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Understanding Ideas Genie - Controls Issue date 21st Sept 2002
Controls Summary– List of names used by Ideas Genie
and equivalent names
On the internet you've seen
and used on-line forms. There's a blank “one line box” where you enter information e.g. your name,
your email address, then there’s a “large box” where you enter your message.
Then you click on "Submit".
Somewhere back in the short
history of computers some cute kids had to assign a global name for these
"thingies". They came up with "Controls".
In the example above, the
one line area where you entered the information is known as a Text box control.
The “large box” where you entered your message is known as a Text Area Control.
In Ideas Genie tutorials and documentation we abbreviate and refer to these as
“Text Boxes” and "Text Areas"
respectively.
The "Submit"
thingie above is known as a Button Control
It may be square, it may be rectangular, but it is still a button! In
Ideas Genie documentation these are referred to simply as "Buttons".
There's lots more of
course. There's a (by no means complete) list of controls below, some with what
you might describe as "weird" names. There are instances where there
is more than one name for the SAME control. We have provided this document to
show you the names we use in our documentation, and the equivalent to control
names which you may use.
Yes, they are somewhere
where cows graze. However, think of the field as a "region". A
computer needs a unique "region" to store each element of data
belonging to a database. The "region" where it stores its data is
termed "a field". In the on-line form example quoted above, the
regions where you typed your name etc are also known as fields. When you press
the "Submit" button, the data you entered in those fields are
transferred to the appropriate fields in the database. Simple?
Very often you will find
fields which have text in them, but when you click into the fields you cannot
insert, overwrite or delete what is there. These are disabled fields. The
fields are what is termed “read only” and the description is self explanatory.
The text in disabled fields in other software is usually grey. In the majority
of cases, Ideas Genie disabled fields have a pale yellow background colour, so
they are fairly distinctive.
In some instances the
fields are only temporarily disabled. You may find when you make changes, or
click on a button somewhere on the screen that the field becomes “enabled” and
you are then able to change the text.
Buttons can also be
“disabled” and again subsequently “enabled” as you work in a screen. In such
cases, Ideas Genie decides when it is appropriate for that button to be made
available for use.
We have used invisible fields extensively in
Ideas Genie. They are intended to draw your attention when they suddenly
“appear” when appropriate.
The most common example
here is when you have just displayed a screen. Initially you are simply
“viewing” the data. Then you decide to insert, overwrite or delete information
in the screen. A “Save Changes” button magically appears. This is to remind you
that you must click the “Save Changes” button if you decide to save your
editing.
Check Boxes (Check Box Controls)
A
check box is used to toggle between two states, ultimately Yes and No.
The text (Caption)
next to the check box could be described as a prompt. You check the check box
(enter an X) if your response to the prompt is "Yes". Clear the check
from the check box if your response is "No".
Unlike Radio
buttons, when you see a group of check boxes you may check all the options or
one only.
Example: Program
GA014, the slide show.
Combo box controls – See Pop-ups
List Boxes
A list box displays a list of items from which you can select one or more
items. To make a comparison, in a
pop-up only one item in a list is initially displayed. When you click that pop
up, a list appears. In a list box control, the list (or part of it if it is a
long list) may be fully visible at all times. Additionally, depending on the
program code behind the control, you can left click (normally to select) ,
right click, double click etc to proceed through the program.
List boxes may look
similar to Text areas (see below). However, in addition to the functionality
above, you cannot edit the contents of a List Box.
Option Group buttons -
See Radio Buttons
Pop-ups
A Pop-up contains a list of items from which
you can select a single item. Initially only one item in the list is displayed.
When you click on the pop-up, a list pops up. You then make a single selection
from the list.
I can think of three names commonly used for
this control. If you click on it, does it "pop-up" does it "Drop
Down" or does in er… "Combo??". In any event, in Ideas Genie
documentation we've opted to call them pop-ups.
A group of round buttons (hence radio
buttons), each with descriptive text, making it possible for you to make a
single choice. Choosing an option button makes your choice current and releases
a previous choice. A bullet next to the option button indicates the current
choice.
Spinners
A spinner allows a user to choose from a
range of numeric values by 'spinning' through the values by clicking the up or
down arrows on the spinner or by typing a value into the spinner box.
The spinner control may have an upper limit or/and a lower limit to ensure you
do not select invalid values.
Text Areas and Text Boxes
To the user these may appear similar i.e. you type text into them and save your changes.
There is of course a difference. In a Text Box you are limited to a certain number of characters e.g. a Name field. Furthermore, text boxes can sometimes restrict you to enter a certain type of data e.g. Characters only, Numbers only or perhaps a Date .
You are seldom restricted in any way in a Text Area to the type of data you enter and the amount of data you enter.
All standard editing features, such as cut, copy, and paste, are available in both text boxes and text areas. In Ideas Genie, if you enter web addresses (URL's) into a Text Area, you can use the hyperlink button on the screen (e.g. the common editing screen GA100S09) to open your web browser and access the selected web site.
Controls Summary - List of names used by Ideas Genie and Equivalent Names
Names used in Ideas Genie Definition/Other
equivalent names
Check Box Check
Box control.
List Box List
Box control.
Pop-up Combo
Box control, Drop down list
Radio Buttons Option
Group buttons.
Spinner Spinner
control
Text Box Text
Box Control
Text Area Edit
Box Control
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