Selecting Objects and Actions
Object/Action Approach
The graphical user interface object/action technique is object-oriented. The user chooses an object (by mouse-click) and then directly manipulates it (by moving the object to another place, for example). This procedure is intended to be analagous to normal life, in which one first reaches out for an object and only then is in a position to work with it. Contemporary graphical user interfaces, however, only partially allow this direct manipulation of objects. A large part of the object processing occurs indirectly: The user chooses an object, it is displayed in a selected manner by the computer, and then the user chooses the action (from menus or pushbuttons) which he wants to perform on this object. The visual selection is a necessary confirmation for the user, so that he knows on which object an action is being executed.
Choosing the Object and Selection Method
The user always first
selects an object. Objects can be selected in various ways. As a general rule, the user must be able to both select the object and choose the action either with the mouse alone or with the keyboard alone. The common form is:Choosing an Action and Selection Techniques
After selecting the object, the user chooses the required
action for this object. The actions in the SAP System are generally offered in the pull-down menus and can be chosen either with the mouse, with the arrow keys, or with access characters. Frequently-used actions are entered into the application toolbar and can also be chosen by pressing the corresponding function key. If the focus (that is to say, the cursor) is on a pushbutton (in which case, the key is emphasized by a box), the pushbutton or the action underlying, it can be initiated by pressing ENTER .Default Action
For the most frequent function on an object, screen or dialog box (termed "default action"), there are ways of calling it faster than that just described. The user should be able to execute this accelerated call both by means of the mouse (double-click with the left key on object) and by means of the keyboard (
ENTER or F2 on the object). All of these various selection techniques must be supported.