Design and Operation of a Multiple Selection Screen

The Multiple Selection for Material screen (Figure 11.2) displays four subscreens, which you call up by clicking their tabs (A). (We show two of these subscreens in the figure.) Each subscreen contains either one column of single data entry fields or two columns of paired fields, wherein you enter the codes for the object in question. The bottom of the screen contains a row of buttons (B), which you use to work with the contents of the screen.

Figure 11.2. Two of the four subscreens of the Multiple Selection for Material screen for equipment codes.

The tabs of a multiple selection screen are color-codedthe first two contain a green light, the last two contain a red lightand are named either Single vals (that is, values) or Ranges. This combination of color and name defines the different functions of the subscreens.

• The first, the green-lighted Single values tab, displays a subscreen where you can enter multiple codes for individual objects you want to include in a transaction.

• The second, the green-lighted Ranges tab, displays a subscreen where you can enter multiple ranges of codes for objects you want to include in a transaction.

• The third, the red-lighted Single values tab, displays a subscreen where you can enter multiple codes for individual objects you want to exclude from a transaction.

• The fourth, the red-lighted Ranges tab, displays a subscreen where you can enter multiple ranges of codes for objects you want to exclude from a transaction.

You enter codes in the data entry fields of the multiple selection screen in the same manner as you enter them on an initial screen.

• Click inside a field to select and highlight it, and then type your entry on your keyboard.
  
  
• Copy data from another source into your clipboard, then click inside a field on the multiple selection screen and hit the keystroke Ctrl + V to paste the data there.
  
  
• Search for the correct code for a field by clicking inside it to call up its search button, then clicking it to start the search.
  
  
• Apply selection options to a single field by double-clicking inside it to call up a menu of options, then select one of them (see the next lesson for instructions).
  
  
• Click-and-drag across an entry to select and highlight it, then delete it by hitting the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard.
  
  
• Enter abbreviated calendar dates (such as 010104), then hit the Enter key on your keyboard to correctly format them (as 01/01/2004 in this case).
  
  

In addition to copying-and-pasting a single code into a field on the multiple selection screen, you can also copy-and-paste multiple codes into a column of fields. For example, you can copy-and-paste a column of codes from an Excel spreadsheet (Figure 11.3) onto the multiple selection screen by following this next procedure.

Procedure: Copying Multiple Codes Onto the Multiple Selection Screen

Step 1.	Click-and-drag down the length of a single column of data cells on the Excel spreadsheet to select and highlight them (Figure 11.3A).
Step 2.	Copy the data into your clipboard by clicking the Copy button (B), or Hit the keystroke Ctrl + C.
Step 3.	Click inside the first available field (Figure 11.4A) in a single column of data entry fields on the Multiple Selection for Material screen. Figure 11.4. Pasting copied data from the clipboard to the Multiple Selection for Material screen.
Step 4.	Hit the keystroke Ctrl + V to paste the data from your clipboard into the column. The system automatically adds any additional fields that are needed to fit all the copied data onto the screen.

Figure 11.3. Copying a column of data from an Excel spreadsheet into your computer's clipboard.

A multiple selection screen has a row of buttons at its bottom for working with its contents (Figure 11.5). The functions of some of these buttons, most notably the Enter, Selection options, Delete selection (that is, delete a line), and Paste from clipboard buttons, are executed more efficiently by the methods that were described above, so we do not describe them here.

Figure 11.5. The tool buttons of the multiple selection screen.

The most important button on the multiple selection screen is Copy. Once you complete all your entries on the screen, you must click the Copy button to save your entries and return to the initial screen.

The other useful buttons at the bottom of the multiple selection screen are

• Insert line, which adds another single field or set of paired fields to a subscreen;

• Delete all, which deletes the contents in all the fields on all the subscreens;

• Multiple selection, which allows you to search for and enter multiple codes in one fell swoop on a subscreen (and which we describe at the end of this lesson);

• Cancel, which terminates the setup of the screen and returns you to the initial screen. (A control button in the upper-right corner also serves this purpose.)

When you click the Copy button to save your entries on the multiple selection screen, the screen is erased and you can complete the setup of the initial screen of the transaction. However, you will notice a change to the fields in which you entered the multiple codes (Figure 11.6).

• If you entered multiple codes on the green-lighted Single values subscreen, the first of those codes appears in the first of the two paired fields (A) and the Multiple Selection button is highlighted with a green rectangle (B).

• If you entered multiple ranges of codes on the green-lighted Ranges subscreen, the first of those ranges appears in the paired fields (C) and the Multiple Selection button is highlighted with a green rectangle (D).

Figure 11.6. The first entries on the multiple selection screen appear in the datatype fields, and the Multiple selection button (B and D) is highlighted to indicate that codes have been entered on that screen.

At this point, you can always recall the multiple selection screen and edit its contents by clicking the Multiple selection button again. Once there, add, edit, or delete the codes, then click the Copy button to save your changes and return to the initial screen.