Using Menus

Menus appear at the top of each screen. Generally, the DB–Access main menu, as Figure 3 shows, is the top level of the menu hierarchy. You can select a submenu as the top level if you invoke DB–Access with a submenu option, such as those described in Executing a Command File.

DBACCESS:  Query-language   Connection  Database  Table  Session  Exit
Use SQL Query Language.

------------------------------------------------Press CTRL-W for Help ---

A message below the option menu briefly describes the function of the highlighted option. If you highlight another option, the description changes. To find out what an option does, simply highlight it and read the description.

The dashed line at the bottom of the header displays the name of the current database, if one is selected, and a reminder to press CTRL-W for Help.

Choosing a Menu Option

In Figure 3, the box, or highlight, indicates that Query-language is the current option. Press RETURN to choose the highlighted option or choose another option as follows:

• Use the SPACEBAR or the left and right arrow keys to move the highlight. Options are arranged in a ring. If you move the highlight to the right, past the end of the list, the first option becomes current again.

  Press RETURN to choose the highlighted option.

• Type the shortcut letter shown in uppercase in the name of the option that you want to select. (You can type the shortcut letter in either uppercase or lowercase.)

  Because some menus have multiple options that start with the same letter, the shortcut key is not always the first letter of an option name. For example, in Figure 4, the DATABASE menu, both Create and cLose start with the letter "c." As indicated by the uppercase shortcut keys, press the C key to select the Create option and press the L key to select the cLose option.

  Figure 4. A Sample Menu Screen

  DATABASE:  Select   Create  Info  Drop  cLose  Exit 
  Select a database to work with.
  
  ------------------------------------------------ Press CTRL-W for Help ---

  DB–Access displays the screen for the menu option that you select.

Leaving a Menu Screen

If the menu has an Exit option, press the E key to exit the menu. If no Exit option exists, use the Interrupt key (usually DEL or CTRL-C) to exit the menu. You then return to the menu, screen, or command line from which you selected the exit menu.