The Menu Painter: Introduction (SAP Library

The Menu Painter: Introduction

ABAP programs contain a wide variety of functions, which fall into different categories within the user interface. It is important for users to be able to differentiate between these categories, and to choose the right function easily. In the R/3 System, you arrange functions using the Menu Painter.
An instance of the user interface, consisting of a menu bar, a standard toolbar, an application toolbar, and a function key setting, is called a GUI status. The GUI status and GUI title defines how the user interface will look and behave in an ABAP program.

Components of the User Interface

Some statuses do not use all of these objects. For example, the status of a modal dialog box uses only function keys and an application toolbar.

Basic Concepts

The principal object of a user interface is the GUI status. This can be assigned to any screen (screen, selection screen, or list). Technically, it consists of a reference to a menu bar, a standard toolbar, and a function key setting.

Different GUI statuses can refer to common components.
A program can have many GUI statuses and titles. These represent the different modes in which an application may operate.

For example, a transaction might have two statuses - "Change" and "Display. In change mode, the delete function is active, but in display mode it is not.

Several different screens can use the same status.
You set the GUI title of a screen independently from its status.