Defining action bars and pull-downs

To create a consistent user interface, you should design your applications according to the object-action process sequence defined by the SAA Common User Access. The action bar is a major user interface component that helps you achieve consistency in your applications.

The action bar is the panel element located at the top of an application panel that contains action bar choices for the panel. Each action bar choice represents a group of related choices that appear in the pull-down associated with the action bar choice. When the user selects an action bar choice, the associated pull-down appears directly below the action bar choice. Pull-downs contain choices that, when selected by the user, perform actions that apply to the contents of the panel.

Panel design note:

ISPF and DTL provide the tools to help you create the object-action process sequence in your application, but it is your responsibility as an application designer to ensure that the contents of your action bar are actions that can be applied to the objects contained within your panel.

Typically, application panels intended for display within primary windows contain action bars that present the user with all of the available actions that apply to that panel. Application panels that are displayed as pop-ups should not include the action bar. Instead, actions for a pop-up panel are presented in the function key area.

Figure 1 shows an action bar with the File pull-down menu displayed.

Figure 1. Action bar and pull-down

Here is a simple panel. The action bar shows four options: File, View, Optiona, and Help. The drop-down menu under File shows four options: 1. Add Entry, 2. Delete Entry, 3. Update Entry, 4. Exit.

The tags you use to create the action bar and its pull-down menus are:

AB: To start an action bar definition. The required AB end tag ends an action bar definition.
ABC: To define each of the action bar choices.
PDC: To define the choices on the pull-down associated with an action bar choice.
ACTION: To specify an action to be taken when the pull-down choice is selected. The ACTION tag is coded within the PDC tag.
M: To specify a mnemonic character for action bar choice or pull-down choice selection.