This guideline describes the BLAF model for navigation
within an application. BLAF Guidelines provide for
user navigation within applications through a variety
of UI components, described in the following sections.
NOTE: This guideline document
concerns navigation within an application. For navigation
between applications, see the Interapplication
Navigation Guideline.
Guideline Attributes
Spec Version # - 3.1 Spec Contributors - Betsy Beier, Mervyn Dennehy,
Craig Louis, Lisa Serface, Ivy Leung UI Models - all models Example Products - all products Related Guidelines - All
This guideline is intended to show the various BLAF
UI modalities for user navigation within BLAF applications,
briefly comment on how they work together on the page,
and provide links to the BLAF Guidelines for each.
Provide access to content areas and/or main
functions available to user. This is the primary
application content navigation mechanism, and
provides access to core application functionality.
Provide navigation to specific underlying content,
and may be associated with a specific object name.
May also be used to provide alternate "Return
to XXX" location navigation functionality. See
Returning to Preceding Pages,
below.
Provide easy access to information relating
to a task or contents within a page. Convenient
shortcut to frequently accessed tasks or viewed
items. Should not be task critical.
Navigation refers to any action that results in a
page with a different page title, whereas screen redraw
refers to any action that redisplays the current page,
usually with updated data or settings. For example,
the Action/Navigation button Next always navigates
to a different page, whereas the Action button Revert
returns fields on a page to their previous settings.
Note: Screen redraw may use partial page rendering
(PPR) technology if applicable, and only redraw a
portion of the page. See Overview
of PPR for valid PPR usage scenarios.
Oracle HTML Applications do not include either modal
or modeless dialog boxes, except in a few specific
instances, and do not feature the OK/Cancel approach
of Windows applications. Message pages may require
user response, and so are similar to dialog boxes.
Nevertheless, most message pages will feature questions
that require answers of Yes/No, or of Continue. Certain
cases, such as fatal errors, may also provide Action/Nav.
buttons, such as Revert, Save As, or Cancel. Users
respond by clicking the appropriate Action/Nav. button.
BLAF Application users may use the native Web browser
Back button to return to a previous page/screen.
Avoid use of the Back Action/Nav. Button in Oracle
HTML applications, except for process pages which
feature paired Next and Back buttons, including:
Step-by-Step and linear processes
Processes in which linearity is suggested, rather
than being required. These processes include numbered
links in the side navigation area.
Batch Detail Mode (cycling through objects one
at a time)
Other methods are available in the UI to return the
user to a previous page. For instance, Breadcrumbs
or the Return-to link provide this type of navigation.
See Breadcrumbs
and Buttons as Links: Return
to Link for more details of these navigation methods.
Note: The Return-to link
points to a page higher in the UI architecture of
an application module. If users navigate to a page
containing "Return to xxx" via an alternate route,
such as Search, the Return-to link they encounter
will take them to a page that they have not yet visited.
Oracle HTML applications should only provide Cancel
buttons in:
Step-by-step pages (3+ steps, or 2-step linear
processes) where the Cancel button terminates the
entire sequence without applying/submitting changes.
Transactional pages where the user needs assurance
that an action has not been implemented. This includes
every page where the user can update data in the
page, but not pages that only contain view-only
information and Action/Nav. Buttons and links.
For example, when users click Create Account, a page
appears with fields for specifying the attributes
of the new account. If users then change the content/settings
of some of the fields but decide not to proceed, their
changes are not committed unless they click Apply.
However, many users are not sure whether an object
with partial settings is created or not. The Cancel
button removes this uncertainty.
In common tables, a link allows users to view the
details of the selected object, and the Update icon
allows users to edit the details for that object.
In that simple case, there is no need for a View Details
icon, which would only duplicate the function of the
link.
However, some applications need to provide table
navigation to more than one type of detail for an
object. Depending on the application data structure,
these details may be subordinate or ancillary to the
primary object details. In this case, use unique column
headers to distinguish View and Update icons that
point to different details.
A Related Link/Shortcut is an HTML hypertext link
(generally using <a href>) that takes the user
to information relating to a task or contents within
a page. The link is a convenient shortcut to frequently
accessed tasks or viewed items. Related Links/Shortcuts
are not task critical; i.e., they are not mandatory
for completing the task at hand.
