The Recall Buffer

The recall buffer is not really a feature of your terminal, but rather a service provided by DCL. It is presented here because it is used at the DCL command line using your terminal control keys.

Each time you enter a DCL command, it is stored in a list known as the recall buffer. If you would like to issue the same command more than once, you do not need to type it again; it may be recalled from the buffer. Newer versions of OpenVMS can store 254 commands, whereas older versions can store 20.

Pressing the up-arrow key (or CTRL/B) recalls the last command you entered. Pressing up-arrow again continues backward through the list of stored commands.

When you reach the command you would like to repeat, press ENTER. You may edit the command before pressing ENTER.

To travel forward through the list, press the down-arrow.

Entering the same command twice in a row does not cause two copies of it to be stored in the recall buffer.

The recall buffer does not persist from one login session to the next.

The RECALL Command

To reach a certain stored command directly, use the RECALL command. Enter the first few characters of the command you would like to recall and DCL will display the most recent matching command. DCL does not automatically enter the command; you may optionally edit the command before pressing ENTER to execute it.

    $ RECALL DIR    ! find the most recent command starting with "dir"    $ DIRECTORY/DATE=(CREATED,MODIFIED)/SIZE=ALL ! command appears on next line 

You may also refer to a previous command by number. Use RECALL/ALL to see a list of stored commands, and then enter RECALL X, where X is the number of the command you wish to recall. Be aware that recent versions of OpenVMS store a large number of previous commands.

If you decide not to issue a recalled command, press CTRL/X to erase it.

RECALL commands you issue are not added to the recall buffer.

Erasing the Recall Buffer

Should you wish to erase all entries from your recall buffer, use the RECALL/ERASE command.