Guidelines 
Uses
The current main action within a transaction runs in primary windows. For every main action, at least one primary window has to be defined to carry out the Save or Post action.
Dialog boxes supplement the main action by displaying additional information/data and/or allowing further entries/functional specifications/selections including in required-entry fields.
There must be no
sequence
of more than three dialog boxes on the screen. A dialog box initiated with
F4=Possible entries
may be displayed additionally.
Menu Bar in Primary Window and Dialog Box
The menu bar in the primary window is locked if a modal dialog box is active on the screen. The dialog box has no menu bar of its own.
Error Messages in the Dialog Box
If the entries of a dialog box are processed (for example, after pressing
ENTER
), the system can display an error message on recognition of an error. The message is displayed in another dialog box unless it is an S message (see
Message Types and Error Groups). The user then has the option of correcting the input value in the dialog box - that is, the dialog box remains where it is and the user receives the request to correct the error (or he cancels with
F12
).
Navigation in Dialog Boxes
line by line or character by character with the arrow keys
with the
TAB
key from one input field to the next
with the mouse:
- Single click = Cursor positioning
- Double click = Cursor positioning + Select +
ENTER
(currently corresponds to
F2=CHOOSE
)
- When the dialog box is displayed, the cursor should be placed on the first field to be selected or in the first entry field. If, as for example in the display-only mode, no entry fields exist, the cursor should be placed on the first displayed field which can contain variables. The cursor is to be set correspondingly.
Positioning Dialog Boxes
Adhere to the following guidelines:
- The first dialog box to be displayed should, if possible, be positioned so that the relevant information of the primary window is not covered up.
- If this is not possible, the dialog box should be centered on the screen if no other dialog boxes can be displayed.
- If possible, the dialog box should not be displayed at the bottom right or left of the screen (squeezed up against the edge).
- Further dialog boxes to be displayed are positioned so that the title bar of the previous dialog box is not covered up - that is, moved down at least two lines. In addition, they are moved a few characters to the left or to the right.