General ergonomics of X3 menus 

Introduction

On entering a software developed in Safe X3 technology, a window opens in which appears a bar with buttons and menus. Certain menus are linked to a specific function, others are linked to a function template (notably object templates, inquiries, batch processing), others are generic, that is to say they are used in the same way not matter what the context. This documentation explains the detail of the functioning of these menus as well as the specific menus present when displaying a menu or in a HTML page linked, for example, to a portal.

It should be noted that this documentation is valid for client/server ergonomics. The different Web ergonomics are described in a separate documentation.

The generic menus accessible from a function window

The File menu

  • New is used to display a new current record (empty).
  • Close is used to close the current record.
  • Create is used to launch the creation of a new record.
  • Save is used to save the modifications performed on the current record.
  • Delete is used to delete the current record. Before the deletion is performed, the supervisor checks that this record is not linked to another recording in another table.
  • Key Change is used to change the key of the current record. All the recordings from other tables that reference this key will also be modified.
  • Attachments is used to access the Attachment function, which allows to link one or several attachments to a record.
  • Comment is used to access the Comment function, which allows to link a comment to a record.
  • Export is used to export the current record data so that they can be used again:
    • XML Data
    • Data to Excel
  • Print is used to print:
    • The current Record,
    • The List (list of records with no details).
  • Workflow is accessible if there is an active object type of workflow on the object itself or defined with no object (= for all objects).
  • Properties displays the properties of the current record.
  • Exit the application.

The Edit menu

This menu gives access to the following standard functions:

  •  Cancel, Copy, Cut, Paste, are the standard Windows functions. It should be noted that they only operate at the field level.
  • Find, Next, Back make it possible to search for field values, notably in a grid or in editor mode (texts, programs).
  • Replace can only be used in editor mode.
  • Execute and Select are only possible on certain fields (when the file path can be referenced).

The Tools menu (in a function)

When the user is in a function of the software, this menu gives access to the following functions:

  • Calculator makes it possible to access the Calculator tool.
  • Debugger gives access to the debugger (and Dbg On/Off activates and deactivates it).
  • Description of the window, used to open a Web browser instance which displays the XML description of the current window.
  • Timing activation activates a log mode for the process execution. This log mode saves all the overlapping processes in a file whose name is given in the setup box that opens up (Call… Subprog…End instructions, optionally Gosub… $ETIQUETTE…Return, according to whether the With Gosub box is checked or not).
  • Timing read ends the log mode activated by the previous choice.. A log is displayed indicating the total execution time spent on the server (keyboard waiting time not included). This time is further broken down into sub-program calls: the number of calls, the time elapsed in milliseconds and the percentage of total time are displayed. The calls are sorted in descending order of the consumption percentage (the most costly appearing first). This tool is particularly useful to optimize the consumption of CPU time on the process servers.
  • Activation of log xxx is used to activate a log mode in the database (xxx which can be Oracle or Sql server depending on the database used).
  • Read log fileis used to stop the log file mode; the file containing the log is then displayed, which is then used to identify the requests sent to the database. This tool is particularly useful to understand and optimize the time taken by the data server.
  • 4 other choices, correspond to shortcut keys to are freely definable by the user via the user personalization function. They are used to open a secondary session directly in the corresponding function. Remembering that the opening of such a session can be limited by the license, and that it is made for a constant user code and folder. In addition, the setup of this function assumes, to be active, that the session is ended after setup: the next opening of a session takes into account these new menu choices.

The Display menu

This menu gives access to the following functions:

