X3 objects ergonomics

Basis elements for the object management

Associated setups

The management of an object can be setup by the user to a large extent, namely using the Object personalization function, and the definition of the Object properties, but also by means of a set of general parameters.

• LFTBOX (defined at User level): Number of elements in the left list
• NBRCHOOSE (defined at User level): Number of elements for selections
• NBDERLUS (defined at User level): Last read number
• CHDERLUS (defined at User level): Loading of the record last read
• SELGLO (defined at User level): Global selection
• CONFDUP (defined at User level): Duplication confirmation
• CONFABD (defined at User level): Abort confirmation
• AUZMEMO (defined at User level): Create all memos
• SELWARN (defined at level): Threshold for memo control
• CONFABD (defined at User level): Abort confirmation
• ADXLIG (defined at User level): No. of lines displayed in grids

The different elements in this management are described in the following document.

Menu bar and Button bars

 In Web mode, 3 bars make it possible to access software functions available in the screen header:

• The upper bar or menu bar gives access to functions linked to the context: File, Print, Display, Navigation...).
  Example:
  
 
The dedicated documentation General ergonomics gives a detailed description of the functions available via the menu bar.

• Here is an example of the second bar, which is sub-divided in 3 zones:

1 - The navigation zone, presenting the access path to the current function, and containing the two following icons used to navigate from one function to the other:
The dedicated documentation General ergonomics gives a detailed description of how to use this zone.

2 - The control zone that can contain one or several of the following icons indicating the status of the current record and the buttons used to navigate from one record to the other:

	Message being sent (moving icon)
	Inquiry only
	Record locking indicator
	Attachment
	Selection saved
	Comments

3 - Zone containing the icon to exit the function: .

• The third bar, the button bar, is used to implement standard actions either via button, or via icons, such as: Create, Delete, New record...
  Here is an example:

 In Client-server mode, two bars are available in the upper screen, as well as a group of buttons at the bottom of the screen:

• The upper bar gives access to the menus File, Print, Display, etc., as well as to contextual menus. The documentation dedicated to the General ergonomics gives further details on this bar.
  
• The second bar looks like this:
  
  
  
  It contains:
• First, the set of icons presented here below, each corresponding to a menu option. The equivalent at menu level is provided in the description of the menu bar.
• Second, the navigation zone, operating in the same way as in Web mode: it contains the access path to the current function and enables navigation from one function to another. The dedicated documentation General ergonomics gives a detailed description of how to use this zone.
   
• The row of buttons located at the bottom of the screen enables standard actions to be implemented, such as: Save, Create, Delete, etc. as well as some contextual actions.
• Moreover, icons on the status of the record can be found below the button bar:

	Message being sent (moving icon)
	Inquiry only
	Record locking indicator
	Attachment
	Selection saved
	Comments

Entry into object management

Choosing a transaction

Some object managements are managed by transactions. A transaction describes a given group of tabs, whose contents can vary. Based on the user authorizations and the way in which the object management is called, the user will have access to a single transaction or to several. When the user has access to several transactions, a window called Choosing a transaction presents the list of possible transactions. Choosing one of these windows opens the object entry screen.

In the menu bar, the Select transaction option in the Display menu makes it possible to return to the transaction choice without exiting the function.

If the object is not managed by transactions, or if a single transaction is made accessible to the user, the entry is made directly into the screen.

Entry in inquiry mode

In some cases, the object management is accessed in inquiry mode only: it is then impossible to perform a creation or a modification. This can be the case namely:

• For authorization reasons, either globally (no record can be modified), or on a contextual basis (the current record cannot be modified, because for instance it is linked to a site to which the user has no access).
• For functional reasons (some of the tunnels from the inquiry functions, for instance). A tunnel being the ability to switch from one function to another by stacking the previous function and without having to go through a menu.

When this is the case, the icon is displayed in the status bar:

Current record

On entering an object management, the last record read is automatically displayed if the CHDERLUS user parameter - Loading of the record last read (chapter SUP, group SEL) is set to Yes.
When it is set to No, no record is displayed. As a consequence, the right-hand side of the screen is devoid of data.

Management of a record

Creation of a new record

Creating a new record takes place either via the menu File/New, or via the shortcut + .

The fields in the record are then entered in the successive tabs. It is possible either to navigate from field to field via   tabs, or to use the mouse to go directly to a field or to navigate between tabs.
Once the entry is considered to be over, the key   is used to confirm the creation. In the event of an automatic numbering, the reference is then automatically displayed.

 In Web mode, it is also possible to use the creation icon of a new record  present in the top bar, then to validate the record using the icon .

