HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Selecting Menu Items
HP ALLBASE/4GL accepts input from the terminal using the MPE/iX character
mode. The read terminator characters used by HP ALLBASE/4GL are Return
and Tab. This means that HP ALLBASE/4GL does not process any of your
input until it receives a carriage return or tab character. Keep this
general rule in mind as you use HP ALLBASE/4GL menus and screens. The
next section describes the various ways you can interact with an HP
ALLBASE/4GL menu.
When HP ALLBASE/4GL initially displays a menu, the first item is
highlighted. To activate the highlighted item, press Return or press the
Activate Item function key. HP ALLBASE/4GL then executes the selected
item.
Use any of the following methods to select another item:
* Use the Tab key to select the item you want:
- The Tab key selects the next item in the tabbing
sequence, which is from left to right, top to bottom, with
screen wrap-around from bottom right to top left.
- Pressing Shift and Tab together followed by Return
selects the next item in the reverse tabbing sequence.
Reverse tabbing sequence is from right to left, bottom to
top, with screen wrap-around from top left to bottom right.
* Use any combination of the cursor control keys cursor left cursor
right cursor up and cursor down followed by the Return key to
select the item you want. As you press the cursor keys, the
cursor itself moves about the screen. When you press the Return
key, HP ALLBASE/4GL selects the menu item closest to the cursor.
Note that only menu items in the active menu will be selected.
- The cursor home key, followed by the Return key, selects
the top left item on the menu.
- Pressing Shift and cursor home together, followed by the
Return key, selects the bottom right item on the menu.
* HP touchscreens: Touch the item you want. HP ALLBASE/4GL
responds to this request immediately and highlights the item.
* Type a selection abbreviation:
- To select a menu item by abbreviation, enter the first
letter of the menu item title. A single character display
field, at the bottom left corner of the screen, echoes the
character you type. When you press the Return key, HP
ALLBASE/4GL highlights the item corresponding to the
abbreviation. If there is more than one item with the same
abbreviation, enter the same letter again and press the
Return key again. HP ALLBASE/4GL highlights the next item
corresponding to the abbreviation.
The following example shows the use of selection by abbreviation.
![[]](../../pic3k/M012310/FFN43c50.gif)
When HP ALLBASE/4GL first displays this menu, Header is highlighted. You
can select the other items on this menu by typing the following
abbreviations:
* Press P Return to select Painter.
* Press D Return to select Details.
* Press F Return to select Function Keys.
* Press C Return to select Catalog Display.
You cannot select any items from the main menu because it is not the
active menu. Only one menu can be active at a time.
Executing Menu Items
You can only execute the currently highlighted menu item. To execute the
highlighted menu item, press the Return key, or the Activate Item
function key.
Menu Bypass
HP ALLBASE/4GL has a menu bypass facility that allows you to display
screens and run processes directly without stepping through the menus.
Use this facility carefully; some screens are displayed by an HP
ALLBASE/4GL process rather than being displayed directly from menus. To
access one of these screens using the menu bypass, you must execute the
process that calls the screen. If you try to display such a screen
directly, it will not operate correctly.
The menu chart at the rear of this manual shows the HP ALLBASE/4GL
developer menu structure in a diagrammatic form. This chart also shows
the names of the screens, or the names of the HP ALLBASE/4GL processes
that display the screens.
To display a specific menu or screen, press / and then press the Return
key at any menu. The system responds by displaying a message requesting
you to enter the name of the item you want to execute. Type D- followed
by the name of the menu or screen you want to display, and then press
Return. The system responds by displaying the menu as though you had
selected it via a menu. If the screen you want is displayed by a
process, type / and press the Return key at any menu and then respond to
the system message by typing P- followed by the name of the process.