Configuring CCLAS Menus

CCLAS menus helps users locate programs without having to remember vast lists of program identifiers.

Menu Scope

Menus are created at instance-level. An instance can contain multiple menus.

Properties of a Menu

A menu can have a hierarchy of nodes.

Each node has associated text which is displayed when the menu is used, and a description to assist in searching for menus.

Where a node has a global menu name, the global menu (comprising that node and the hierarchy below it) can be assigned to a user.

The lowest level nodes, those without child nodes, link to an application, and may have parameters with our without default values for the application.

Use of Menus

Menus make navigating the system faster and easier, especially for new users. Users can create their own menus and tailor them to suit a Laboratory, Role, or their individual preference if their security access allows.

For example, to navigate directly to the Create screen for a frequently used application, bypassing the Submit screen, a menu can be created allowing you to do this. Once created, your menu structure displays in the Application Navigation Menu which is available in every screen that you access.

The following features are supported by the CCLAS menu facility:

Creation of CCLAS core menus supplied with the system.
Creation of global menus that can be used as the user’s default menu.
Creation of user-defined menus.
A combination of core and user-defined menus.

Installing Menus

When a core data load is run during a CCLAS upgrade, then existing customised menus are retained and only the default GM Menu is reloaded from the new core data.

The GM Menu and core menus for core roles are provided at installation.

Note: The GM Global Menu is locked for changes in most environments, and is updated every time a site is upgraded, and becomes the default CCLAS menu that is published with the product. All other global menus, remain unchanged after upgrade.

Creating and Maintaining Menus

Menus are created and maintained using the MSE025—Menu application, which is accessed also using the System Setup » Menus menu option.

Menus are created for use across an instance. All menus have unique identifiers created by the CCLAS system.

Global menus are assigned to users. Once a menu is created, it can be promoted to be a global menu. Until a menu is promoted as a global menu, it cannot be assigned against a user.

A user's menu is common across all laboratories that they log in to.

If the person does not have access to an application (due to their roles not having the permissions), then the application is not displayed as a menu option, even though the underlying menu contains it.

Tip: If a user cannot display a menu item, then review their security.

CCLAS menus can be:

Defined as global menus.
Defined as core menus. These menus are created by Datamine and cannot be modified.
Defined by users. CCLAS users can tailor their own menus using the MSE025—Modify Menu application.
Displayed in the user's preferred language using the multi-language support function within CCLAS. The system automatically determines the user's preferred language from their browser. If the user's language is not found in the CCLAS database, the system defaults to English.
Nested or have many levels by adding child nodes to existing nodes, or adding existing menus as a hierarchical node. A menu can contain a maximum of 30 menu options. This allows for an almost unlimited hierarchy and wide-ranging flexibility.
Note: It is not mandatory to use hierarchical menus.
Exported and imported between instances.

As part of CCLAS installation, a core set of installation menus are loaded with the core data. Core menus are protected and cannot be modified. However, they can be copied (using the Save As function) and then modified. This has the added benefit of allowing future Datamine delivered menu updates without disturbing existing customer changes.

At installation, the MSESEC—Security application has the default menu set as the GM—Global Menu. Customers can change the default menu to one they customise, if required.

Users can install their own menus by:

Creating a personalised menu that can consist of the following items:
- A main menu linking to separately created sub-menus
- A user-defined menu hierarchy containing all menu items
- Renaming a core menu with a user name using the Save As function and then adding further menu nodes, as required
Changing the default menu to a user-defined menu by copying the global menu with a user name using the Save As function and then using the Promote Node to Global Menu function on the newly named global menu.

The following business rules govern this process:

Menus are global, and all have unique identifiers created by the CCLAS system.
Only core menus can be copied (using the Save As function).
All menu nodes can be promoted to a global menu.
Menu nodes can be referenced (using the Add Existing Menu function).
Changes to a referenced menu node are reflected where they are referenced.
Core menus and their branches cannot be deleted.
Deleting a branch within a menu node impacts any place that it is referenced.
An application within a menu cannot have children.
The Text Displayed field is used to display the node when the menu is used, and is the name of the node for child nodes.
The Application Code field is used to denote the target entity. This may be the code of a CCLAS 6 application (for example, CCSCHM, CCREGN or CCPRTN), or it could be a link to a Web page (for example, http://www.google.com).
Menu items within a menu node can be promoted or demoted, or can be moved to change order.
A menu node either contains an application code or is a child node, where the child node is itself a separate menu.
A menu node that contains an application code cannot have child nodes.
Even if an application is recorded in a menu, if the application does not exist or the user does not have application execution rights, the menu item is not visible in the menu. There is no validation in the menu definition as to whether the selected application exists.
Core menus and their child nodes cannot be modified nor deleted; they can only be copied.
Only core menus can be copied.
All menu nodes can be promoted to a global menu.
A menu can be embedded into other menus, if required. When an existing menu is added as a child node, a new parent-child link is created between the two nodes.
Deleting a node removes itself and all child nodes without warning. If a commonly used menu node is deleted from one menu, it is deleted from all menus. (This behaviour is not intuitive.)
All menu nodes can be referenced using the Add Existing Menu function.
Pre-set parameters can be assigned to a menu option, if required, for passing into the application.
A menu item cannot be used to launch a <CCLAS favourite, but it can be used to launch an external web page.
Changes to a referenced menu node (including deletion) are reflected where they are referenced.

Displaying Menus

Once created, the menu structure displays in the Application Navigation Menu. If the user does not have appropriate security access to the program, the menu does not display.

Additional Information

Once a user is familiar with using menus they can progress and use the Quick Launch which is displayed at the top right of each menu. Type in the start of an application name and the display lists those applications that match the letters typed. The format used is CCxxx or MSExxx, where x denotes the characters uniquely identifying the different programs.

Note: Program branches require an application code. This code can be used in the Quick Launch to access the program. More than one menu branch can be created that accesses the same application code. The text on the menu can be different to the name of the program or incorporate the name as part of the text.

A menu item within a menu node can be moved to change either order or promote/demote to another branch within a menu node. This can be done using drag and drop. The ‘_ _ _’ indicates a change of order.