CNTRL Instruction

CNTRL is an old instruction used for controlling various aspects of program execution. It is largely obsolete now that RATS includes other instructions, such as USERMENU, MESSAGEBOX, and SELECT for controlling interactive procedures.

CNTRL( options ) pausemessage

Controls running of interactive procedures.

Parameters

pausemessage

message to display when using the PAUSE option

Options

PAGE

CNTRL(PAGE) inserts a page break in the output file. You should only use this for programs you intend to run in batch mode.

PAUSE

Pauses and waits for a user response before continuing. This will be a dialog box, or a simple message to hit a key, depending upon the environment. You can use the pausemessage parameter to add a message to the user prompt. As noted above, the MESSAGEBOX and INFOBOX instructions offer more flexible alternatives.

USER

Takes input from the keyboard until the user types a RETURN instruction.

All of these options are off by default.