NET/MASTER Network Control Language (NCL) Programmer's Guide

Panel Design Guidelines
Working With Panels
14–2 106160 Tandem Computers Incorporated
Table 14-2. Panel Control Statements
Statement Description
#ALIAS Specifies alternative names for fields in a panel description file.
#ERR Specifies what happens when internal panel validation finds an error.
#FLD Specifies or modifies the attributes of a field character.
#INCLUDE Specifies a panel description file as a source of panel control statements.
#NOTE Specifies a comment or comments.
#OPT Specifies the operational and processing characteristics of a panel.
#TRAILER Specifies the lines of text at the bottom of a screen.
For the complete syntax of verbs and panel control statements, refer to the NonStop
NET/MASTER NCL Reference Manual.
NonStop NET/MASTER MS uses panels extensively to interact with users. Examples
of panels distributed with NonStop NET/MASTER MS include the NonStop
NET/MASTER MS primary menu, displays from Edit Services, User ID Management
Services, System Support Services, and all help screens. It is recommended that you
examine the NCL procedures and panel description files distributed with NonStop
NET/MASTER MS to supplement the information presented in this section.
Panel Design
Guidelines
How the information presented by a panel is understood depends a great deal on how
a panel is designed. It is recommended that you follow these general guidelines when
you are designing a panel:
When creating or modifying a panel, enter panel details exactly as you want them
to be displayed.
Give careful consideration to the use of highlighting, color, intensity, and padding
when displaying text. Ensure that these are not used excessively.
Use color selection and messages consistently for all panels in a similar series.
Clearly identify input fields to describe the input data you require.
Do not have too many fields in a panel. If necessary, spread data or solicit input
over several panels to avoid crowding a single panel.
Clearly indicate how to exit from a panel and how to choose the next panel in a
series of panels.
Clearly indicate the number of each panel in a series and the total number of
panels in the series.
Use the &SYSMSG variable to display error messages.