Overview of Controls

The SAPGUI provides a number of standard interface elements or controls that are used in graphical user interfaces and that you can use in your applications. This document lists the interface elements used in the SAPGUI following a simple classification scheme. Each type of interface element is introduced in short first. Then the SAPGUI-specific variants of this type - shown in italics - are presented.

Elements for Input and/or Output of Data

These elements are used

to display information the user can possibly change
to receive a small up to a very large amount of information from the user

Output elements only display information. The user cannot change the data or can do so only under particular circumstances.

Input/output fields are text fields in the work area of a screen. The user can enter data in I/O fields or the system can display information there. Field names are text fields (output fields) which belong to input/output fields. They identify the function of the particular fields. Column or row headers in tables and lists serve a similar purpose. Short descriptions are text fields (output fields) which describe the contents of I/O fields in more detail. All these fields are defined in the Screen Painter.

Additional I/O elements in the R/3 System are the command field and the status bar. The command field allows the user to type in a command. The status bar displays system messages and informs the user about the system status.

Elements Initiating Actions

These elements initiate an action when the user executes a particular function. The action can be performed on the current screen or lead to a screen change.

Pushbuttons are fields with a textual or graphical label and initiate a particular action, if activated. They may be grouped together in toolbars or floating windows. In the R/3 System, you find pushbuttons in the standard toolbar, in the application toolbar, and in the work area of a screen at no fixed position.

Pushbuttons can be activated with the mouse (single mouse-click) or (mostly) the keyboard. Pushbuttons of the application toolbar and the standard toolbar are defined in the Menu Painter. Pushbuttons with no fixed position are defined in the Screen Painter.

Function keys also initiate an action, but can only be activated with the keyboard. Some function keys also appear as pushbuttons in the application toolbar or in the standard toolbar. All active function keys are displayed in the function key menu. To display the menu, click the right mouse button.

Menus

A menu is a list of items that the user can choose one at a time. Menus can show for example, functions or attributes.

Menu bar, Pull-down menus: We distinguish between the menu bar and pull-down menus. The menu bar is a horizontal bar just below the title bar of the window.
A pull-down menu is a submenu attached to the bottom of a menu bar item and usually hidden. It appears when the user clicks a menu bar item with the mouse. Pull-down menus are arranged vertically and may be cascaded, i.e. arranged hierarchically.

Besides using the mouse, you can activate menus with the function Menu bar (F10). You select the required menu option with the arrow keys and press ENTER to activate it. To access a menu directly, you can define access characters that the user has to press in combination with the ALT key. The fastpath is another fast access method: In the command field, the user enters a period followed by a string of access characters.

Elements for Making Selections

These elements allow the user to choose options or attributes. There are selection elements for different purposes.

Radio buttons allow the user to choose exactly one item of several alternatives. The number of alternatives is fixed and all alternatives should fit on the screen. One option is always selected. Checkboxes allow the user to choose as many alternatives as desired or none at all. The number of alternatives is fixed and all alternatives should fit on a screen.

Single- and multiple-selection lists contain at least two lines. The length of the list, however, is usually not fixed and all of the alternatives need not fit on one screen. In single-selection lists the user can only choose one line, in multiple-selection lists the user can choose several lines. Single-selection lists may mark items with radio buttons, multiple-selection lists use checkboxes.

Elements for Making Adjustments

These elements can be used for different purposes. A typical case is to choose a value from a value set, for example, by moving a slider on a scale. This is possible for discrete as well as for continuous values.

Scroll bars provide a means for viewing an area larger than the work area on the screen. They inform the user that there is more information available than displayed on the current screen. There are vertical and horizontal scroll bars. These allow to scroll up and down or left and right in the information.

Spin buttons let the user increment or decrement values in standard increments. They can also be used for non-numerical data, for example for choosing a month or a day of the week.

Elements for Grouping Objects

These elements are used for visual grouping of related control elements on a screen. There is just one such element in the R/3 System, the group box. Group boxes provide grouping of I/O fields with field names or radio buttons or checkboxes. They consist of a rectangular frame and are identified by a group heading.

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