HP-UX Reference (11i v2 03/08) - 4 File Formats (vol 8)

s
softkeys(4) softkeys(4)
NAME
softkeys - keysh softkey file format
BACKGROUND
keysh softkey information is stored in the form of a softkey node hierarchy. The top level of this hierar-
chy represents the softkey commands themselves; lower levels represent various command options and
parameters.
The softkey labels form a window into this softkey node hierarchy through which the user can view and
select eligible nodes. A node is eligible if it was:
• Enabled by default and has not been subsequently disabled by the selection of some sibling node,
or
• Disabled by default, has not been subsequently disabled by the selection of some sibling node,
but has been subsequently enabled by the selection of some sibling node.
When a softkey node is selected, it can enable or disable any of its siblings as appropriate. A new window
into the softkey node hierarchy is then computed as follows:
• If the selected node was not a leaf node, its eligible children are displayed;
• Otherwise, if the node still has eligible siblings remaining, they are redisplayed;
• Otherwise, if the node’s parent still has eligible siblings remaining, they are redisplayed, and so
on, moving up the node hierarchy.
This process of node display and selection continues until the user has entered a complete command.
At that point,
keysh performs the editrules associated with each of the selected softkey nodes. These
editrules create the HP-UX command that is fed to the shell for execution.
SOFTKEY FILE FORMAT
Each softkey file contains one or more softkey definitions, each of which is represented as a sub-hierarchy
of softkey nodes.
There are two basic types of softkey nodes:
option "Options" show up on softkey labels and insert literal text into the command-line
when selected. Examples are command and option names.
string ‘‘Strings’’ (or ‘‘parameters’’) show up on softkey labels but do not insert text into the
command-line when selected; rather, they display a hint message. The user must
then type the desired text into the command-line. Examples are file and user
names.
Note that the keyword
softkey can be used as a synonym for the keyword option.
The basic softkey node definition is composed of the following components:
{
option  string} softkey
attribute
.
.
.
;
Where softkey is the softkey node name from which the command-line text and softkey label are derived.
If necessary, a single plus sign (+) within softkey can be used to force hyphenation of the softkey label at
a syllable boundary.
If a softkey node has an associated sub-menu, its trailing
; is replaced with a list of child nodes as fol-
lows:
{
softkey node
.
.
.
}
Section 4−−298 Hewlett-Packard Company − 1 − HP-UX 11i Version 2: August 2003