HP 3000 Manuals

HP Data Entry and Forms Management System (VPLUS/V)

ENTERING DATA 

Data can be entered only into "unprotected" fields.  These fields may be
distinguished on the screen by display enhancements, usually half bright,
inverse video.

Depending on how the forms are designed, unprotected fields may be
delimited by brackets as shown in Figure 2-3, or they may be designated
simply by the enhanced display as shown in Figure 2-4, or they may not be
distinguished from the protected areas of the screen at all.  Press TAB 
to position the cursor to the beginning of the next unprotected field.


          Figure 2-3.  Bracketed Fields 

In either case, you enter data anywhere within the enhanced field.  The
brackets, although they are enhanced like the field, cannot be
overwritten by data.  If data keyed into a field does not fill the field,
press TAB to go to the next field.


          Figure 2-4.  Fields Without Brackets 

After keying all the data into the unprotected fields on the screen,
press ENTER.The data is collected by ENTRY and tested for errors.  If no
errors are detected, the data is then written as a record to the batch
file you named when you first ran ENTRY.

Each time you press ENTER, a new record is written to the batch file.
Thus, each batch file record is associated with the data entered on a
single form.  If a number of appended forms are displayed on the screen,
the data entered on each form is written to a separate record in the
batch file.  (The relation of records to forms becomes important during
the browse/modify phase of data entry described below under the heading
"Data Modification".)

Optional and Required Fields 

During forms design, certain fields in which you enter data may be
defined as "required".  If a field is required and you leave it blank, an
error is diagnosed.  Fields defined as optional may be left blank.

Program Generated Data 

When you press ENTER, values may be assigned to certain fields in the
form.  When this happens it is because the program has calculated values
from values you entered, has moved values from other fields in this or
another form, or has specified actual values to be displayed in these
fields.  Whatever the origin of program generated data, if it is
displayed in a display-only field, you cannot change this data at the
terminal.  For example, you might enter the quantity, the unit price, and
the part number of an item.  The program uses these values to calculate
the net price for this line of the order and, next time you are in browse
mode, will display the price in a field on the form.  Figure 2-5
illustrates such a situation.  Another possibility is that a value you
enter is edited to a new format.  For example, a date you enter as
September 15, 1986, may be displayed in the same (or a different) field
as 9/15/86.

1.  Key in values for QTY, PART NO.,  DESCRIPTION and UNIT PRICE.

2.  Press ENTER.


3.  ENTRY calculates and displays NET PRICE.


          Figure 2-5.  Example of Data Entry 

Correcting Errors 

You can correct errors either before or after pressing ENTER. If an error
is detected by ENTRY after ENTER is pressed, the data is not written to
the batch file until all errors in the form are corrected.  (Data can be
changed after being written to the batch file with the browse/modify
capability described below under "Data Modification".)

Before ENTER.  It is good practice always to look over the form for
errors before pressing ENTER. If you notice an error anywhere on the
form, you can correct it and then press ENTER. Refer to your terminal
reference manual for information on how to use the cursor positioning and
editing keys.

All unprotected fields on the screen can be cleared to spaces or the
original default values by pressing REFRESH.

After ENTER.  Once you have pressed ENTER, ENTRY takes over and edits the
data you have entered.  If ENTRY detects any errors in the data you
entered, it leaves the form and the entered data on the screen, positions
the cursor to the beginning of the first field with an error, and causes
all fields with errors to blink (or, depending on the forms design, to be
enhanced in some other way).  Also, a message describing the first error
is displayed in the "window" line.  This line is dedicated to error and
status messages, and it appears on the form in the position specified in
the forms file with FORMSPEC.

You should then correct the field in error and press ENTER. If more than
one field contains errors, you may correct them all before pressing
ENTER. However, if you do not know what caused an error, correct as many
fields as you can and then press ENTER. A description of the first field
that still has an error will be displayed in the "window" line.  This
message should provide the information you need so you can correct the
error and press ENTER again.  Continue in this way until all errors have
been corrected.

System and Logic Errors 

Some errors cannot be corrected as described above.  When a system error
occurs, the program terminates and returns to MPE control.  An MPE error
message is displayed on the screen.  System errors are caused by problems
in the computer system.  Other errors are logic errors.  Such errors do
not terminate the program.  A logic error is not necessarily the fault of
the user but may be a result of how the form is designed.  A logic error
might occur, for example, when data entered causes the program to perform
an impossible calculation, such as division by zero.  Whether the error
is a system or a logic error, in such a situation you should consult with
your system manager for the best method of correcting the error.

Interrupting Data Entry 

If you want to interrupt data entry before the last form has been
reached, press ENTER to record the data on the current form, and then
press EXIT. The next time you run ENTRY with the same forms file and the
same batch file, the next form is displayed automatically.  Thus, you can
continue entering data from the point where you left off.

If you press EXIT before pressing ENTER, data keyed into the current form
is not recorded in the batch file.  When you run ENTRY again with the
same forms and batch files, the last form is redisplayed with any initial
values, and you must retype the data into the form whose data entry you
interrupted in the previous session.

Terminating a Session 

You can terminate a data entry session by pressing EXIT to return to MPE
control.  This will act exactly as described above for interrupting data
entry.  (Note that you can recognize that MPE is in control when a colon
prompt (:)  is issued.)  Then you terminate the session by entering the :
BYE command and pressing RETURN, as follows:

     :BYE 

Unexpected Program Interruption.  The program may interrupt unexpectedly
because of a power failure or because you accidentally pressed BREAK.
Refer to Appendix G for instructions on how to recover from this
situation.  Once you have recovered, the form displayed at the time of
the failure is redisplayed, and you can continue where you left off.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation