# Running modules

## Contents

- Running from the Program editor
- Running modules from the System screen
- Stopping a program while it’s running
- Looking at a running program
- Running more than one module
- Menu options while editing

## Running from the Program editor

You can run a module at any time from within the Program editor, by selecting `Tools | Run program` and selecting a module to run. This runs the translated version of your program; if you’ve made changes to the module and haven’t translated it again, you must translate the module again, or the changes have no effect.

`Run program` displays a dialog, letting you select the name of any translated module which you want to run.

## Running modules from the System screen

The names of any successfully translated programs automatically appear in the System screen.

Translated modules appear in the System screen with the OPL icon to the left of them. They have the same name as the Program file from which they were translated with the extension `.opo` added to their name, and appear in the same folder as their corresponding Program file. Just select the translated program you want to run, and then tap it again to run the program.

When an OPL module has been successfully translated and run, you will usually run it from the System screen. While you’re still editing and testing, however, it’s quicker to run it from inside the Program editor. This also positions the cursor for you, if errors occur.

## Stopping a program while it’s running

- To stop a running program, press Ctrl+Esc. (If you’ve switched to another program whilst an OPL program is running, the OPL program it will still be running, and you must first return to it. This is done by either selecting it from the System screen or by using the Task list to switch to it. then Ctrl+Esc will stop it.)
- To pause a running program, press Ctrl+Fn+S. It will be paused as soon as it next tries to display something on the screen. Press Ctrl+Fn+Q to let the program resume running.

## Looking at a running program

If you translate and run a module from the Program editor, the Task list will still allow you to return to the Program editor, even if the translated program has not finished running. A ‘Running…’ message is shown — you can move the cursor around the program as normal, but you can’t edit it.

To return to the running version, either use the Task list or select it from the System screen. The program icon on the system screen will be in bold, to show that it is currently running.

## Running more than one module

If a module is running, and you select a second one from the System screen, the first one is not replaced — both modules run together, and both will be displayed in bold on the System screen. You can swap between them using the Task list.

## Menu options while editing

While you’re typing in the procedure, all the options on the `Edit` menu such as `Copy` and `Paste` - are available and can be used as in Word. Refer to the User Guide for more information.

The menu options available are in general similar to those found in other applications, such as Word. The `Tools` menu has options for translating and running the current program. It also has a `Show last error` option, to re-display an error which prevented successful translation, and a `Preferences` option to determine the fonts available and whether spaces, tabs and paragraph ends are shown in the Program editor. It also provides an `Infrared` option (see the User Guide for more details of using infrared). The `Create standard files` option creates files in RAM from ROM files: see Including header files for more details of this.

The `Format` menu provides a Font dialog for changing fonts and styles in the Program editor. The ‘Indentation’ option can be used to set the tab width and to turn auto-indentation on and off.

The `File` menu also include `Import text` and `Export as text` options for importing text and exporting as text.

The toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen provides easy access via buttons to four options and also a clock. The options are `Tran` (‘Translate’), `Find`, ‘Find next’ and `Go to`. These options are all self-explanatory, except perhaps for the last: `Go to` gives a list (scrolled if necessary) of all the procedure in the module. Selecting one of them jumps to the beginning of the specified procedure.