There are two main areas of the client: the tree, and the window panel. The tree holds a node for each object visible to the user. The window panel holds the internal windows which allow for editing of the objects in the server. A menu bar is at the top of the screen, and a status bar is at the bottom.
The Tree
The tree acts much like the tree in the Windows Explorer. Folders are opened either by clicking on the plus sign in front of the folder or by double clicking on the folder or the text.
There are three things in the tree: categories (red folders), object types (yellow folders), and objects. Categories are used to organize the tree. Object types represent the basic types of information held in the tree(users, groups). Objects are the individual items in the database.
Much of the tree's functionality is accessed through the use of the right mouse button, or the appropriate popup-menu trigger for the system. When the right mouse button is clicked a menu will be drawn over the item. The menu will be different depending on the type of object clicked on and the current state of the client.
By default, only editable objects are displayed in the tree. In order to see all permissible objects you can choose the "Show all objects" menu item on the corresponding object type(yellow folder.) This will mix in the editable and non-editable objects, and the editable objects will have a slightly different icon to distinguish them.
The icons for different objects in the tree can change when actions are taken. Currently, all objects currently open for editing will have a pencil icon, all objects waiting to be deleted have a trash can icon, and all objects currently inactivated have a clock icon. After a session is committed or canceled, the icons may revert back to the original state or may be removed from the tree completely.
The Window Panel
The window panel holds all the currently open objects. These windows can be moved, iconified, maximized, and closed just like normal windows. Each window also has its own menu bar, which can be used to take actions on the object.
The tabs just below the menu bar are used to select different editing panes in the window. The "General" tab contains all the custom information. The other tabs contain various built-in fields. "Owner" shows the owners of this object. "Notes" shows information about the creation and deletion of this object, along with a text area for writing notes. A small note icon will be placed in the "Notes" tab if there are any notes for this object. The "History" tab leads to a panel that allows a trace of this object's history.
The "Persona" tab is only available on "User" objects. This panel allows editing of admin personae associated with the user object.
The menu bar
The menu bar has five menus on it.
- File
- Clear Tree
- Removes all the objects from the tree, so it can be rebuilt.
- Remove All Windows
- Removes all the windows from the window panel.
- Filter Query
- Choose a certain group to filter queries with, so the query results are not so big.
- Set Default Owner
- Set a default owner group for newly created objects.
- Logout
- Close the client. The client will prompt before canceling the transaction if anything has been changed.
- Look
- This menu allows you to choose the look at feel. Note that not all look and feels are available on all platforms.
- Action
- Query
- Opens a new query box.
- Edit Object
- Open an object for editing. A dialog will prompt for the label and type of object.
- View Object
- Open an object for viewing. A dialog will prompt for the label and type of object.
- Delete Object
- Delete an object. A dialog will prompt for the label and type of object.
- Inactivate Object
- Inactivate an object. A dialog will prompt for the label and type of object.
- Windows
- The windows menu will contain an entry for each window open in the window panel. Choose a title, and the window will be moved to the front.
- Persona
- Any available personas will be in this menu. Note that if a user only has one persona, the persona menu will not be there.
- Help
- Possibly a future online support system, but it is not finished for this release.
The status bar
The status bar contains a line of text which gives feedback on client operations, as well as the commit and cancel buttons. The commit and cancel buttons control what happens to the changes made in the current session.
A session begins when a user first logs on, and continues until the commit or cancel buttons are pressed, or the user logs out. Any changes made to the system are not committed to the database until the commit button is pressed.