Exploring the user interface

If you have not worked with Microsoft Visual Studio Code before, we recommend you orient yourself reviewing the editor's Get Startedopen in new window sections first.

Then get familiar with the following key user interface capabilities and views that are most relevant for working with COBOL, PL/I, HLASM, and REXX program files:

  • Activity bar: Groups different views. You can click the icons on the bar a second time to hide its views.

  • Status bar: Displays the active Zowe CLI profile being used for z/OS actions such resolving remote include files or running user builds. It will pick profiles listed in user settings first, if not found any default RSE API profiles available next, and if not found the default z/OSMF profiles.

  • File explorer: Manages your projects and files.

  • Search: Provides various search capabilities.

  • Git: Manages changes to the repository. This is the default SCM tool.

  • Zowe Explorer: Lets you interact with z/OS.

  • Problems: Displays errors of files. You can open the Problems view via the View menu or by clicking the error and warning icons in the editor status bar at the bottom.

  • Terminal: Provides a command line interface that you can use to type any shell command, including advanced Git commands and Zowe Command Line operations to interact with z/OS. You can open the terminal through the Terminal menu or by pressing Ctrl+` (Windows and Mac).

  • Edit and Selection: Provides essential operations for editing.

  • Go: Provides essential navigation controls.

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Contributors: Peter Haumer, Rudy Leonel Pichola Flores, Greg Lambert, Min Huang, Shi Kun Li, Peter Haumer