The SEER*Abs record editor displays data fields in different colors to highlight fields that contain errors and fields that have been modified but not saved.
Colored Field
Description
White indicates that the field does not have an error and has not been changed since the last save.
A dark red indicates that the field is failing a system edit. The error message is displayed when you mouse-over the field.
A lighter red indicates that the field is failing an edit defined in the configuration files. The message is displayed when you mouse-over the field.
Yellow indicates that the field has been changed. The record has not been saved since the change was made.
The field is shaded in green to indicate the current location of your cursor.
Gray indicates that the field is read-only. Read-only fields are skipped when tabbing during a data entry session.
A combined shaded of gray and green is used to indicate that a read-only field has focus. You are allowed to select a read-only field so that you can copy-and-paste the value of the field.
Entering Values into Data Fields
To enter values into data fields:
You will be able to type values directly into most fields.
Some fields will be auto-filled with default values based on your registry’s scripts. The scripts will determine whether you can over-ride those values or not.
Fields with light bulbs have a lookup table associated with them. The lookup tables are defined in registry configuration files.
Click the light bulb , press Ctrl+L or use the right-click contextual menu to open the lookup.
Enter search text. You may search for a code or for descriptive text.
If you press Enter while entering search text, your search text will be copied into the field. This is useful if you enter a code and use the lookup to confirm its meaning.
To select a value from the list using keyboard controls, press Tab or Ctrl + Down to move your cursor to the list and the arrow keys to move through the list. Press Enter on the highlighted row or double-click an entry to select the value.
For some fields, the value may only be changed by modifying a related field. For example, the figure below shows the ID and name of the Managing Physician. You may enter a value into the ID field by typing the value or by using the lookup. The name field is read only and will be auto-filled based on the ID.
If auto-forwarding is enabled, the cursor will automatically advance to the next field when you enter the number of characters equal to the field’s length. (Field length is the maximum number of characters that can be entered and may differ from the size of the box on the screen.) If auto-forwarding is on, you should only need to use tab to move out of fields that vary in length, for example, name, address, and text fields.
The cursor will not move forward if you enter a value that triggers a System edit. A system edit fails when the value does not match the data type of the field (letters in a numeric field, for example). The system will beep and your cursor will stay in the field. You can either enter a valid value or press Tab a second time to move your cursor forward.
If edits do not execute as you move from field to field, click Validate to execute edits for all fields. The edits are controlled by a configuration setting. The edits may be set to execute as you move from one field to another; or the edits may be suppressed until you move to another tab or click Validate.
Field Descriptions
Coding information and other descriptive text can be associated with fields. Descriptions from the NAACCR coding manuals are included by default for NAACCR items. Registry staff may configure SEER*Abs to display descriptions for registry-specific fields. If a description is available, the field label will be underlined when you mouse-over the label. Click the label, press CTRL-N or use the right-click contextual menu when editing a field to display the description.
have a lookup table associated with them. The lookup tables are defined in registry configuration files.
