Once in a while, I accidentally delete a source member, or make modifications to a member and then discover that I should have left the source as it was. If I haven't modified the source since the last backup, I'm okay-I can restore it. But what if I have made changes that I need to retain?

This doesn't happen very often, fortunately. But more than once I've been spared the trouble of rewriting source because I had a compilation listing with the desired source still in an output queue.

To retrieve source from a spooled file, follow these steps:

1. Create a new source member with SEU.

2. Press F15 to get the copy service.

3. Use option 2 and fill in the name, job and spool file number of the spooled file.

4. Press Enter, and the compiler listing will fill the bottom window of the screen.

5. Use the copy (C) and/or block copy (CC) commands to copy the desired lines into the source member.

6. Use left-shift-with-truncate (LLT) instructions to align the source in the proper columns.

The moral of the story: if you've lost a source member, don't despair until you've made sure it's not in a spool file.

Ted Holt is IT manager of Manufacturing Systems Development for Day-Brite Capri Omega, a manufacturer of lighting fixtures in Tupelo, Mississippi. He has worked in the information processing industry since 1981 and is the author or co-author of seven books. 

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