Tips: Visual Studio IDE Equivalents to IDE Features in Earlier Products

The following table shows Mainframe Express and Net Express IDE features and their corresponding equivalents and locations in Visual Studio.

Functionality In Mainframe Express In Net Express In Enterprise Developer for Visual Studio
Project Control
Project filename *.MVP *.APP *.cblproj
Add file to project To create a new file from the supported types in the project directory, click File > New, specify the type of file to create, and click OK. Click Project > Add Files to add existing files to the project. To create a new file from the supported types in the project directory, click File > New, specify the type of file to create, and click OK. Click Project > Add Files to Project to add existing files to the project. Right-click the project in Solution Explorer. Choose Add > New Item to create a new file from the supported types in the project directory. To add an existing file, choose Add > Existing Item and browse to the location of the file to select it. This adds a link in the project to the file and by default moves it to the project directory. To add existing COBOL files, choose Add Existing COBOL Items.
Copybook path Via Workgrouping Click Project > Properties, then click IDE and specify the COBCPY environment variable. Choose Project > projectProperties, click the Dependency Paths tab, and set Type to COBOL Copybook Paths.
Build settings for the project:
  • COBOL
  • CICS including BMS
  • IMS (DBD, PSB, MFS)
  • Assembler
  • Preprocessor
  • Additional Directive
ALT+F7 or click Project > Build Settings for Project and select the corresponding tabs ALT+F7 or click Project > Build Settings and select the corresponding tab Click Project > project Properties, go to the COBOL tab and choose a configuration in the Configuration field. To create a new build configuration or to edit one, click Build > Configuration Manager.
Execution environment settings:
  • General
  • Assembler
  • COBOL
  • JCL
Click Project > Project Settings and then click the Execution tab The execution environment is Micro Focus Server The execution environment is Enterprise Server.
Debug settings:
  • DateWarp
  • Stored Procedures
  • Click Debug > DateWarp
  • Click Project > Debug Settings and check Enable Stored Procedures Debugging
  • Click Debug > DateWarp.
Specify debug settings in the project's properties - click Project > project Properties and click the Debug tab.
Editing
Suggest Word/Content Assist CTRL+G CTRL+G Press CTRL+Space or, if specified in the IDE options, IntelliSense suggestions are displayed automatically as you type.
Locate F12 (or context menu Locate) F12 (or context menu Locate) F12
COBOL Find CTRL+Shift+F12 (or context menu COBOL Find) CTRL+Shift+F12 (or context menu COBOL Find) Shift+F12
Compress Tool bar compress Tool Bar Compress (or context menu Compress) Tool bar compress Tool Bar Compress (or context menu Compress) Check the Breakpoints window (click Debug > Windows > Breakpoints) to see a list of all breakpoints.
Bookmark CTRL+F2 CTRL+F2 CTRL+B, T
Compiling
Single file Compile CTRL+F7 (or click check markCheck Mark) CTRL+F7 (or click check markCheck Mark) In Solution Explorer, right-click the file you want to compile and click Compile.
Note: This applies to native code only.
Build F7 (or click buildBuild) F7 (or click buildBuild) F6
Build All ALT+B A ALT+B A Click Build > Build <project>
Debugging
Start Debugging Alt+D A Alt+D A Choose Debug > Start Debugging or press F5
Stop Debugging Shift+F5 Shift+F5 Choose Debug > Stop Debugging
Restart Debugging Ctrl+Shift+F5 Ctrl+Shift+F5 Choose Debug > Restart
Run F5 F5 F5
Step F11 (or click stepStep) F11 (or click stepStep) F11
Step All Ctrl+F5 Ctrl+F5 No IDE equivalent. Keep pressing F11 to continue stepping through the code.
Run Thru Run > Run Thru Run > Run Thru Click Debug > Step Over.
Run Return Run > Run Return Run > Run Return Click Debug > Step Out.
Run to Cursor Shift+F10 (or context menu) Shift+F10 (or context menu) While debugging, choose Run To Cursor from the editor context menu or press Ctrl+F10.
Skip to Cursor CTRL+Shift+F10 CTRL+Shift+F10 No IDE equivalent. You can use Set Next Statement from the context menu.
Skip Statement ALT+D, I or click Debug > Skip Statement . Debug > Skip Statement F10 or Debug > Step Over
Skip Return ALT+D, K or click Debug > Skip Return Debug > Skip Return No IDE equivalent. You can use Set Next Statement from the context menu.
Examine data item' Shift+F9 Shift+F9 Shift+F9
Breakpoint set F9 F9 Double-click in the left margin of editor next to the a line of code, or right-click the line and choose Breakpoint > Insert Breakpoint, or press F9.
Conditional Breakpoint Click Debug > Breakpoint > Set Advanced. Click Debug > Breakpoint > Set Advanced. Right-click a breakpoint in the editor or in the Breakpoints window and click Condition.
Break on Data Change Via list view Via list view You can break on data change in native COBOL projects, by right-clicking and choosing Add COBOL Watchpoint
Attach to Process No equivalent. Click Debug > Debug settings and enable Attach to running process Click Debug > Attach to Process, or Ctrl+Alt+P
Just-In-Time Debugging Click Options > Debug and set Error handling when running programs outside of the IDE to Just-In-Time Debugging Click Options > Debug and set Error handling when running programs outside of the IDE to Just-In-Time Debugging Click Tools > Options > Debugging > Just-In-Time Debugging, and check Micro Focus Native Debugger.
Note: This applies to native code only