Elementary Search Help

Use

An elementary search help defines the standard flow of an input help. You can define the following components of this flow in the search help:

Where does the data displayed in the hit list come from (selection method)
Which information must be displayed in the dialog box for value selection and in the hit list (search help parameters)
Which field contents can be taken into account for hit list selections and which values in the hit list can be returned to the screen fields (search help parameters)
Which dialog steps must be executed in the input help (dialog behavior)

Features

Selection Method

The possible input values displayed for a field in the hit list are determined at runtime by database selection. In the following figure you can see a simple representation of this database selection.

If all the data required in the hit list comes from one single table, it is enough to select this table (or a projection view of this table) as the selection method. If there is a text table for the table, its fields are also available in the input help. A table entry is linked with the corresponding text by the existing foreign key.

If the data needed in the hit list comes from more than one table, you must link these tables with a view (database view or help view). You must define this view as the selection method.

If the underlying tables are client-specific, the client field must be contained in the view. Otherwise the selection for the input help would be for all clients.

Search Help Parameters

A search help has an interface consisting of parameters. These parameters define the fields of the selection method that are used in the input help.

A parameter of the search help must correspond to each field in the dialog box for value selection and to each field of the hit list. The parameters are copied from the corresponding selection method, that is, they have the same name as the corresponding field of the selection method.

If the search is restricted with a parameter of the search help, this is used in the data selection for formulating a WHERE condition for the field of the selection method with the same name. Conversely, the parameters of the search help are assigned to the contents of the fields of the selection method with the same name.

Caution

The search help must not contain any parameters for the clients.

If the underlying table is client-dependent, the system automatically selects only those values for the input help that belong to the current client.

A data element must be assigned to each search help parameter. That is, a type must be defined for the search help parameters.

A search help can contain further parameters that do not correspond to any field of the selection method. This is necessary only if the standard flow of the input help described by the search help still has to be modified with a search help exit .

Import and Export Parameters

When an input help is called, the entries that you already made in the input template are taken into consideration. For example, if you call the input help for the flight number and you have already specified the carrier, only the numbers of flights of this carrier are offered.

On the other hand, if you select one row of the hit list, more than one field of the input template has to be filled with data from the selected row of the hit list. For example, if the flight number is obtained from the hit list, the city of departure and the destination must also be returned in the screen template. The following figure explains this using an example.

The interface of a search help defines the context data that can be used in the input help and the data that can be returned in the input template.

A parameter of a search help can be classified as:

Import parameters:
Parameters with which context information from the processed input template (screen) is copied to the help process.
Export parameters:
Parameters with which values from the hit list are returned to the input template.

Note
A parameter can simultaneously be an input and an export parameter. A search help can also contain parameters that are neither import nor export parameters. For example, such parameters could be required for the internal input help process.

When you attach a search help , you must define where the import parameters of the search help get their values from, and the fields in which the contents of the export parameters are returned. For more information, see Value Transport for Input Helps .

Description of the Online Behavior

The online behavior defines the steps executed in the input help process and the structure of the hit list and dialog box for value selection.

The dialog type defines whether or not the dialog box for value selection is displayed. If you want to skip the dialog box for value selection, the hit list is displayed directly after calling the input help.

When you define an elementary search help, you can define the appearance of the dialog box for value selection and the hit list. For example, you can define the position of a parameter in the dialog box for value selection. You can also define the column position in which the values of a parameter are displayed in the hit list.