Re: Minuses RE: Columns in printouts (and on display files)

Our application is used by 2,000 people to request time off. The
negative comes into use when they need to cancel taking a day off that
has already been approved (I know, not the best way to do this but our
accounting office controls our leave system and they like debits and
credits). Most of these people might use only this application and
nothing else other than a few lookup only apps

dilbernator@xxxxxxxxx 11/3/2006 11:52:33 AM >>>

Hey Mike,

I have had very - very - few applications where I have had to allow,
or
specifically program for a negative number to be keyed.  When it has,
we
have treated it as a user training issue, to make sure they know about
the
field plus and minus keys, and how they effect the numbers being
keyed.

So the short answer to your question is, no - we have not programmed
for
it.  I imagine you would look at the left most digit in the field when
it is
passed back to the program, and if it is a negative sign, deal with it
then.
That is providing the minus sign is passed to the program along with
the
number.  That I have not tested.  It might just get stripped out.

Jim

On 11/3/06, Mike Cunningham <MCUNNING@xxxxxxx> wrote:

We have a few apps where users need to enter a negative sign along

with

the amount. To a person, just about everyone who does this tries to
enter -1 and the value is received as a positive number. 1- works OK

as

does using the field - but no one understands field+, field- or

field

exit keys anymore (Except those still around from the old 5250

terminal

days). Has anyone figured out how to let a user enter a -1 and make

it

work? (other than making the field on the display a character field

and

then doing all kinds of scans and edits to make sure it's numeric)