System iNetwork

Application Development

March 1, 2009

Consortium Gives RSE Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

System i Developer, which is a consortium of four top educators on IBM i--Susan Gantner, Jon Paris, Paul Tuohy, and Skip Marchesani--have posted a new and expanded version of their popular quick reference guide for users of Remote System Explorer (RSE). The guide, Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts for RSE (WDSC/RDi), consolidates 46 keyboard shortcuts onto a single page and presents them in a format that makes it easy for developers to find the shortcut they need at a glance.

System i Developer says the reverse side features tips on customizing RSE to improve productivity. All of the shortcuts and tips included work with Version 7 of RSE in both WDSC and the newer RDi development environment.

Gantner's Idea

Gantner originally compiled the list of keyboard shortcuts as a teaching aid for students in her RSE courses, and apparently her students appreciated it, leading to the free "cheat-sheet" offering.

With this new release, the guide now offers 10 new keyboard shortcuts, including how to open and close context menus without using a mouse, how to split your screen in the source editor to have two views of the same source member, and how to navigate to specific spots within your code, such as the top or bottom of the source or to/from subroutines and subprocedures.

There's three dozen previous shortcuts, including how to open, close, verify and compile source members more efficiently.

You can also snag additional tips and FAQs for WDSC and RDi users, such as how to create split-screen editing for two different source members and how to use the Outline View, which are also available from the Download section of the System i Developer website.

The consortium's RPG & DB2 Summit is set for April 15-17 in Orlando.

--Chris Maxcer, news editor

Posted by cmaxcer on March 1, 2009 at 4:32 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2008

Four Powerhouse i Experts Deliver Free App Mod Event

It's not often that you get four powerhouse IBM i industry experts available in one room for free, but this Thursday, you will.* I want to give a shout out to the System iNetwork "Maximizing the IBM i" online event set for October 23. It's focused on application modernization, and it features Sharon Hoffman, Paul Tuohy, Don Denoncourt, and Craig Pelkie.

The education is set up in four areas:

• Modernizing the database
• Modernizing the code
• Modernizing the user interface
• Modernizing the application architecture

Seriously, missing these free sessions would a be shame for i-focused professionals who care about their organizations' use of IBM i--or the longevity of their careers, for that matter. All the speakers are well known for taking difficult subjects and transforming them into understandable and useful tips and strategies.

As a side note, there are a few added benefits such as virtual sponsorship booths where you can examine related tools and services from independent solution providers. (These tools providers, by the way, often make the difference between modernization projects that are simply talk and those that get off the ground and get delivered.)

--Chris Maxcer, SystemiNetwork.com news editor

*Hmm. . . in retrospect, one room may not be entirely accurate--it's a virtual room, a virtual environment, and I'm not even sure there's a roof involved. But you get the idea. --CM

Posted by cmaxcer on October 20, 2008 at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)