Adding Functionality to a Menu

After defining the physical layout of the menu, you must determine the functionality of each menu item. There are three options for a menu item, it can:

•

Start a new transaction

•

Call a rule in the same transaction

•

Display another menu

Determine which function for a particular menu item you require and refer to the appropriate section below.

Starting a New Transaction

The following fields are used to define a menu item that starts a new transaction. For valid values, press PF1.


Rule	Type the name of the rule to be invoked when the user selects this item from the menu.
Action New/Call/Menu	Type N for NEW. This indicates that the menu item starts a new transaction when invoked.
Search S/I/L	Specify the level of library to start searching for the designated rule.
Browse Y/N	Set to Y to execute the rule in browse mode.
Parm Y/N	Specify whether (Y) the user can enter arguments for the rule.
Prompt Obj/Parm/None	If the Parm Y/N field is set to Y, specify the way in which the user is prompted. If you specify N and the user does not enter anything, the rule is passed a null for each of its arguments.
Entry Length	Specify a value for the maximum length of information the user can enter in the prompting field. The length of the prompting field depends on the argument(s) for the specified rule.
Fill	Type a character to be used as a fill character. The character appears repeatedly to the maximum length of the Entry Length field.
Obj list or Menu	If the Prompt field is set to O, type the name of the object list. The object list appears in the Obj list or Menu field. The name you enter must be the same as the table name used when you defined the object list, using the DEFINE_OBJLIST tool. You do not have to predefine the object list; it must be defined by the time you want to use DEFINE_MENU or use the menu at login time. Refer to TIBCO Object Service Broker Shareable Tools for more information on the DEFINE_OBJLIST tool and Appendix A, Displaying an Application for more information on the DEFINE_MENU tool.
Usage	Type a comment line. This line explains the use of the menu item and can be included in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.
Purpose	Type the purpose of the menu item. You can include this field in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.

Calling a Rule

The following fields are used to define a menu item that calls a TIBCO Object Service Broker rule. For valid values, press PF1. Some fields are not supported for a selection that calls a rule, for example, you cannot set the browse mode or search path.


Rule	Type a rule name. The rule is invoked when the user selects the item from the menu.
Action New/Call/Menu	Type C for CALL. This indicates that the menu item calls a TIBCO Object Service Broker rule. If you call a rule, you cannot use this menu as a login menu.
Parm Y/N	Type N. The rule called cannot have arguments.
Prompt Obj/Parm/None	Type N. The rule cannot have arguments.
Usage	Type a comment line. This line explains the use of the menu item and can be included in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.
Purpose	Type the purpose of the menu item. You can include this field in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.

Calling Another Menu

The following fields are used to define a menu item that calls another menu. For valid values, press PF1. Some fields are not supported for a selection that calls another menu, for example, you cannot specify a library level.


Action New/Call/Menu	Type M for MENU. This indicates that the menu item calls another menu.
Obj list or Menu	Specify the name of the menu to appear. This menu must be defined using DEFINE_MENU. You do not have to predefine the referenced menu; it must be defined before the menu referencing it can be used. Refer to Appendix A, Displaying an Application for more information on the DEFINE_MENU tool.
Usage	Type a comment line. This line explains the use of the menu item and can be included in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.
Purpose	Type the purpose of the menu item. You can include this field in the help for your menu. Refer to Adding Help Information for information on adding help to menus.