Working in the Command Console

How to:

Reference:

You can enter commands and control command processing from the Command Console. You can also change elements in the Command Console window to suit your requirements and preferences.

Reference: Rules for Entering Commands in the Command Console

The following applies when entering commands in the command console.

  • The Console is case-sensitive. Therefore, you must enter text in the case required for processing. For example, keywords must be entered in uppercase characters.
  • The Command Console is not interactive. Therefore, you must enter all required commands in sequence and execute them as an entire process. For example, you must enter all steps required to execute the FOCUS REBUILD command. The Console does not prompt you for information.
  • You can copy or cut text from the Command Console or an outside window, and paste it in the Command Console.
  • You can drag and drop command syntax within the Command Console.

Procedure: How to Enter Commands

Click in the Console window, then type and execute commands.

Procedure: How to Copy, Cut, and Paste Commands

  1. Highlight the text you want to paste into the Console window.
  2. Select Copy or Cut from the Edit menu.
  3. Position the cursor in the Console window and select Paste from the Edit menu.

Procedure: How to Drag and Drop Command Syntax

To drag and drop:

  1. Highlight the text you want to drop into the Command Console.
  2. Using the mouse, place the cursor on the selected text, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the cursor to where you wish to place the text.
  3. Release the mouse button. The text is placed in the new position.

Procedure: How to Change Text Case in the Command Console

Highlight the text that will be changing and select Change Case from the Edit menu. You may also press ALT+F3, or right-click and select Change Case from the context menu.

The following applies when using the Change Case command:

  • If the selected text is all lowercase, it will change to uppercase.
  • If the selected text is all uppercase, it will change to lowercase.
  • If the selected text has both uppercase and lowercase characters, the text will change to the case of the first letter it encounters. For example, 'aBC' will change to 'abc', or 'AbC' will change to 'ABC’.

Procedure: How to Undo/Redo Text in the Command Console

  • To undo text:

    Select Undo from the Edit menu or right-click and select Undo from the context menu.

  • To redo text:

    Select Redo from the Edit menu or right-click and select Redo from the context menu.

Procedure: How to Find/Replace Text in the Command Console

To find text:

  1. Select Find from the Edit menu, press CTRL+F, or right-click and select Find from the context menu.
  2. Enter the text you wish to search for in the dialog box and select Find Next.

To replace text:

  1. Select Replace from the Edit menu, press CTRL+H, or right-click and select Replace from the context menu.
  2. Enter the text you wish to replace in the dialog box and select Replace.

Procedure: How to Add/Remove Comments in the Command Console

  • To add a comment:

    Position the cursor where you want to add a comment and select Add Comment from the Edit menu. You may also press CTRL+M, or right-click and select Add Comment from the context menu.

  • To remove a comment:

    Position the cursor where you want to remove a comment and select Remove Comment from the Edit menu. You may also press CTRL+R, or right-click and select Change Case from the context menu.

Procedure: How to Run a Command

Run a command using any of the following methods:

  • Click Run on the Console window toolbar.
  • Press Ctrl+Enter
  • Press F5.

The Command Console window clears and the report appears in the browser window.

Procedure: How to Specify a Reporting Server to Run a Request

From the Reporting Server drop-down list in the Command Console window, select the WebFOCUS Environment that will be used to run the request against. This results in the request running against the Reporting Server that is setup as the default in the WebFOCUS Environment.

If the environment is setup to access more than one Reporting Server, you can specify which server you want to use by selecting it from the list of servers shown under the WebFOCUS environment, as it appears in the following image.


WebFOCUS environment drop down list box

Procedure: How to Clear the Output Window

Clear the output window using any of the following methods:

  • Click the Clear button on the Console Window toolbar.
  • Press Ctrl+Alt+C.
  • Select Clear Output Window from the View menu.

Example: Running a Report Request in the Console Window

Consider this simple report request run from the Command Console.

  1. Enter the following commands in the Command Console window.

    Command Console window

  2. Click Run. You may also press Ctrl+Enter or F5 to execute the request.

    The Command Console window clears and the report appears in the browser window.


    Command Console report


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