Navigating Scarab

The Scarab interface is organized to allow access to all major functionality from anywhere in the application. Each of the action screens provides relevant information along with links to access further details as needed. A unified and consistent interface allows you to easily recognize the types of information and actions available on each screen.

Each screen provides the following navigational aids

• The Left navigation bar: The navigation bar is organized by issue type, then by function. To access functionality within a specific issue type, select the title of the issue type on the left navigation bar. The functionality available to that issue type will appear below the title.
• The Query bar The query bar provides access to the search tools. The issue ID box allows you to access a specific issue number. The select query box provides access to the Advanced and Custom query features. If you have any saved queries, they will appear in the select query box.
• Section titles Most information screens are organized in tabular format. Each section is presented with an informative section header, describing the section and, often, providing general information about the section. Each column header acts as a link to change the sort order for that table. For the sort column, the title has an arrow indicating the direction of the sort: the default is ascending. To change the direction of the sort click on the arrow.
• Buttons: indicate a set of actions that can be performed. Often you will find more than one set of buttons on a page. Buttons directly below a section will perform actions on the section only, if you have you may find an Update Options button beside an attribute selector in one section. This indicates that if you change the attribute clicking the button will change the options available to that attribute.
• Checkboxes: used to select list items for modification.

In many cases, helpful information is included directly on the screens to clarify unusual operations. Error messages are provided in line to help identify where the error occurred and specific means for remedy.

Entry forms

Entry forms are easy to use. Default data points are indicated with * (astricks) beside the field title. Often you will find textual guidelines within the entry forms to help you through the form entry process.

Buttons:

Navigational buttons are available on each screen. These buttons perform actions on the data entered in the form. The

• Cancel cancels the process in which you currently are engaged.
• Continue button will take you to the next part of the entry process.
• Done button will save your work and return you to the last process in which you were engaged.
• Next button indicates that there is further information to be gathered on the next screen. Clicking this button will cache your current data and take you to the next part in the wizard.

Tabs

Some multipart functionality provides tabs for easy navigation between parts. In the reports functionality you can use the tabs to switch from defining row content to the final output characteristics.

If you have a saved data set for an entry form (like saved queries or reports, or issue entry templates), the top section contains a drop down list with all such items available for use on this form. This appears in the issue entry, query and reports functionality. To use a saved form select the one of interest from the drop down box and use the select button to render the selection.

Each attribute in an entry form displays all available options, from which you can select one or more.

Results and selection pages

Results screens appear after you have activated a request, like a query, a report, etc. Each results screen provides a list of items with some descriptive information.

Many results screens allow you to perform actions on the items that appear. Under the items you will find a set of buttons linked to actions that can be performed. There may be two sets of buttons. The first set will affect only those items you select using the checkboxes. If a second set appears, they will perform actions on all items in the list.

Below the action buttons you may find links to additional actions. These links allow you to affect the layout of results.

Sort order

Items are initially in ascending order by their ID. To sort by an attribute, click the title of the attribute. The sort will change to ascending by that attribute. Clicking the arrow beside the attribute name will provide a descending sort.

Customizing the interface

Many screens are customizable. You can add to or remove the attributes that appear on your screen by clicking on the add/remove attributes from view link. Use the check boxes to show or hide attributes. Add a check to the items you would like to appear on your screen. Use this screen to determine the order of the columns by using the "Columnar sequence" field.