Messages Task List

The application shows you warning messages that are triggered during processing to give you choices about the outcome of the transaction. There are three levels of severity assigned to task list items: Error (E), Warning (W), and Hidden (H). Authorized users can customize these settings in most cases. You can bypass warnings to continue processing the transactions; bypassing warnings serves as a confirmation that the user accepts the conditions. You cannot bypass Errors; the application expects you to change the conditions of the transaction until the error is corrected (usually missing information, invalid entries, etc.). Hidden messages don't generate a task list window and are only visible to an Application Manager.

For each action that triggers a task list message, an Application Manager can either upgrade a warning to an error or downgrade a warning to hidden. All messages initially default to a status of either Error or Warning. Messages that default to Error can never be reduced to a warning or hidden state! Messages that default to Warning but have been modified to an Error can be reset back to a Warning.

Changing Message Severity

Currently, the only way to increase or decrease an individual message's severity level is from the task list window if you are a designated Application Manager (settings in Maintenance > Database > Parameters > Setup, and the User ID tab... see User ID Parameters for more information). You can use the Message Maintenance database form can only be used to (1) view the messages by application and activity and (2) to reset all messages for an activity back to system defaults.

To modify the status of an individual message, however, an Application Manager can modify the status from the Task List form. This can require duplicating a situation which causes the message to come up.

To change the severity of this message, right-click the message icon and in the New Severity box, choose a new message severity level.

Choices include: Error, Warning, Hidden, and either a "Reset to Warning" or "Reset to Error" option (depending upon the original severity setting).

• Error
  Select this option to prevent the user from completing the action associated with the message.

• Warning
  Select this option to show the warning message to the user when this circumstance occurs. This allows the user to accept the message and choose to continue or make a change.

• Hidden
  Select this option to display the current message for admin users only.

• Reset to Warning/Error
  Resets the message type to either the Warning or Error status, depending upon the current setting.

When you have completed this setting, choose Save.

Message Maintenance Form

The Menu Maintenance form is useful for both inquiry and for resetting groups of task list items back to system defaults. You can also use this form to update the status of individual messages; however, you can only change the status of task list messages that have an original status of either Warning (W) or Hidden (H). Even Application Managers cannot modify any messages that were coded as Error (E) types originally. The primary reason we don't allow severity changes on all messages is that certain messages are used to prevent processing errors (required fields, etc.).

Messages are grouped together and organized by application or database area. Application areas provide a breakdown of task list items by activity. After selection in the upper grid, all messages that potentially might appear when processing (F12) in the application, database, or activity are listed in the lower grid. The situations that trigger messages vary considerably and are set within the code. Some messages may only be triggered in very specific situations. For this reason, you may see what appear to be duplicate messages. The way the messages are used in different situations sometimes requires that we add the same message more than once (so that we can have one that triggers just a "Warning" but another that always triggers an "Error" in another specific case, for example).

To change the severity on a particular message, you click in the "Current" column (see the arrow cursor in the image above). As long as the original severity is not "E" (error), the lower form will immediately change (see below).

To change the severity, use the radio buttons found to the left side of the lower form. The "reset to original" resets the message(s) severity to it's original or default severity. In some cases, a message may be used in more than one place and situation. The form allows you to selectively apply a change to particular areas where the message is used.

Use the Menu Marker , "Reset to Original" option, to set all displayed message statuses back to their default settings (as listed under the "original" column). Changes are temporary unless the user chooses Save (F6) prior to closing the Message Maintenance form.