The main interface of the BSI system is a tabbed panel window. This is the first screen users see after logging onto the system. It gives various system information including a user's last log-in date, the client version, and other server information. The tabs provide quick access to managers from the main screen.
The starting tab of BSI is, by default, the Dashboard tab. This screen displays the most recent news items. These include information on upcoming system enhancements, as well as planned server down times. The news items are listed in reverse date order so that the most recent items appear first.
The BSI client uses a manager/editor paradigm to display system data and manipulate user input. This manager/editor interface is found throughout the BSI system. The manager is used to display information about a group of objects (e.g., reports or data entry batches), typically in some type of table. When the user selects an object for editing, an editor is launched in a separate window that allows the user to manipulate the object's specific properties, if the user has permission to do so.
The main BSI interface is a tabbed panel window consisting of a general system information page (either the Home tab or the Dashboard) and the open module manager tabs. The managers displayed at logon can be set in user preferences . Each manager is displayed on an individual tab, and multiple editor windows can be launched from a single manager. Once an editor is launched, the user can return to the main window at any time. The main window also has drop-down menus to access other managers and dialogs. Editors and dialogs, by default, open large enough to accommodate all content. They can be resized and, if a user resizes one, BSI will remember the new dimensions the next time the user opens the dialog from the same computer.
The BSI system utilizes a common search interface for building queries to the database. This search interface is used in many of the editors including data entry, reports, requisitions, and user administration. The search interface allows the user to quickly build a multiple line query statement to select records from the database. In searching the database, the BSI system allows the user access to as many fields as possible. This same search interface is also used to select (highlight) combinations of rows in and add specimens to many of the tables used throughout the system.