Fields

Fields are shown under their record in the Schema Tree, listing name, length, type, position (row/column), and flags such as referenced or hidden.

Add a field

Right-click a record and choose New Field, or click + Field in the Screen Preview toolbar and click a point on the screen to place it there. Both use the same prompts to collect name, type, length, and position.

The field kind list offers:

• The common alphanumeric and numeric fields: output, input/output, and input.
• Hidden alphanumeric and numeric fields. They are never displayed, so no position is asked. They are written the way STRSDA writes them, e.g. 10A H or 4S 0H.
• A Referenced section, for a field taking its definition from another one. See Add a referenced field.
• More options…, for any usage and data type. That includes message (M) and program-to-system (P) fields, and hidden date, time, or timestamp fields. Only the data types DDS allows for the usage are offered:
  • A message field is always character, so only its length is asked. It isn’t offered in a subfile record.
  • A program-to-system field can’t be a date, time, or timestamp.

A numeric field can have up to 63 digits.

Edit / Rename / Remove

• Edit Field — change a field’s name, size, and kind (alphanumeric ↔ numeric). Switching kind writes the type column the same way the quick New Field flow does, and — if the switch would leave keywords that no longer apply (EDTCDE/EDTWRD/EDTMSK need a numeric field; CHECK(LC)/LOWER need a character one) — asks to confirm removing them first, listing exactly what will go.
• Rename — change a field’s name, updating references to it.
• Remove field — delete it from the record.
• Copy Field — duplicate it, to the same record or a different one.

Position

• Change Position — move it to an absolute row/column, or position it relative to an existing field or constant.
• Center — center it horizontally on the screen.
• You can also drag a field directly in the Screen Preview.

Colors and attributes

Colors and Attributes apply DSPATR-style color/attribute keywords to the field. See Colors and Attributes.

Validity checks

Add validity checks applies DDS field-validation keywords (range/comparison/value checks) to the field. RANGE, COMP, and VALUES are mutually exclusive in DDS — a field can only have one of the three at a time — so the menu shows all three slots and whichever one is currently set; picking a different one automatically replaces it.

VALUES entries are validated against the field as you type them: a character field requires each value in single quotes (e.g. 'A' 'B') and rejects one longer than the field itself, while a numeric field requires plain, unquoted numbers — matching the DDS rule that every entry in the list must match the field’s own type, never a mix of both. VALUES also isn’t offered on a floating-point field, which DDS doesn’t allow it on at all.

Editing keywords

Add editing keywords applies DDS edit keywords (e.g. EDTCDE()/EDTWRD()) that control how the field’s value is formatted for display. The Screen Preview renders EDTCDE()-edited numeric fields using the decimal convention configured in Configuration. The user-defined edit codes (5 to 9) are previewed once fetched from the IBM i, from that same section.

Error messages

Add error messages attaches a DDS error-message keyword (e.g. ERRMSG()) to the field, shown in the preview per the same message-line rules as window ERRMSG() — see Screen Preview. Unlike validity checks, a field can carry several ERRMSG()s at once, each gated by its own indicator — the menu lists them all, letting you change or remove one individually, add another, or clear them all.

The preview also recognizes an existing ERRMSGID() on a field the same way it does ERRMSG(): while active, the field shows in reverse image, and the message line shows a placeholder naming the message ID and file (its real text lives in an external message file this extension can’t read). This menu itself still only creates ERRMSG() with inline text.

Indicators

Add / Remove / Change indicators conditions the field’s visibility, following the same AND/OR rules as constants and attributes — see Indicators and Conditions.

Referenced fields

A field referencing another field’s definition (an R field) shows a referenced flag in the tree. See Referenced Fields to add one, set the file-level REF keyword, and resolve its real type, length, and decimals.