RE: Data entry screen design (was Locking the Keyboard)

G.R.Srinivas wrote:

>I have an input subfile that has 
>6 fields (all numeric). The control
>part has two input fields. The 
>user wants to enter the control fields
>and automatically go into the subfile 
>area and keep entering the values
>into the subfile. User never looks at 
>the screen while entering the data. 
>When the user enters the last record, 
>they want the keyboard to be locked 
>with a beep sound. This will help them 
>from entering further values and they 
>can press either enter (to confirm) or 
>pagedown to start entering fresh set 
>of records in the subfile. .

There are several ways to look at this.  The short answer is to add another
format with a one-character field that is AUTO(RA).  When they leave the
field, the program will press Enter for them, and then you can do as you
wish.

We handled this a bit differently in a prior job.  We had a "start" format
where the user entered the control data, a "display" subfile that showed the
details entered so far (display only) and an "entry" line where the user
typed one new entry at a time.  They fill in one line, press Enter (or have
the machine do it for them) and the program validates the input and adds the
new record to the subfile above.

The input form they worked from had 7 lines on it, and had a subtotal after
each 7 lines.  The program counted the number of new lines they entered;
after 7 it did the subtotal function.  Corrections were handled by an F key
that enabled the subfile to be input-capable, allowing deletes and changes.

Buck Calabro
Aptis; Albany, NY
"We are what we repeatedly do.
 Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle


Billing Concepts Corp., a NASDAQ Listed Company, Symbol: BILL
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