2.9. Error Conditions

When the user enters data that do not meet the constraints described in the preceding sections, the system displays an error message dialog of the general form shown in Figure 50.


Figure 50: Generic error message dialog.



As shown in the Figure, the dialog contains from one to five messages, depending on the specific error(s) being reported. In all cases, there is a single OK button at the bottom of the dialog. When the user presses OK, the display is restored to its immediately preceding state, that is to the state immediately prior to the error message output. This behavior is uniform for all error messages.

2.9.1. Attempting to Add a Duplicate Card

When the user attempts to add a card with a duplicate Id, the system displays the following message in the error dialog:

A card of the given Id is in the rolodex.
This error condition can arise when the user is executing either the Add or Change command. As noted in Section 2.2, there are no other constraints on field value duplication. Two or more cards may have duplicate values for any and all fields except Id.

2.9.2. Multiple Data Input Errors

Most error conditions are the result of the user typing an illegal value in one or more card fields. When there are multiple errors, i.e., errors in more than one field value, an error message is displayed for each erroneous field. The order of multiple error messages is the same as the order of fields in the card, i.e., Name field first through Address field last. As an example of the display for multiple error messages, Figure 51 shows the case where the user has entered erroneous values for all five card fields.


Figure 51: Error input in all five card fields.



The Figure shows the specific error message text for each of the five card fields.

The card Id is the only field for which two error conditions are possible -- non-uniqueness and incorrect number of digits. These conditions are disjoint, i.e., both conditions cannot apply to the same card. Therefore, a maximum of five error messages can appear for any card.

2.9.3. Typing in a Read-Only Field

Card fields in certain displays are read only, as described in Sections 2.3 , 2.4 , and 2.5. When the user attempts to type in a read-only field, the typing does not occur and the system produces a short audible or visible alert (e.g., "bell" sound) for each typed keystroke. The specific sound or visual cue produced for a short alert depends on the operating environment in which the Rolodex Tool is running. If the operating environment allows the user to disable the sound for an audible alert, then the sound produced by the Rolodex Tool is disabled.

2.9.4. File Access Errors

Section 2.8.3 defines file access constraints for the File->Open and File->Save commands. If the user enters a file name that violates the constraints for Open, the system responds with a dialog of the form shown in Figure 52.


Figure 52: Cannot open file.



The message informs the user that the selected file cannot be opened. When the user presses the OK button, the system removes the cannot-open dialog, whereupon the user can enter a different file name in the open-file dialog, or cancel it.

If the user enters a file name that violates the constraints for Save or Save As, the system responds with a dialog of the form shown in Figure 53.


Figure 53: Cannot save file.



The message informs the user that the selected file cannot be saved in. When the user presses the OK button, the system removes the cannot-save dialog, whereupon the user can enter a different file name in the save-file dialog, or cancel it.




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