USING WILDCARD CHARACTERS: Wildcard characters (* and %) are useful at the DCL ($) prompt or the "DCE Subtopic?" prompt. For example, to see the RPC application routines, enter the following command: $ HELP DCE DCE_RPC Application_R* To see all the DCE threads application routines, enter the following command: $ HELP DCE DCE_THREADS App* To directly access information about a routine, for example the routine rpc_binding_free, enter the following command: $ HELP DCE DCE_RPC Application_Routines rpc_binding_free You can shorten the syntax of the previous command to either of the following formats: $ HELP DCE DCE_RPC Appl* rpc_binding_free or $ HELP DCE DCE_RPC * rpc_binding_free However, you will get quicker response to direct routine queries if you use the full syntax of the command. Note that the user and administrative information such as rpccp is available at the top level as follows: $ help dce dce_rpc rpccp ACCESSING MESSAGES: To access message information enter a command with underscore (_) characters connecting key words, as shown in the following example: $ help dce dce_idl idl_m *interface_cannot_import* DCE IDL_Messages(rpc7) A_nonlocal_interface_cannot_import_a_local_interface Explanation: The [local] interface attribute implies that the interface is not part of an RPC application, but is used only to generate header files. This causes IDL to suppress any errors specific to RPC that the interface uses as part of an RPC application. User Action: Remove the [local] attribute from the imported interface definition. The imported interface does not need a UUID unless the interface defines an operation and you compile it independently. ACCESSING HELP SUBTOPICS FROM LONG LISTS: You can access subsections of help topics that contain long lists of additional information even while the "press RETURN to continue..." prompt is displayed. For example, when you enter the following command the system displays a long list of the message topics available: $ help dce dce_idl idl_message You may need to press RETURN several times before the system displays the message that you want. When the exact message topic is displayed you can access it quickly, however. Enter the correct message text at the "press RETURN to continue..." prompt, as shown in the following example: . . . A_maybe_operation_cannot_have_out_parameters_or_a_function_result A_min_is_parameter_must_have_the_in_attribute A_min_is_variable_must_be_a_small,_short,_or_long_integer A_nonlocal_interface_cannot_import_a_local_interface A_parameter_must_have_either_or_both_the_in_and_out_attributes . . . press RETURN to continue... *interface_cannot_import* Workstation users may find it easier to use the window cut-and-paste feature to enter long strings containing underscore (_) characters.