VISTA Plus for MPE Administrator's Guide

Getting Started
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Customization Options
VISTA offers several viewing configuration options, including the width and length of the screen.
If the terminal or PC supports 132-column displays and the configuration variable for the screen
width is set to 132 columns, VISTA automatically loads reports in a compressed display format for
viewing an entire page at a time. Similarly, you can define the number of lines to be displayed.
Once these variables are set, VISTA performs according to these settings each time it begins. Turn
to Chapter 10 in this guide for more information on configuring VISTA.
VISTA also offers the ability to define windows. If your terminal does not support 132 columns or
if a report exceeds 132 columns, VISTA windows allows you to define windows to facilitate
viewing the portion of the page not automatically displayed. These window definitions can be saved
with a report for future viewing.
In addition to windows, VISTA offers the ability to lock a report header on the screen while
allowing you to scroll through the body of a report. This feature makes reviewing a report through
VISTA faster and easier than reviewing a hard copy.
Report Reviewing Shortcuts
VISTA offers several features that allow you to quickly scan through reports. VISTA provides
expedient searching for specific values or strings within a report. For example, if you define that a
customer number appears in columns 5 through 12, you can search for any specific customer
number by using VISTA’s indexing feature. For reports which are to be reviewed several times or
by several people, the time savings created by this feature can be remarkable. Once an index is
defined, you can quickly access a report via function keys. The next time the report is retrieved
from the folder, VISTA will note the indices as well as any window definitions associated with it.
In addition, VISTA allows you to define bookmarks within a report. This permits you to identify
critical sections of a lengthy report, or to identify where you last were within the report.
Printing is Still an Option
Finally, in addition to extensive viewing capabilities, VISTA offers the option of printing sections
of a report to a local or remote printer. To access a printer, it must be configured in VISTA. Turn to
Chapter 8 in this guide for more information on printing.