Hold Files

Visual has both an implicit and an explicit Hold file.

The Implicit Hold0 File. Any block processed by the CC, MM, JJ, RR, or DD indicators is also written to a disc file called Hold0 (Hold-zero). This allows you to copy the lines back into your workfile using A0 or B0 (add from Hold0, After or Before the line on which you place the indicator).

The Explicit Hold File. The HH indicator writes a block to the Hold file without moving or modifying it. Use H for a single line. To copy the line(s) back into your workfile, use AH or BH. You may need a Hold file when creating a file that you want to compile, or when using the Use command. You must use HH (instead of CC) for copying text from one file to another.

When HH is used to mark the beginning and end of a block, it copies the block of text to the explicit Hold file. With the HH indicator, the current contents of the Hold file are erased and replaced with the marked lines.

If you want to append a block of text to the Hold file, you can use the HJ indicator. HH or HJ can be used to mark the first line. However, HJ must be used to mark the last line. You cannot hold-append a single line of text, which means you can append only two or more lines. With the HJ indicator, the current contents of the Hold file are preserved and the block of text is appended to it.

Hold Files