SAP R/3 Interface

As you learned in Lesson 1, "Accessing SAP R/3," when you launch SAP R/3, the SAP logon screen appears. Figure 2.1 shows the logon screen and points out the main elements of the user interface.

Plain English
User Interface

The controls and displays you use to operate something. In your car, for example, the user interface would consist of the steering wheel, the pedals, and the dashboard.

The title bar in this figure reads SAP R/3. This changes according to which screen you are looking at. The title bar also can help you confirm that you are where you need to be.

The menu bar contains a number of menus from which you select commands to perform your tasks. The available menus change depending on which screen you are in. Two selections available from all screens are System and Help.

Three standard Windows controls appear in the upper-right corner of the title bar:

• The Window Minimize control minimizes the SAP R/3 window to a button on your taskbar (where it remains active and you can get to it easily). You can bring it back to full size by clicking it or by pressing Alt+Tab.

• The Restore control changes your SAP R/3 session from occupying only a window on your screen to taking up the full screen. You might want to use this to check information in another system (to check your email, for example) while using SAP R/3. When your session is occupying only a window, the Restore control is replaced with a Maximize button, which you can click to make SAP R/3 take up the full window again.
  
• The Close control (×) shuts down your SAP R/3 session, after you confirm that this is really what you want to do.

The tool buttons across the top of the screen function as shortcuts you can use to perform common tasks. SAP R/3 displays active tool buttons in color; shadowed tool buttons don't apply to the active screen.

Figure 2.1 shows a Quick Info box labeled New Password F5. (These are also known as ToolTips in Windows 95/98.) These boxes appear when you position the mouse pointer over a button. This one, in particular, indicates that you're pointing to the New Password button, which performs the same function as the F5 key—both open the New Password dialog box.

SAP R/3 uses fields to accept and display information. Some things to consider when dealing with fields include the following:

• The length of a field shows you how many characters you can type in that field.
  
• The cursor (a flashing line or block) shows the field you are now in (the active field); anything you type appears in this field.
  
• SAP R/3 generally shows a field name for each field onscreen.
  
• When SAP R/3 displays a question mark in a field, you must enter something into the field before you can go any further. In the logon screen shown in Figure 2.1, for example, a user name is required. If you try to go on without filling in all the required fields, SAP R/3 gives you an error message.

SAP R/3 and Dialog Boxes

Sometimes SAP R/3 uses dialog boxes to display or request information. When a dialog box appears, it becomes the active window, and its title bar is highlighted.

Plain English

Dialog Box  
A box that SAP R/3 displays to communicate with you. Dialog boxes are smaller than the full SAP R/3 window.

Figure 2.2 shows the Change Password dialog box. Notice that its title bar is highlighted, and the main screen's title bar is no longer highlighted to show that it's not active. This means that only the dialog box is active. You can't access anything on the main screen behind it until you deal with the dialog box. You must click Copy or × (Cancel) to close this dialog box and return to the main screen.

Sometimes SAP R/3 presents you with several layers of dialog boxes. You must deal with those boxes to get back to your original screen.

The SAP R/3 Toolbar

The SAP R/3 toolbar is the row of tool buttons across the top of the screen. Some buttons apply to all screens; others apply only to some screens. SAP R/3 tells you which are active by showing them in color. Shadowed tool buttons don't apply to the displayed screen. Table 2.1 shows you the tool buttons and describes each one.

TIP

Back and Exit  
New users sometimes find this confusing. If you are at the first screen in a series, the Back and Exit buttons will do the same thing. If you are at the third screen in a process, Back takes you back to the second screen, and Exit takes you right out of the process.

The Status Bar

The status bar is usually displayed at the bottom of the SAP R/3 screen (see Figure 2.3).

SAP R/3 uses the status bar to pass along information. In particular, the message area part of the status bar contains a message preceded by one of the following codes:

Code	Meaning
I	Information
W	Warning
E	Error
A	Abnormal end

In Figure 2.3, the status bar message E: Required Entry not made is an error notice telling you that you need to fill in a field before you can proceed.

TIP

Status Bar Error Messages  
New users sometimes don't notice error messages on the status bar and don't know why they can't go on. The first thing you should look at when you have a problem is the status bar.

On the right end of the status bar, you'll find the following information:

• Server name
  This is different from the one you typed in to gain access to the system, which may seem a little awkward at first. In Figure 2.3, the name is HRS(1)(000); HRS is the name of a demonstration system in the SAP Calgary office. We used the client code of 000 to access this system.
  
• Session number
  You can have more than one SAP R/3 session open at once.
  
• Insert/overtype indicator 
  This indicates which typing mode you are in. You switch between insert and overtype modes when you press the Insert key.
  
• Clock
  SAP R/3 provides a clock in the lower right corner.
  

In this lesson, you learned the basics of the SAP R/3 user interface. In the next lesson, you see how to use the SAP R/3 screen elements to move between screens.