BLAF users perceive process when working through
a sequence of template pages to perform a task or
tasks. Completing a process (main process) may occasionally
require the user to temporarily depart from the main
process, complete a supporting process (subprocess),
and return to the departure point in the main process,
from where they proceed to overall completion. The
process-within-process state arising from these conditions
is known as a "subprocess".
Testing shows that users generally perceive this
departure to subprocess and return to main process
as a single overall process. Changes in browser chrome,
or lack of same, within a primary application template
alone do not always communicate transition from or
to subprocess state. Users do not find this an impediment
as long as a path of return to the main process is
clearly shown.
In the main process, a button takes the user to the
subprocess (in other tab, for example). When done
with the subprocess, the user is returned to the main
process at the point where they left off. The subprocess
initiation point typically is in an object template.
The user selects an Action/Nav. Button such as
Create or Update on the main process object template,
and is taken to the subprocess object template.
Then,
User completes the subprocess tasks, and selects
cancel or apply subprocess button, and
User is returned to subprocess launch point in
main process.
Below are the available process-within-process flow
combinations. At this time, process in process should
only be used for 2 levels of navigation (i.e., do not
try to implement a process within a process, within
a process, within a process).
Subprocess: When the user has
commenced and not completed a multi-step process,
and then selects an Act/Navigation button to flow
away to another single or multi-step process, that
template should appear as a subprocess. Another typical
indication of subprocess is when the subordinate task
resides on a different navigation tab then the main
process does.
Create Service Request Step n -> Create Part (for
Service Request) -> Create Service Request Step n
Create Sale Step n -> Create Customer -> Create
Sale Step n
Not Subprocess: When the user
is viewing a non-multi-step template page (e.g, Search
and Results Object List), and they select an Act/Navigation
button which carries them to another single or multi-step
process template, that template should not appear
as a subprocess, since there is no main process yet
to be completed.
Testing shows that it is not necessary to recast
nonlinear (Sidenav or Subtab) page templates into
a different template to communicate subprocess initiation.
Sidenav to Sidenav, or Subtab to Subtab does not confuse
users, as long as the required Action/Nav button and
page title changes are made to indicate that they
are in a subprocess.
For example, it is not necessary to recast a main
process Sidenav template into a Subtab template when
subprocess is initiated; Sidenav to Sidenav is acceptable.
A Return-to link is not required on transactional
subprocess page(s). Subprocess pages have Apply: [Subprocess
Name] and Cancel: [Subprocess Name] buttons to take
user back to main process. Refer to Save
Model for Process Within Process in the Save Model
guideline.
Typically a Create or Update button is chosen to
initiate the subprocess flow. This might be, for example,
to create a customer record in order to complete a
sales quote. The customer records might exist on another
tab in the application template, but the Create or
Update Action/Nav. Button provides intuitive access
to the tab, and enforces the perception of process.
In testing, users select this button to create the
object, and do not select the tab where the "subordinate"
object resides.
Initiation Point in Main Process - Update Button Example
Initiation Point in Main Process - Label/Data LOV Create Example
When breadcrumbs are used, they should reflect the hierarchy of where the
subprocess (page or pages) live within the application, not necessarily the
breadcrumb path from where the user came from. Below lists what subprocesses
should use breadcrumbs:
1 Step Subprocess - breadcrumbs used
2 Step Subprocess - breadcrumbs used
3+ Step (Train) Subprocesses - NO breadcrumbs
MultiPages Subprocess (with Side Navigation or Subtabs) - breadcrumbs used
In a multi-step main process in which the Train locator element is used, the train element shows only the steps in the main process. When the user navigates to a multi-step linear (train) subprocess the Subtrain locator element is used. The Subtrain element contains only the steps of the subprocess, but icons on the right and left of the Subtrain element indicate that the user is in a subprocess. This is the only process within process option (train to train) with an extra indicator of the main process in the UI.
See the individual specifications for the components listed above.
Open/Closed Issues
Open Issues
29-Jan-2003 - Further testing may be required to validate the "Apply: [SubProcess Name]" and "Cancel: [SubProcess Name]" Act/Nav labeling approach for subprocess templates. In particular, the 1-page subprocess needs to be evaluated for this.
Closed Issues
24-Sep-2002 - For v.3.0, evaluate usefulness of this document and possible content reorganization.
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