6.4.2 Help Text
Field level Help text (i.e. based on the cursor location) should be input for all fields. Separate help text can be recorded for users and developers.
- For users, it provides quick and easy access to information.
- For developers, notes can recorded to provide continuity between current and future applications.
Even though LANSA can generate its own help text, it is strongly recommended that you record help text which is pertinent to your environment. Automatically generated help text can be suppressed.
When help text is recorded in the Repository:
- it can be changed at any time without any recompiling
- all message handling, from the HELP key to the display in an overlaid window, is handled automatically by LANSA
- messages will be displayed in the correct language for multilingual applications
- LANSA's documentation facility will include both user and developer messages, to create technical and user guides.
A user only sees the user help text, but when developers are using the system, both user and developer help text is displayed.
Help text can be copied from another field or it can be manually entered. A standard HELP text form should be set up and used as the basis for all field level HELP text. Use of attributes and $$ substitution variables can vastly reduce the amount of keying required to input a field's HELP text.
Refer to the Field Help Text in the for more details.
Note: While LANSA provides automatic message handling routines, you also have the facilities to develop your own routines to manage messages.