FHS - User Interface

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The user interface for the Family History System is patterned after the mainframe applications that I worked with in the 1970's. The software provides a 24x80, character based view of its world, using fixed formatted screen displays for showing program options and receiving user input. Program function keys are used for selecting major options. The bottom line of the screen is used for displaying informational messages and for prompting the user to select "run time" options.

To accomodate the "segmented" structure of the FHS family file, the file update program divides the screen into fixed "viewing areas" in which different types of information are displayed: for instance, Name record information is shown in one viewing area, marriages in another, addresses in another, and comments in still another. Program function keys are used to navigate between viewing areas with the "active" viewing area being distinguished by a hilited border.

The style of user interface seems a bit old fashioned in the "pop-up windowed" world of today's most popular applications, but it remains quite serviceable for accomplishing the tasks of creating family files and printing reports.