Displays descriptions of system messages.

Format

HELP/MESSAGE [/qualifier [...]] [search-string]

Parameter

search-string

Specifies a message identifier or one or more words from a message's text. By default, HELP/MESSAGE displays a description of the message produced by the last executed command (that is, the message corresponding to the value currently stored in the CLI symbol $STATUS).

The Help Message utility (MSGHLP) operates on the search string using the following conventions:

• Words containing fewer than three alphanumeric characters are ignored.
• Words can be specified in any order.
  You can minimize search time by specifying the most unusual word first.
• Nonalphanumeric characters are ignored in the search. Exceptions are the percent sign (%) and hyphen (-) when they prefix a message; therefore, you can paste a full message into the search string, provided you include these special characters and delete any variables (such as file names) that were inserted into the message.
  If Help Message fails to find a pasted message in the database, submit the command again and omit the leading special character, facility, and severity. Some common messages are documented as "shared" messages rather than facility-specific messages.
• Help Message matches all words that begin with the characters specified in the search string. Use /WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD to specify that only whole words be matched.

Description

The Help Message utility accesses message descriptions in a text file. This text file is derived from the latest OpenVMS system messages documentation and, optionally, from other source files, including user-supplied message documentation. By default, Help Message provides information on how the last executed command completed.

You can extract all messages produced by one or more specified facilities. By directing this output to a file, you can create and print your own customized message documentation.

For full details about adding comments or messages to the Help Message database, see the OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users.

Qualifiers

/BRIEF

Outputs the message text only.

/DELETE=filename.MSGHLP

Deletes all messages contained in the specified .MSGHLP file from whichever of the following files is found first:

• A .MSGHLP$DATA file specified with the /LIBRARY qualifier
• The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in a search path specified by the /LIBRARY qualifier
• The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in the default search path (defined by logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY)
• SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA (the default .MSGHLP$DATA file)

You must have write access to .MSGHLP$DATA files supplied by HP to delete messages from the database supplied by HP.

Note If you create a .MSGHLP file by specifying a search string, check the output .MSGHLP file to be sure the search did not pick up any unexpected messages that you do not want to delete from the database. Edit any such messages out of the .MSGHLP file before you perform the delete operation.

/EXTRACT=filename.MSGHLP

Extracts messages from the database and generates a .MSGHLP file that can be edited, if desired, and used as input for /INSERT and /DELETE operations. /EXTRACT retrieves data from a .MSGHLP$DATA file or logical search path specified by /LIBRARY or, by default, from files in the search path defined by logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY. When /EXTRACT is not specified, Help Message produces output in standard text format by default (see /OUTPUT).

/FACILITY=?

/FACILITY=(facility-name [,...])

/FACILITY=ALL

Specifies which facilities in the database are to be searched for a match.

Enter /FACILITY=? to output a list of all facilities in the default database or in a database specified by /LIBRARY.

To narrow your search, specify one or more facility names with /FACILITY. (Multiple facilities must be enclosed in parentheses and be separated by commas.) Help Message then outputs only matching messages produced by the specified facility or facilities.

Specify /FACILITY=ALL to output messages for all facilities in the database. /FACILITY=ALL is the default unless another facility is implied; for example, specifying /STATUS or defaulting to the value of the CLI symbol $STATUS automatically identifies a specific facility. Similarly, cutting and pasting a message that includes a facility name invalidates use of the /FACILITY qualifier.

See the OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users for more details about using the /FACILITY qualifier.

/FULL (default)

Outputs the complete message description, including message text, facility name, explanation, user action, and user-supplied comment, if any.

/INSERT=filename.MSGHLP

/INSERT=TT:

Updates the first of the following files to be found with new or changed information from the specified .MSGHLP file, or, if TT: is specified, with the data entered immediately at the terminal:

• A .MSGHLP$DATA file specified with the /LIBRARY qualifier
• The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in a search path specified by the /LIBRARY qualifier
• The first .MSGHLP$DATA file in the default search path (defined by logical logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY)
• SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA (the default .MSGHLP$DATA file)

You must have write access for the .MSGHLP$DATA files supplied by HP to insert data into these files. User-supplied data is identified by change bars in Help Message output.

/LIBRARY=disk:[directory]filename.MSGHLP$DATA

/LIBRARY=disk:[directory]

/LIBRARY=logical-name

Defines the messages database for the current command to be a particular .MSGHLP$DATA file, all the .MSGHLP$DATA files in a specified directory, or all the files in a search path defined by a logical name.

For most operations, the default database is either SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA or a search path of .MSGHLP$DATA files defined by the logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY.

For /DELETE and /INSERT operations, the default database is either SYS$HELP:MSGHLP$LIBRARY.MSGHLP$DATA or the first file in a search path defined by the logical name MSGHLP$LIBRARY.

/OUTPUT=filespec

Writes output to the specified file. By default, Help Message writes output to SYS$OUTPUT, which is normally the terminal. (Use of /OUTPUT=filespec is incompatible with /PAGE.)

/PAGE (default for screen display)

/NOPAGE

Displays terminal output one screen at a time. The page length is automatically set to one line less than the value specified by SET TERMINAL/PAGE. (Use of /PAGE is incompatible with /OUTPUT=filespec.)

