Most CA 2E applications have gotten quite large over the many years they have been in use. In order to navigate more easily through the application, CA 2E offers some nice options. The obvious feature we see is the positioning lines on the top of the Edit Database Relations Screen. Files can be found rather quickly by entering the first few characters of the file description. This works especially well when you enter DFN for the Relation Level. I seldom enter the Edit Database Relations Screen without filling in the Relation Level.
It can become slightly more difficult to manage things if you have a group of files that are related to a specific business function. CA 2E offers a simple method to group files together in this situation as well. Some shops I have been to use this regularly while other shops are very inconsistent.
The method I am speaking of is Application Areas. Application Areas can be a great tool to group related files together. This functionality has been included in CA 2E for years, but it is easy to overlook. I find my productivity increases when I constantly use Application Areas because I spend less time looking for related files. It allows me to have most of the files in front of me that I need for a project.
If you have not created and used Application Areas for a while it can be a bit frustrating to figure out.
First, search with a “?” in the positioning field.
Second, F9 to add an application area.
Third, use a + to add files.
This provides a nice subset of the files in an application.
In summary, we all probably learned about using application areas in CA 2E training. Different shops tend to emphasize them less often than others. If you have the freedom to use application areas and use them regularly in your shop, you will end up having fewer issues with locating files that work together. Application area can help you spend more of your time being productive for your team.
Mark Schroeder, Senior CA 2E Consultant
