🎉 The first VS Code extension to visually design IBM i display files (DSPF).
Create and edit IBM i screen files using an intuitive drag-and-drop designer. This is not a renderer — it’s a true visual editor.
Features
🎨 Visual Designer
Modern drag-and-drop interface for building IBM i display files with real-time DDS generation. Design your screens visually and let the extension handle the DDS syntax.
📐 Multi-Display Size Support
DS3: 24 rows x 80 columns (standard)
DS4: 27 rows x 132 columns (wide)
Switch between display sizes instantly in both designer and preview modes
Special Fields: DATE, TIME, SYSNAME, USER with automatic formatting
Constants: Static text with multi-line support
Display Attributes: Underline, reverse image, blinking, high intensity, column separator
IBM i Colors: All 7 standard colors (Green, White, Red, Turquoise, Yellow, Pink, Blue)
Change Window Size: Dynamically adjust window dimensions for flexible layouts
🎯 Advanced Indicators
Configure indicators for colors and attributes independently
Visual indicator configuration with support for negated indicators (N)
Multiple colors per field with separate indicator conditions
👁️ Live Preview
Real-time preview showing how your screen will appear on IBM i, directly generated from the visual designer and DDS source.
💾 Three-View Design
Designer: Visual canvas with toolbox and properties panel
Preview: Real-time IBM i screen simulation
Source: Direct DDS code editing with syntax support
Getting Started
Open any .dspf file—the designer launches automatically
Drag fields from the toolbox onto the canvas
Configure properties and indicators in the side panel
Click Save to update the DDS source file
Requirements
Visual Studio Code 1.106.0 or higher
Extension Settings
This extension automatically associates with .dspf files and requires no additional configuration.
You can edit your DSPF files offline. You can edit DSPF files located on your local machine.
Known Limitations
This extension is currently in preview; not all DDS features are available in the designer yet
Some advanced or less common DDS keywords may require editing in Source view
Subfile and complex DDS features have limited visual support in this version
This first version focuses on editing existing record formats (record creation coming soon)
Roadmap
Additional data types (binary, date/time formats) and fields
Record format creation wizard
Extended keyword subfile support
Extended keyword support for more DDS features
Database-referenced field support (REF, REFFLD)
Release Notes
1.0.0
Initial release with core DSPF design capabilities:
Drag-and-drop visual designer
Multi-display size support (DS3/DS4)
Complete field type support
Color and attribute configuration with indicators
Live preview with authentic IBM i rendering
Three-view interface (Designer/Preview/Source)
Developed for the IBM i community by an enthusiast passionate about modernizing screen design and improving developer productivity.
