# Language Reference

Extended Commands |

Whenever an unrecognized command is entered in Command mode without a line number, the system will take the first word of the command and use it to look up a program in the *cmd directory or the *cmd/system directory or a _cmd directory in the application's starting directory.

Example:

If you enter the command …

> ->mike was here

… the system will look for the program "*cmd/mike" or if not found, "*cmd/system/mike", or if not found, starting directory/_cmd/mike. If the program is found, the system will call the program and pass the complete line following the file name (or "was here" in this example) to the program.

This facility allows developers to extend the development environment with their own programs, as well as provide simple access to a variety of additional commands included with the development suite. By convention, user developed commands should be placed in the "*cmd" directory with system supplied commands in "*cmd/system". This allows system commands to be updated whenever new versions of the software are downloaded.

To avoid losing user developed commands, it is recommended that they be placed in a directory named _cmd in the application's starting directory.

Some of the most commonly used system commands are:

Command | Description
ai | Spawns a session of the PxPlus AI Assistant. See AI Console Command. (The AI command was added in PxPlus 2025 Update 1.)
cd | Change the current working directory for the process (similar to the 'cd' command in UNIX/Linux). See CD Console Command. (The CD command was added in PxPlus v6.30.)
chartsched | Invokes Chart Image Generation Schedule Maintenance for adding schedule entries for chart image generation. (The CHARTSCHED command was added in PxPlus v11.50.)
clip | Utility to copy lines to the Clipboard.
cls | Clears the Command Line editing screen. See CLS Console Command. (The CLS command was added in PxPlus 2025.)
color/colour | Utility to control the syntax colors used to list programs on the screen.
cp | Copies a file from one location to another. See CP Console Command. (The CP command was added in PxPlus v7.65.)
dbg | Text mode debug utility. See DBG Console Command. (The DBG command was added in PxPlus v8.30.)
dd | Invokes Data Dictionary Maintenance for building and maintaining data definitions. To invoke Data Dictionary Maintenance for a specific table in the current working directory, enter DD tablename.
dir | Directory list and display utility. See DIR Console Command.
dm | Invokes Data Mirroring Configuration for configuring and monitoring the different processes for the Data Mirroring system. (The DM command was added in PxPlus v2018.)
ds | Invokes Data Source Maintenance for defining Views data sources.
ed+ | Invokes the Web-based Ed+ Program Editor for creating and modifying your application programs. (The ED+ command was added in PxPlus 2016.)
errors | Display error history. See ERRORS Console Command. (The ERRORS command was added in PxPlus v11.00.)
f | Simple find string utility. Enter "f xxxx" to find and display all occurrences of xxxx in your program.
fm | Invokes the File Update Utility for viewing, modifying and updating the records within a selected data file.
fmgen | Invokes the NOMADS Session Manager for opening an existing file maintenance panel or defining a new one in the NOMADS File Maintenance Generator. See FMGEN Console Command. (The FMGEN command was added in PxPlus 2025.)
gui | Invokes the graphical user interface based System Utilities that are used for the creation, debugging, and management of PxPlus programs, files and directories.
help | Launches the PxPlus Help file.
ide | Invokes the PxPlus IDE Main Launcher (Windows), which presents all the PxPlus development tools, installation and setup components in a tree-like format. (The IDE command was added in PxPlus 2014.)
it | Invokes the PxPlus Integrated Toolkit. When executed, the current program (if not passworded) will be automatically loaded into the graphical program editor.
join | Command to join two lines together. Enter "join xxxxx yyyyy" to append line xxxxx to the end of line yyyyy.
kill | Terminate a process. See KILL Console Command. (The KILL command was added in PxPlus v7.65.)
ll | List Labels command to display all line labels in the current program.
loadbbx | Utility to do an inline conversion and load of a BBx® program. Enter "loadbbxpathname" to convert and load the BBx® program in the pathname specified.
ls | List directory is a command similar to the UNIX/Linux "ls" command. Enter "ls pathname" to list the filenames found in the directory. Wild cards (*) can be provided. To display the file size, type and date changed for each filename listed, use the -l (dash lowercase L) option: "ls pathname -l". (The -l option was added in PxPlus 2014 Feature Pack 1 - Update 0002.)
lv | List all the variables used by the current program, or if invoked with a variable name following the 'lv' command, the utility will list all lines that reference the specified variable.
new | Issues a DELETE and BEGIN to clear the current workspace and close all open files.
nom | Invokes the NOMADS Session Manager for accessing the NOMADS graphical application development toolset. Specifying a panel_name$ and library_file$ opens an existing NOMADS panel or creates a new one in the NOMADS Panel Designer. If the panel object was created with the File Maintenance Generator, a message will ask you to choose between opening the panel in the File Maintenance Generator or in the NOMADS Panel Designer. See NOM Console Command. (The ability to open a file maintenance panel in the File Maintenance Generator was added in PxPlus 2025.)
obj | Utility to display the properties and methods for an object. Enter "obj xxxxx" where xxxxx contains the object handle to display.
olhelp | Launches the online PxPlus Help manual in a Web browser. See OLHELP Console Command. (The olhelp command was added in PxPlus 2024.)
password | Command to prompt the user for the password to be used against the current program in memory. See PASSWORD Console Command. (The PASSWORD command was added in PxPlus v8.30.)
paste | Command to paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current program.
pkg | Command to display the current activation status and list of enabled packages on the system.
popup | Invokes the NOMADS Session Manager for opening an existing NOMADS popup menu or defining a new one. See POPUP Console Command. (The POPUP command was added in PxPlus 2025.)
pwd | Display the current directory. See PWD Console Command. (The PWD command was added in PxPlus v7.65.)
qry | Invokes the NOMADS Session Manager for opening an existing NOMADS query or defining a new one. See QRY Console Command. (The QRY command was added in PxPlus 2025.)
recall | Recall a prior version of the current program from the internal version history buffers.
register | Register software online. See REGISTER Console Command. (The REGISTER command was added in PxPlus v11.00.)
rw | Invokes the Report Writer for designing and generating reports.
sa | Invokes the System Analysis utility for analyzing the PxPlus installation and setup. (The SA command was added in PxPlus 2022.)
set_nk | Sets/resets the 'NK' system parameter for a file. See SET_NK Console Command. (The SET_NK command was added in PxPlus 2020.)
tasks | View a list of PxPlus tasks currently running and/or search for open files. See TASKS Console Command. (The TASKS command was added in PxPlus v7.65.)
users | View PxPlus users and their associated process IDs. See USERS Console Command. (The USERS command was added in PxPlus v9.00.)
ver | Utility to display information about the program currently in memory including date saved, who saved it, program size, and security information. See VER Console Command.
vu | Invokes View Maintenance for creating View definitions.
wdw | Adjust the window size of the main (Command) window. See WDW Console Command. (The WDW command was added in PxPlus v9.00.)

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