  • Cascade, Tile horizontally, Tile vertically are used to define the fashion in which the windows stacked by means of successive tunnels or zooms are displayed. Remembering that only the last stacked window is active (the others are activated as and when the functions are un-stacked).
  • Large icons, Small icons, List, Details make it possible, when the user is positioned on the left list, to change the fashion in which it is displayed (these functions are rarely used, Details being the only one to be really relevant; it is not impossible that these choices will disappear in a later version of the software).
  • Converter makes it possible, for all screen fields of the type "amount in currency", to temporarily view their value in a given currency (the currency by default is given by the value in the EUROCOD setup; this name is linked to the fact that this function was originally used to visualize the amounts in Euros). The currency code appears by default in a small window, the amounts converted being displayed in the original screen. It is thus possible to change the currency in order to convert the amount into another currency. The fact of hitting Return without changing the currency code ends the function and restores the display to the original currency for the screen. It should be noted that the conversion is made for the current date, and that is founded on the rate type number 1.
  • Refresh makes it possible to refresh the left list. Using the key  has the same results.
  • Transaction is used to change the current transaction (it is only active on object management when the transactions exist).
  • XML Exportis used to open, in an Internet Explorer window, the XML description in the current window (list of fields with their name and contents).
  • Excel Exportis used to create an Excel worksheet (un the form of a file with the extension .csv), opened via Internet Explorer. This Excel worksheet contains all the data in the current window.

The ? menu (Help)

This menu gives access to the following functions:

  • Field help, Function help, Record help are currently the three levels of help defined. The field help details the current field, functional help details all the function, and the record help describes the contents of the current record. This last type of help is available for certain functions of object type only (those are setup functions), and only for specific records.
  • Summary gives access to a help summary.
  • Field info, which can be obtained by thekey, displays the current field code and its characteristics (as well as the screen name).
  • Selection, which can be obtained by thekey, makes it possible to open a selection window for a field managed by an object, with the fields present in the left list of the object, with a possibility to manage the filters on the fields by right click in the same way as for the left list.
  • Properties, which can be obtained by thekey, makes it possible to display the properties of the object linked to a field containing the key of the object (the result is that which is obtained by passing via a tunnel, then selecting Files/Properties, except of course if the object is not opened).
  • Tunnel, which can be obtained by the  key, makes it possible to pass to the record management for the field managed by an object. A window is opened to generate the object in question; the default record corresponding to the current key (if it is assigned) on the field from which the tunnel is made. On return, the field that originated the tunnel, if it is modifiable, is filled with the last key viewed.
  • Last read, which can be obtained by thekey, makes it possible to open a selection window on a field managed by an object, with the fields present in the left list for the object, but presenting the last key read and not the normal selection window from the value of the current key.
  • About is used to display miscellaneous technical information linked to the current session: client workstation version, login and identification of the user's workstation, processing server, data server, service number, etc.

The generic menus accessible from the general menu

When displaying a menu or in a HTML page linked, for example, to a portal, only three menus exist, and the functions to which they give access to are specific/custom.

The File menu

  • Application configuration is used to enter into the definition of the connection parameters for a given folder, exactly as the Configuration button operates in the connection box for the software.
  • Print managementis used to open the widow displaying, for each print server (Localhost represents the workstation itself), the Crystal Reports print list in process. It is possible to view the requests in process, to delete them if they belong to the connected user, to change the print order if necessary.
  • Exit makes it possible to exit the software.

The Navigator menu

This menu corresponds to the functioning of the Internet browser Internet Explorer™ where certain functionalities are available via the client. The following options are available:

  • Previous and Next are used to display the previous and next pages from the current page in the browser, when navigating from menu to menu or to HTML pages via hyper-text links.
  • Home page displays the software home page.
  • Internet home page displays the home page defined by default in the Internet browser parameters.
  • Search, Print, Font, Refresh, Stop correspond to the classic functions of the Internet browser.

The Tools menu (from the menu)

If located at the menu level (ie. not during the execution of a function), the Tools menu gives access to different functions, in addition to the calculator and debugger.

The first option, called Options, is used to define some of the characteristics of the client workstation, including:

  • the connection language suggested by default.
  • a check box enabling to choose if the connection box should be displayed or not when launching the software. If this box is selected, launching the software can be done without entering the connection box, unless the Uppercase key is kept pressed during launching.
  • the screen resolution used (normal, that is to say made for the 600*800 screens, or high, that is to say for use with 768*1024 screens)
  • characteristics used by the process editor
  • the colors used by the lines in the tables (with a repetition factor active for lines 1 to 5).
  • the fonts used in the standard screens

The Report developer function is also found in this menu that is used (if the user has the authorization by means of the user setup DEVCRY) to set the mode to where it is possible to carryout report development locally. More help on these functions can be found in the help documentation linked to development.