Using Helix Server forms

Some Helix Server commands, for example p4 client and p4 submit, use a text editor to display a form into which you enter the information that is required to complete the command (for example, a description of the changes you are submitting). After you change the form, save it, and exit the editor, Helix Server parses the form and uses it to complete the command. (To configure the text editor that is used to display and edit Helix Server forms, set P4EDITOR.)

When you enter information into a Helix Server form, observe the following rules:

• Field names (for example, View:) must be flush left (not indented) and must end with a colon.
• Values (your entries) must be on the same line as the field name, or indented with tabs on the lines beneath the field name.

Some field names, such as the Client: field in the p4 client form, require a single value; other fields, such as Description:, take a block of text; and others, like View:, take a list of lines.

Certain values, like Client: in the client workspace form, cannot be changed. Other fields, like Description: in p4 submit, must be changed. If you don’t change a field that needs to be changed, or vice versa, Helix Server displays an error. For details about which fields can be modified, see the Helix Core Command-Line (P4) Reference or use p4 help command.