Syntax


I[n] 



Operands


n

The number of blank lines to insert. If you do not type a number, the default is 1.


Description

The I line command inserts one or more lines in your file. The inserted lines are blank, unless you have defined a non-blank mask. See MASK - Set the Insert line model for more information about defining a mask. 


Technically, for any given file type, there is always a MASK definition present. The only question is whether it is blank or not.


    1. Type I in the line command area of the line that the inserted line is to follow. If you want to insert more than one line, type a number greater than 1 after the I command. 


It is legal to ask for more temporary lines than the screen can display, but these will disappear when you attempt to scroll the screen.


    1. Press Enter.
    2. The line or lines are inserted.   


If you type any information (even the spacebar) on a temporary  line, the line becomes a permanent part of the data and is assigned a line number the next time you press Enter. However, if you do not type any new information in the line, the space for the new line is automatically deleted the next time you press Enter.  


If you type information on the last, or only, inserted line and the cursor is still in the data portion of that line, the editor automatically inserts another line when you press Enter.  That way you can continue entering new data without having to re-issue the I command each time.


See also the N command for inserting permanent blank lines. The N line command does not utilize the MASK line.