Contents -

Program Basics

A few terms which you may not be familiar with will be used throughout this manual.  These terms designate:  parts of a page or actions that you can perform with your mouse.  Some of these terms are defined below. 

Back Button

In order to access the previous page in the Application, you may use the Back button.  However, there are consequences for doing so.  If you have entered data on a page, the data is not saved as you click on the Back button.  You should always use the available buttons at the bottom of the page when possible.  If there is no appropriate button choice, then use the menu options on the Subnav bar at the top of the page. 

Clicking

When the manual directs you to click, click once with your left mouse button. 

Dialog Boxes

As you click on certain functions in the Bright Futures system, dialog boxes or pop-up screens will appear on top of the page you have accessed.  You will need to answer the questions addressed in the dialog boxes, in many cases by clicking on OK, in order to continue entering information on the main page.  In addition, these dialog boxes may contain functionality that is related to the page on which it was accessed.

Highlighting

When the manual directs you to highlight an item or a line, click on the item or on the line containing the item with your mouse.

Links

Within the Application, there are links to other pages.  These are recognizable by the underlined text on the page; i.e., Link.

Printing

Any of the pages displayed may be printed by using the Print function for the browser.  Click on the File and then Print to access this function.  The exception to this is the printing of letters which is handled within the context of the Application.

Scroll Bars

The scroll bars permit you to move additional parts of a list or table into view when the entire list will not fit into the window or box.  Scroll bars can be either vertical or horizontal.  Vertical scroll bars are the arrows located at the top right and bottom right of the window and support movement of additional information from the bottom or top of the window.  Horizontal scroll bars are the arrows at the bottom left and bottom right of a window or box and support movement of additional information from the sides of a window.

Select Items

When you are directed to select an item, point to the item with your mouse, and click once with your left mouse button.

Status Bar

The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen and displays a brief direction or description related to the field in which your cursor is positioned.  Refer to the status bar as a guide as you are moving around the system.

Submit Button

Information that is entered on a page is saved to the database through the use of the Submit button located at the bottom of the page.  This function performs edits that verify that checks for appropriate and complete data.  If any information is entered incorrectly or missing, an error message is displayed at the top of the page. 

Tabbing

On each of the Bright Futures pages, you can move from one field to the next by pressing the Tab key.  After you leave a field, you can return to the field by pressing Shift + Tab at the same time to tab back to the previous field.

Typing and Revising

As you enter information in Bright Futures, remember that your cursor or mouse pointer must be positioned in a field before you can begin typing in that field. 

When making revisions, click once in a field to position the cursor in that field.  Use the backspace and delete keys to make corrections, or double-click to highlight the field, and the new text you type will replace the existing text.