ISPF Change Command

The CHANGE (C) command is used in the Edit mode to replace a specific string or pattern within a dataset or member. This command is particularly useful for editing large datasets where manual changes would be time-consuming.

Key Features -

String Replacement: Replaces one string with another throughout a dataset or within a specified range.

Flexible Search Criteria: Specify column ranges, case sensitivity, or labels to restrict the change scope.

Global Changes: Replace multiple occurrences in one execution.

Undo Support: Changes can be undone using the UNDO command if SETUNDO is enabled.

Syntax -

C 'old-string' 'new-string' [range] [column-range] [options]

Parameters -

Parameter	Description
`old-string`	The string to be replaced.
`new-string`	The string to replace with.
`range`	Specifies the line range (e.g., `.A .B` for label range, or `5 10` for line numbers).
`column-range`	Restricts the change to specified columns (e.g., `10 20`).
`options`	Additional flags like `FIRST`, `ALL`, `PREFIX`, `SUFFIX`, `WORD`, `CHAR`, etc., to refine the search.

Parameter

Description

old-string

The string to be replaced.

new-string

The string to replace with.

range

Specifies the line range (e.g., .A .B for label range, or 5 10 for line numbers).

column-range

Restricts the change to specified columns (e.g., 10 20).

options

Additional flags like FIRST, ALL, PREFIX, SUFFIX, WORD, CHAR, etc., to refine the search.

Common Options -

FIRST: Changes only the first occurrence in each line.

ALL: Changes all occurrences in the specified range.

PREFIX: Matches strings that start with the specified string.

SUFFIX: Matches strings that end with the specified string.

WORD: Changes only complete words that match the old-string.

CHAR: Allows changes of substrings (default behavior).

Examples -

Scenario - Change "HELLO" in the program to "HI".
The changed line highlighted in red from first 1 to 6 columns and cursor will be placed after the first changed text.

More Examples -

Command	Function
`C 'OLD' 'NEW'`	Replaces the first occurrence of `OLD` with `NEW` in each line of the dataset.
`C 'OLD' 'NEW' ALL`	Replaces all occurrences of `OLD` with `NEW` in the entire dataset.
`C 'DATA' 'INFO' 5 10`	Replaces `DATA` with `INFO` between lines 5 and 10.
`C C'TEST' 'EXAM'`	Replaces `TEST` with `RESULT` within columns 1 to 20 in all lines.
`C 'ERROR' 'SUCCESS' .A .B`	Replaces `ERROR` with `SUCCESS` in the lines between labels `.A` and `.B`.
`C PREFIX'ABC' 'XYZ'`	Replaces strings starting with `ABC` with `XYZ`.
`C SUFFIX'END' 'FINISH'`	Replaces strings ending with `END` with `FINISH`.
`C P'.' X'00'`	Change all invalids to hex X'00'.
`C ALL 73 80 P'=' " "`	Blank out everything in cols 73-80.
`C ALL P'-' 1 10 "0"`	Change all non-numeric chars to '0' in cols 1-10
`C ALL P'#' " " 20 25`	Changes all numeric character between column 20 to 25

Command

Function

C 'OLD' 'NEW'

Replaces the first occurrence of OLD with NEW in each line of the dataset.

C 'OLD' 'NEW' ALL

Replaces all occurrences of OLD with NEW in the entire dataset.

C 'DATA' 'INFO' 5 10

Replaces DATA with INFO between lines 5 and 10.

C C'TEST' 'EXAM'

Replaces TEST with RESULT within columns 1 to 20 in all lines.

C 'ERROR' 'SUCCESS' .A .B

Replaces ERROR with SUCCESS in the lines between labels .A and .B.

C PREFIX'ABC' 'XYZ'

Replaces strings starting with ABC with XYZ.

C SUFFIX'END' 'FINISH'

Replaces strings ending with END with FINISH.

C P'.' X'00'

Change all invalids to hex X'00'.

C ALL 73 80 P'=' " "

Blank out everything in cols 73-80.

C ALL P'-' 1 10 "0"

Change all non-numeric chars to '0' in cols 1-10

C ALL P'#' " " 20 25

Changes all numeric character between column 20 to 25