By default, error messages of all types (i.e. ERRORS, WARNINGS and ANOMALIES) are displayed in a graphic list in a non-modal window named [Error(s)]. Each error message is logged as a record in this graphic list, which contains two columns. The first column shows an image indicating the error type, and the second contains the error message's level 1 description text.
If it contains one or more records, the [Error(s)] dialog box is shown to the user at the end of the verification process (the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+E sets the focus to this box). This list can be cleared by clicking the [Empty] button in the window or running a SEND_MSG Adelia instruction with either the *CLR_ALL or *CLR_OLD level 2 keyword.
Right-clicking on one of the error messages in the list opens a context-sensitive menu that lets you view the level 2 description.
The CTRL + SHIFT + E keyboard shortcut is used to position the focus on the dialog box [Error(s)].
The default behavior when a record is simply selected in the list is to set the focus to the control associated with the error message. The window containing that control becomes the active window. You can change this behavior by setting the dialog mode's highlighting property to {Border} instead of {Focus}, in which case, selecting a record places a blinking border around the control subject to the error. Unlike with {Focus} highlighting, the [Error(s)] non-modal dialog box remains the active window.
A second display mode, known as "integrated mode", can be used instead of the standard display mode, known as "dialog mode". In integrated mode, error messages relating to a control are displayed in a tooltip, and the affected control can be visually identified by a colored frame and an image. The color of the frame and image indicate the nature of the message with the highest severity rating. Conventional values:
- ERROR: severity 3
- ANOMALY: severity 2
- WARNING: severity 1
Note: From a conceptual perspective, an ERROR is no more or less important than an ANOMALY in Adelia language. The two instructions differ in the way that they are processed: the verification process is stopped when an ERROR is processed, which is not the case with an ANOMALY.
The tooltip is opened automatically when the focus is placed on a control subject to an error. The position of the tooltip relative to the control is configurable. The tooltip is closed when the control loses the focus. It can also be closed by right-clicking on the tooltip or by pressing the ESC key.
The tooltip is also opened if the mouse pointer is moved over the image near the control subject to an error (or over the control itself if the image display option has been disabled), provided that the tooltip has not already been durably displayed next to a control subject to an error that has the focus.
By default, the tooltip shows an image representing the type of error message, an Expand/Collapse [+] or [-] symbol, and the error message's level 1 description. Left clicking the Expand [+] symbol displays the level 2 description.
The display mode (i.e. "dialog mode" or "integrated mode") can be selected either from the execution parameters dialog box or else using the VaToolBxIntfMsgSetItgObjectsList function in VatoolBx). For example, it is possible to display the error messages relating to the "Input Field" graphical object in "integrated mode", while displaying error messages relating to the "Output Field" graphical object in "dialog mode".
The error message display mode and attributes are configured in the Execution parameters box, in the "Error Message Interface" tab. These settings are saved in the configuration file named wicfgvla.ini.
It is also possible to dynamically configure these settings using the error message interface functions in VaToolBx.