Inquiry and Modification of a record: Concurrent management and locking

A record can be selected by means of a left list; but it can also be selected by direct entry of the key for an existing record in the object screen (in general, the key is the first field(s), present in the header if there are several tabs).

Two management methods can be used to define the way locks are performed in record modification mode. The firs one, used by default, is the pessimist mode. The second one, which can be chosen by checking the box Lock in modification in object personalization, is an optimistic mode. They are described below.

Lock in pessimist mode

When a record is selected, this record is considered to be under modification. In other words, any other user selecting the same record will notice the following lock icon in the status bar at the top of the screen ( in Web mode) or at the bottom of the screen ( in client-server mode).

Modifications will thus be impossible, except if in the meantime the user locking this record has finished the modification and has changed record. Double clicking on this icon makes it is possible to know the name of the user locking the record.

It should be noted that this type of locking is a "logical" locking obtained by the creation of a line in a lock table (it is not a transactional lock in the sense of a database). Such a lock can, in exceptional cases, remain active (for example following the sudden interruption of a user session, even if the user session is identified by a unique number, thus reducing this risk). In any case, a dedicated utility makes it possible to view these logical locks, and to delete them, if necessary.

 In Web mode, when a field has been modified, the button located at the top of the screen appears. By using this button or the   key it is possible to save the modification; conversely using the makes it possible to abandon the modification and to return to the previous state.

In client-server mode, the button  becomes active and using it validates the function.

Lock in optimistic mode

A record is not locked when it is selected. This means that any other user that selects the same record will be using the same method, whose symbol is:

If a user tries to modify a record, the message "To perform this operation, click on the lock icon" is displayed (the lock icon is represented by a blue book). Clicking on this blue book will trigger the locking of this record (unless it is already locked by another user, in that case the message "Being modified on another workstation" and the padlock icon will appear).

Once the record is locked, the "Save" + "Abort" buttons become accessible, while the other buttons stay grayed out. The "Save" or "Abort" buttons have to be used to leave the modification and come back to the previous window. Any modification by any other user will be denied, and the icon will remain displayed: the user who is modifying the record can be displayed by double clicking on this icon.

In this mode, deleting a record will be possible only after the record is locked by double clicking on the lock icon. Once done, the record can be modified or deleted via the corresponding buttons which are not grayed-out anymore.

Record duplication

A duplication is obtained by a simple modification of a record, from the moment that the key identifying the record is modified. If the field that constitutes the key is obtained by automatic numbering, the simple erasure of the field is enough.

 In Web mode, the key appears, and the mere clicking on it, or pressing of the key   puts an end to the duplication.

In client-server mode, the button  becomes active, and clicking on it ends the duplication.

Since any inattentive user can easily duplicate an existing record by mistake, it is possible to define, by means of the CONFDUP setup, a warning that appears when a duplication is in process (when it is still possible to abort the operation).

Deletion of a record

 After a record has been selected, it is possible to delete it:

• In web mode: by clicking on the button 
• In client-server mode: by clicking on the button .

It should be noted that:

• Deleting an object is not possible for all objects (the button in this case remains grayed out), or it is impossible under certain conditions (for instance, posted invoice, final posting)
• This deletion will lead to a verification phase that can last a while: it is only possible to delete a product if it is not referenced in any order, quote, or stock transaction, for instance. Pressing the deletion key opens up a window requesting confirmation of the deletion and displaying messages relating to the checks under progress. In this window, a checkbox makes it possible to request a deferred deletion. In this case, the modification request is simply recorded to be executed at a later time, either in batch mode, or via a dedicated function.
• The deletion is a physical deletion (the deleted information will disappear from the database). In some cases, a checkbox called Active can be unselected in order to prohibit the use of the record (for instance, an inactive accounting journal can no longer receive movements).
• Obsolete movements will be deleted via a dedicated purge function capable in addition of stocking the information in a separate archive.

Left list

In Web mode, the left lists can be either displayed or hidden. When they are hidden, a small vertical tab, such as the one opposite, reveals them. Clicking on the arrow located in the top part of the vertical tab reveals the left list permanently. The right hand side of the screen is resized to be fully visible. According to the same principle, it is possible to hide the left list by clicking on the arrow located at the top of the left list. Clicking on the lower section of the vertical tab (named List) will display the left list temporarily over the right-hand side of the screen. When a record is selected, the left list automatically disappears if the user clicks on the right-hand side of the screen.
The icon visible next to the triangle enables the initial size of the list to be enlarged or reduced   In client-server mode, the width of the left list can be modified by maintaining the left mouse button down, and dragging the dividing line between the list and the right hand side of the screen.

