COBOL - Assigning a value in the "Identification area"

[FALLAI-Denis]

Description of the enhancement requested

The "identification Area", columns 73 to 80, is not devolved to the numbering / sequencing of lines (it is the "Sequence Area", columns 1 to 6 which is devolved to this role).

According to site practices, the "Identification Area" can be used:

• to identify the lines from a copybook: the name of the copybook is recorded in the "Identification Area"
• to identify the reasons for successive changes: a change identifier is recorded in the "Identification Area"
• to use marks exploited by external tools
• and surely many other uses we do not know

Similarly as Z Open Editor offers a "Renumber / Unnumber Sequence Number" feature, we would like Z Open Editor to offer a "Mark / Unmark Identification Area" function, with the following operation:

• "Unmark Identification Area" reset (put spaces) the Identification Area (columns 73 to 80) on all selected lines, or the entire COBOL source if no line is selected,
• "Mark Identification Area" assigns a value, previously entered by the user (prompted), in the Identification Area (columns 73 to 80) on all selected lines, even if a value is already present, or the entire COBOL source if no line is selected, but in this case only if the identification Area is previously filled with spaces.

To see if the "Mark / Unmark" function is also prososed for the "Sequence Area", (which is different from the "Renumber / Unnumber" function).

[davidkcoblentz]

Yes, this would be a nice added feature. We have a REXX we use at my company called TAG to tag lines in position 1-6 with a maintenance tag name. IT would be great if this were also added to the compare feature to tag all changed lines with a specific tag name. That way it would remind the developer to tag lines that may have slipped through the cracks.