(Menu): Shortcut key for each Menu Choice

[arora.saurabh]

Hello,

We are creating a new rich display file. We would like to use the Menu widget for navigation options from one rich display to other. Also, we would like to attach each menu choice to a Function Key so that the user can either click on the Menu Choice or press the attached function key. There is only one shortcut key option for the menu widget therefore we could attach only one function to this widget. We would like to attach multiple function keys as per the number of choices in the menu. (maybe a way to add CFxx or CAxx to the rich display files so that the server returns control to the program on key press).

We had to use buttons instead of the Menu Widget due to the incapability of having function keys attached to each item.

Please advice if there is a way to attach function keys to each menu choice or instead using buttons will be a good approach.

Thanks in advance !!

Thanks,
Saurabh Arora

[Scott Klement]

Normally, the results of a menu choice are sent back to the RPG program in a variable that's bound to the 'menu response' property. So your RPG program can easily call a different program based on what is returned in this property.

I don't understand why you want it to send back a function key? This would not provide any new or better capabilities than using 'menu response'. Can you explain why this is desired, and how it would be useful? Depending on what you are trying to achieve, there might be an easier/better way to do this...

[arora.saurabh]

Hi Scott,

Thank you for your response !!

Yes using the response from the Menu would be one approach. But we would also like the menu's to take back the response to server in case the attached function key is pressed. So that the mouse click and the function key both works.

We have our users working on green screens since a long time and they are used to navigation using Function keys. So the management believes that if they do not have the flexibility of using function keys, it may impact their work efficiency. The idea is even though we are not displaying directly that they are function keys, we would like the user to be able to do both. In these places, we are looking for it to be for menus and actionable items. In both instances it will be navigating to a new screen – wherever we point it.

Another example: We have created some of the database maintenance programs that will Add/Display/Update the records of a PF. As of now we have used the images in the subfile for Display and Edit. But there is a requirement that we may have many options like Copy/Submit etc. So we have created a Menu as tool bar above the subfile. But again the requirement is that user should be able to use Function Key or Click on the menu for selecting any option.

If we get to define CFxx or CAxx with the rich display to take the control back to the program, we can handle based on the response and the function key. Or if there is any way to attach the function keys with the menu.

Please advice.

Thanks,
Saurabh Arora

[Scott Klement]

I can understand why you'd want to keep the same function keys you had in the green-screen version of the program. That's pretty standard -- everyone keeps those so the existing users who are familiar with those keys can use them. But, surely, you didn't have a menu in the green-screen version, did you? And each menu choice didn't signal a different function key to the RPG program when you clicked it, did it?

This is what I don't understand. When you click a menu option, you want that menu option to send a function-key press to the RPG program, correct? What purpose does that serve? The green-screen didn't do that, so this is something new. Why not have the menu function reported via menu response instead of pushing a function key?

[arora.saurabh]

Hi Scott,

Yes, we do not have function keys with the menu's in green screen.

Just that Menu can be single widget as compared to using multiple buttons. There is no particular reason for using menu in our case.

Also, we thought menu bar would look better than using many buttons for various functionality.

Thank,
Saurabh Arora