  The correct display of the left list is linked to the choice of the Display font of the titles/descriptions.
If this list is not correctly displayed, or not displayed at all, modify the font. This parameter can be done via the welcome screenOptions/tab Fonts and styles,General category (the font applied by default is: MS Sans Serif - 8 pts for an optimal display).

The various sections

There can be different sections in the left lists. The section of the left list that will be displayed by default is selected at object personalization level. It can either be the main section of the left list or the last read section. Clicking on another section is enough to display the content. The main section (called below Main left list) is named like the object (i.e. Users in user management, Country in country management…), and it corresponds to the selection list of records to be modified. The section Last read, whose display is optional, contains the last records viewed by the current user. When the number of records is larger than the display ability of the section, the icons  appear and are used to display the next/previous pages contained in the section.		Example of a left list (customer record)
There can also be picking sections. These sections present lists of information to be selected to fill data in the current record table. For instance, picking sections are useful in authorization management to select functions authorized to a user, but their use is also extended to a set of more operational management functions (selection of products, employees, analytical dimensions, according to the software) in groupings. The example below shows a picking section, in its hierarchical form. It should be noted that only part of the hierarchy is expanded, and the status of the dots in the hierarchy specifies whether all the elements located below are selected (the dot is totally green), no element is selected (the dot remains gray) or only part of the elements is selected (the dot is half green). Finally, a section named Link explorer is used to display links to other records, in order to navigate from record to record. Its use is explained later.		An example of a picking section (authorization entry)

Navigation and selection within the main left list

The main left list is displayed in the form of a set of columns presenting the fields of the on-line tables in the object, each line in the list representing a line in the main table, as illustrated in the example below:

The fields displayed in this left list can be set up by the user (via the object personalization function). The principle is the same for the default presentation order, defined by an index in the main table. The number of lines displayed is limited by the user setup NBRCHOOSE. The operations that can be carried out on this list are the following: Reading of the next or previous pages (if there are any) by clicking on the arrows  available in the section. Sorting of the lines read in ascending or descending order of a column, simply by clicking on the title of the column. Warning, only the lines displayed are sorted. Refreshing of the list either via Display/Refresh, or by the shortcut key   .

• Search on the lines in the left lists, by adding criteria on the fields present in the list. A criterion is defined using a right click on the title of one of the columns in the list. It is then possible to enter values just below the title of each field, according to one of the following ways:

>VALUE	in order to only view the lines where the value of the column is greater than the given value (in the same way, >=VALUE, <VALUE,<=VALUE are possible)
a template including the wildcard characters	(* meaning any number of characters, ? a single character, # meaning a number).
nothing	In that case, no criterion has been defined for the column

 In Web mode, an arrow  is placed in the left hand side following the name of the list being used, to indicate the presence of a selection. The title of the columns on which a filter has been applied is displayed in italic. A screen tip placed on this arrow indicates a Selection in process. A click on the arrow deletes the selection.

In client-server mode, a green dot mentions the selection under progress, and an ascending or descending triangle signals the sort applied to a column.

It is important to note that by using the   after entering a field, the cursor moves to the next field, which makes it possible to apply a criterion to each field (only the lines corresponding to all the criteria simultaneously are retained).

Upon validation using the  , the left list is loaded according to the selection performed. Warning, if the criteria are complex and the table is large, the loading of the left list can take several seconds.

It should be noted that in addition, the criteria given here combine (by additional filters) with the criteria given by the general selection or any memos used.

• Finally, clicking on a line in the list selects the record in question. If a modification is already in process, a warning message is displayed: The current modification has been modified. Do you want to cancel the modification?Yes validates the record change, the modifications under progress are then lost. No enables the user to remain on the current record. This behavior can be deactivated by use of the CONFABD setup.

Navigation in the Last read list

The display of this left list section is optional (setup performed object by object at the level of the object personalizations function). The records last accessed by the user are displayed in the historical reverse access order (from the most recent to the oldest access).

It is used in the same way as the main list, to select a record by clicking on it. The number of lines in this list is limited by the LFTBOX setup.
It is possible to sort the lines in the order of a column, but it is not possible to set selection filters by right click on the column, or to read the next lines in order.

Link explorer

The picking sections

Table management

The specificities linked to the table entry are detailed in the annex document Table management.
This document presents the procedures and functioning related to:

• the display of information
• the loading of lines
• the sorting of the columns
• the display in record mode
• the display in graphical mode
• the search functions.