Directive Syntax

Place each directive on a line by itself, immediately before the COBOL line to which it pertains.

Introduce each directive with a $ in the Indicator Area (column 7 in standard ANSI source format), followed immediately by the letters XFD, and then the directive itself. There must be no space between the $ and the XFD. Spaces are permitted elsewhere on the line as separators, however. For example, the NAME directive looks like this:

$XFD  NAME = COLOR

Two or more directives that pertain to the same line of COBOL code may be combined on one comment line. The directives should be separated by a space or a comma. For example, to specify both USE GROUP and NUMERIC at the same time, you would add this line:

$XFD USE GROUP, NUMERIC