/SECTION_FILE=*

/SECTION_FILE=file-spec

Identifies the specified message section file to the system so that Help Message can interpret the $STATUS values for the messages in that file. The default file specification is SYS$MESSAGE:.EXE. Specifying /SECTION_FILE=* automatically includes all message section files supplied by OpenVMS. For more information, see the OpenVMS System Messages: Companion Guide for Help Message Users.

Note The results of using this qualifier are entirely independent from those created by the SET MESSAGE command. The Help Message utility and Message utility do not interact. You must separately code each utility to obtain the results you want.

/SORT

/NOSORT (default)

Sorts output in alphabetical order. If a sort fails, retry the operation using the /WORK_FILES qualifier.

/STATUS=status-code

/STATUS='symbol'

/STATUS='$STATUS' (default)

Outputs the message corresponding to the specified status code. You can specify the status code with a decimal or hexadecimal number or a symbol enclosed in apostrophes. You can omit leading zeros, but you must prefix any hexadecimal number with "%X".

If a HELP/MESSAGE command does not include a search string, Help Message by default outputs the message corresponding to the CLI symbol $STATUS; that is, Help Message displays information on how the last executed command completed.

You cannot specify a search string or /FACILITY with /STATUS. /FACILITY is also illegal if you omit the search string and default to /STATUS='$STATUS'.

/WORD_MATCH=INITIAL_SUBSTRING (default)

/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD

/WORD_MATCH=INITIAL_SUBSTRING matches all words that begin with a word specified in the search string. The search string can contain multiple words to be matched. Only messages that match every word in the search string (in any order) are output.

/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD matches whole words only and refines your search to the exact words specified. For example, an exact search on ACC screens out dozens of other messages containing words that begin with the letters ACC.

/WORK_FILES=nn

/WORK_FILES=0 (default if qualifier is omitted)

/WORK_FILES=2 (default if qualifier is entered with no value)

Specifies that work files are to be used if the /SORT qualifier is specified. You can specify a value from 0 to 10 for nn. This qualifier has no effect if /SORT is not specified.

Examples

$ SHOW DEVICE KUDOS
%SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHDEV, no such device available
$ HELP/MESSAGE
      

The first command creates an error. The default HELP/MESSAGE command (with no qualifiers) displays a description of the SYSTEM facility message NOSUCHDEV.

$ HELP/MESSAGE ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE/FACILITY=SYSTEM ACCVIO
$ HELP/MESSAGE VIRTUAL ACCESS
$ HELP/MESSAGE/STATUS=12
$ HELP/MESSAGE/STATUS=%XC
      

These commands demonstrate how you can use various qualifiers to access and display the ACCVIO message (sometimes several!) in different formats.

$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF ACC
$ HELP/MESSAGE/BRIEF/WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD ACC
      

In the first command, Help Message by default matches dozens of words beginning with the string "ACC." The /WORD_MATCH=WHOLE_WORD qualifier dramatically refines the search to match the exact word only.

$ HELP/MESSAGE/FACILITY=(BACKUP,SHARED)/SORT/OUTPUT=MESSAGES.TXT
      

This command selects all messages issued by the BACKUP facility and those messages documented as "Shared by several facilities," alphabetizes them, and outputs them to a printable file called MESSAGES.TXT.

By selecting the messages you want and directing them to a file, you can create and print your own customized messages documentation.

$ HELP/MESSAGE/EXTRACT=BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP BADMESSAGE
$ HELP/MESSAGE/DELETE=BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP-
_$ /LIBRARY=SYS$LOGIN:MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA
$ CONVERT SYS$LOGIN:MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA-
_$ SYS$LOGIN:MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA
$ PURGE SYS$LOGIN:MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA
$ HELP/MESSAGE/INSERT=BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP
      

The first command in this sequence extracts the hypothetical message BADMESSAGE from the default database and outputs it to file BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP.

The second command uses the BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP file to delete the BADMESSAGE description from the MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA file specified by the /LIBRARY qualifier.

The next two commands compress the MYMESSAGES.MSGHLP$DATA file to save disk space after the deletion.

The last command uses the BADMESSAGE.MSGHLP file (possibly an edited version at a later time) to insert the BADMESSAGE message into the default .MSGHLP$DATA file.

$ HELP/MESSAGE/EXTRACT=NOSNO.MSGHLP NOSNO
$ EDIT/EDT NOSNO.MSGHLP
1NOSNO, can't ski; no snow 
2XCSKI, XCSKI Program 
3Your attempt to ski failed because there is no snow. 
4Wait until there is snow and attempt the operation again.
5If you don't want to wait, go to a location where there is 
5snow and ski there. 
5 
5Or, try ice skating instead! 
[EXIT]
$ HELP/MESSAGE/INSERT=NOSNO.MSGHLP
      

This command sequence shows how users with write access to .MSGHLP$DATA files supplied by HP can add a comment to a message.

The first command extracts hypothetical message NOSNO to file NOSNO.MSGHLP. The second command edits the .MSGHLP file to add a comment at the end of the message. Each comment line, even blank lines, includes a "5" prefix. The next command updates the database by using NOSNO.MSGHLP to insert the updated message into the default .MSGHLP$DATA file.