Design Guidelines (SAP Library - BC

Design Guidelines

Input/output fields are usually assigned to a field name and positioned to the right of it, separated by at least two blanks, as long as they are not part of a table. Field names and I/O fields are arranged in blocks (see Fields - Positioning) and can be collated in Group Box (Control Element) with a group heading.

I/O Fields With Several Parts

You can assign several I/O fields to a field name if

you can split an I/O field into several logical parts
several related I/O fields are together on the screen template.

Try to split the field name in accordance with the I/O fields (see below). The individual parts of the input/output should be separated from one another by meaningful special characters. Place the special characters as close to the I/O fields as possible. Remember, however, that some special characters might have a different meaning in other countries.

Good:	Plant/storage location	_ / _
Bad:		Telephone		( _ ) _

Explanation: The format for the telephone number shown above is common in Germany, but not in the U.S.A. In the United States, the area code and the phone number are separated by a hyphen.

Positioning Quantity and Currency Units

Place quantity/currency units to the right of the value. Leave only one blank between value and quantity/currency unit.

Exception: If task units are usually positioned to the left of the value, follow this arrangement to not confuse the user.

Check if you can include the unit in the field name (see example 2). Please keep the following points in mind:

The quantity unit should appear in parenthesis.
Insert a blank between field name and quantity unit.
Make sure that there are at least two blanks at the end of the entire field name.

Good:	1)	Material	Screws, nickel-plated
		Quantity	20 kg
	2)	Material	Screws, nickel-plated
		Quantity (kg)	20

Explanation: If the quantity units were different in length, blanks would appear between the text and the parenthesis. In this case, it would make sense to assemble the quantity information character by character within the program to achieve an consistent appearance with the second example above.

Displaying Output Values

Please note the following guidelines with regard to the output of values:

Do not display leading zeros in numeric fields.

Good:	Net amount	234,78
	Date	03.02.90
Bad:	Net amount	000234,78
	Date	3.02.90

(The leading zero for the month is an exception to the above rule and should therefore be displayed.)

For alphanumeric codes, split the character string into groups of three or four characters. This might cause problems if various SAP customers already have a different subdivision of the character strings.

Good:	Code	IDE7 938 IEH
Bad:	Code	IDE7938IEH

Divide values with important subcomponent to emphasize the importance of these parts. Use special characters for the separation.

Good:	Net value	12.323.411,23
	Date	12.12.90
Bad:	Net value	12323411,23
	Date	121290

Number of the I/O Fields Per Field Name

Every I/O field must have some sort of field name.

If two fields are closely related, both can be assigned to the same field name. The field name does not have to refer to the subdivision.

Good:

City

_ _

(This example is only valid for certain countries; it does not apply to the U.S.A., for example.

If there are several I/O elements whose interrelation is not immediately clear, you should subdivide the field name acordingly. Do not use this approach for more than three fields.

Good:

Plant/storage location

_ / _

You can also split up the field name into subnames. Follow this approach only if the subname does not have more than one or two characters and the subkey is properly structured. Use the colons as in the example.

Good:

Terms of delivery

1: _ 2: _ 3: _ 4: _

Exception: The following fields have no field names:

the field in which you can enter a set argument under a table

selection columns

Short Descriptions

Place an explanatory text field for an I/O field next to the value, separated by one blank. Do not align the text field with other fields on the template if you have to move the text field away from the field to be explained.

Exception: If the vertical alignments on a template is interrupted more than three or four times, you should re-design the template.

"23451-4" is the value of the output field, "Screws, nickel-plated" is the short description :

Good:
Plant	2	Requisitioner	Piper
Material	23451-4 Screws, nickel-plated
Text	blah blah blah	Value date	X
Bad:
Plant	2	Requisitioner	Piper
Material	23451-4	Screws, nickel-plated
Text	blah blah blah	Value date	X

The explanatory text Screws, nickel-plated refers exclusively to the material number, that is, not to the other data in the right block. If you align the explanatory text, you give a wrong impression.

Explanation: Following the Effects on Perception, you are to give the user "visual aids" in the form of alignments. This guideline is, however, not as important as the unique assignment of the text field to the I/O field. In the bad example, the text field is also in a group to which it actually does not belong.

If there is not enough room for the explanatory text field to the right of the value, place the text field in a separate line. Define a separate field name for the text field.

Good:	Material number	23
	Material name	Screws, nickel-plated
	Posting date	03.26.1962
Bad:	Material number	23
		Screws, nickel-plated
	Posting date	03.26.1962

Positioning the Cursor

Depending on the task, the cursor should be automatically on the field the user generally uses most frequently.