The COPY ELEMENT command uses an existing library element to
copy and create a new element in the same library or in another
library. The original element is left unchanged. The generation
history, file characteristics, and element attributes are copied
in full.
If the existing element has the reference copy attribute enabled
(that is, if it was created or modified with /REFERENCE_COPY),
the reference copy attribute is also enabled for the new element
(assuming the reference copy attribute is established for the
library).
If the existing element is reserved when you issue COPY ELEMENT,
CMS informs you of the condition, then proceeds with the
transaction. The new element is not reserved, regardless of
whether the original element is reserved at the time of the copy
transaction.
If a generation of the element is marked pending review, CMS
informs you of the condition, then asks whether you want to
proceed. If you type YES, CMS records the transaction as an
unusual occurrence and proceeds with the command. The new element
is not marked as pending review, regardless of whether the
original element is marked at the time of the copy. If you type NO
or press RETURN, no further action is taken.
CMS must be able to create one new element for each old element.
When you use wildcards, a group name, or a comma list in the
input element specification, CMS builds a list of elements to
be copied. CMS uses this list as the point of reference during the
copy transactions. If the output element specification does not
allow CMS to create a new element for each element in the input
list, the results may not be what you intend. For example, the
following combination of wildcard expressions produces only one
new element:
input element specification - *.FOR
output element specification - NDATA.*
The first element that matches the input specification (*.FOR)
produces one new element named NDATA.FOR. Each successive element
that matches the input specification generates an error message
because CMS can create only one unique element name from the given
combination of wildcard expressions.