ends unexpectedly because of hardware failure or another reason that prevents normal exiting, any changes you've made in the current WORD-PROCESSING field are not saved. On the other hand, if you time out when editing text, your changes are saved.

Finding Text

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to find text while in the Screen Editor:

Formatting Paragraphs

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to format paragraphs while in the Screen Editor:

Cutting and Pasting

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to cut and paste text while in the Screen Editor:

To move or copy selected text to another location:

1. Select the text (use <PF1>M).
   
   
2. Place the cursor at the new location.
   
   
3. Press <PF1>X (move text) or <PF1>C (copy text).

To save text to the buffer so that you can paste one or more times:

1. Select the text (use <PF1>M).
   
   
2. With the cursor on the selected text, press <PF1>X (cut text to buffer) or <PF1>C (copy text to buffer).

To paste text from the buffer:

1. Move the cursor to the location you want to paste the text.
   
   
2. Press <PF1>V.

Deleting

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to delete text while in the Screen Editor:

Settings/Modes

The following table illustrates the keystrokes you use to change settings and mode while in the Screen Editor:

Troubleshooting

Terminal Type Setting

The Screen Editor is designed for use on all terminal types known in the Kernel computing environment. It is very important that your terminal type be correctly identified to VA FileMan. Refer to the Kernel manuals for more information about how terminal types are identified. Since the <PF> keys are used in the Screen Editor, those keys should not be reprogrammed.

<PF> Keys Not Working: How to Exit

If your <PF> keys do not work in the Screen Editor, your terminal type is probably set incorrectly. Before you can correct the setting, you need to make an emergency exit from the editor by using one of the following keystroke combinations:

• Press <Esc>OPQ (if your keyboard has an Escape key).
  
  
• Press <Ctrl-[>OPQ (if your keyboard does not have an Escape key).
  
  
• Press <Ctrl-A>@Q (if neither of the above methods work).

NOTE: You must enter all letters in the above key sequences in uppercase.

Screen Editor and Personal Computers

Pasting and Uploading

If you are accessing your hospital computer system from a personal computer (PC), you can paste text from an application on the PC into the Screen Editor, and also upload files into the Screen Editor. There are some issues to be aware of when pasting text or uploading files into the Screen Editor.

Symbol Characters

Extended ASCII characters (typically "symbol" characters) cannot be stored in WORD-PROCESSING fields. Examples of such characters include "smart quote" characters, bullets, and symbols. Such characters, when encountered, are stripped or replaced with a space, ', ", or *, as appropriate. To avoid problems uploading these types of characters, you should:

• Turn off "smart quotes" in your word processor on your personal computer.
  
  
• Avoid using bullets.
  
  
• Avoid using symbols in your text such as: ¼, ½, and º.

Files: Save as Text

If you are uploading an entire word processing document (as opposed to pasting), save it first as a "Text Only with Line Breaks" (or similar) file type in your personal computer word processor.

Wrap Vs. No Wrap

If your source document contains a carriage return at the end of every line, turn WRAP off in the Screen Editor before you paste or upload by pressing <PF2>. Turn it back on once the paste or upload is completed. If your source document contains a carriage return at the end of each paragraph only, however, leave WRAP on in the Screen Editor.

Avoiding Lost Characters

If the host computer system can't keep up with the your text upload, characters can get "lost." This can be a factor if you upload large quantities of text or characters. This character loss can occur because pastes and ASCII uploads don't use error-correcting communications protocols.

If you notice characters getting lost, one way to solve this is to adjust the "character pacing" (or similar) setting in your terminal emulation program. This can slow down the transfer of text such that characters no longer get lost due to communications overload.

If you need to paste or upload large quantities of text, consider switching to an Alternate Editor such as Kermit that uses an error-correcting communications protocol. This automatically compensates for communications overflows, preventing the loss of characters during text transfer. To use Kermit, it must be installed as an Alternate Editor at your site.

Reviewed/Updated: October 2016