22
Fields
Most applications divide the display into field
boxes. The number of fields in each application
varies, as do the types of fields. The different
types of field include text fields, a date
field, time fields and pop-up fields. There are
also a few special types of text fields. In the
User Files application, you can define the number
and names of fields according to your preferences
(see p.43).
You can type any character into a text field.
The size of a text field is limited only by the
size of the entry. Text fields adjust their
size automatically to accommodate the number
of lines entered.
Only a date can be entered in a date field,
usually in the format MM/DD/YYYY. For example,
you would type 06231998 to enter JUNE 23, 1998.
Only a time of day can be entered in the time
field, in the format of HH:MM followed by [AM]
or [PM] (for AM and PM). For example, to enter
9:00 AM, you would type 0900 then press [AM].
When the pop-up symbol appears by a field
while editing an entry, this indicates that a
pop-up menu is available for the field. The
pop-up menu contains a list of values available
for the field, and is used by pressing [ ]
and selecting the desired value from the pop-up
list. Note that the pop-up symbol only appears
next to a field in Edit mode, when the field is
selected. When you move out of a pop-up field,
the pop-up symbol disappears.
The cursor
The cursor is used to work with text, indicating
the position where text will be entered or
deleted. It is also used to select items from
menus or lists.
In text fields, where there is no restriction
on the type of text (letters or numbers) that
can be entered, the cursor appears as [ ] in
insertion mode, or as in overwrite mode (see
p.23).
In the date and time fields, the cursor appears
as , indicating that numbers only should be
entered in a specified format (see above).
* In text fields or boxes when there is no
character at the cursor position, the cursor
appears as _.