The Main Window
To really see the Main Window in action you need to first load some HL7 messages into your Message Store. If you don't have any HL7 messages in files readily available to play with see Getting Started to load some example HL7 messages.
The Main Window Toolbar
Navigate through the software using the main toolbar. When your Message Store contains messages the Messages List will be populated. If you have many messages loaded or want to search for specific messages in your current store see Filtering Messages.
The Message List (Active)
NOTE: You will notice that when using your keyboard Page Down, Page Up, Up Arrow, Down Arrow, etc to scroll through the messages list that the Current Message does not change. You need to either CLICK the row in the list (or the Show button) OR press the ENTER or SPACE key when the Messages List is active. If you click OFF of the message list and onto the HTML Viewport or another element in the Main Window the Message List becomes inactive. See the next screen-shot below.
The Messages List (Inactive)
Navigate through the Messages List with the mouse clicking on the Show button (or any field) on a message to make it the Current Message and display in the HTML Viewport.
The HTML Viewport Displays the Current Message
The HTML Viewport is where your current HL7 message is displayed. Since the display is actually HTML and the viewport itself is really just a vanilla embedded WebBrowser Visual Studio control we can deliver a few unique and helpful features. For instance hover over any piece of data and you will get a helpful tooltip (see below).
The HTML Viewport Displays Tooltips for data
AND you can CLICK on any piece of data to see a mini-report (see below).
Example Report for a HL7 Field
Next try hovering your mouse over any of the HL7 Segment Names.
The HTML Viewport Displays Tooltips for Segments
Now click THAT and see a report for the entire HL7 Segment!
Example Report for a HL7 Segment
All of the Notes and Descriptions you can see in these reports come from the HL7 Definition you are currently using and are all completely customizable. See Working with HL7 Definitions for an insight into the CORE HL7 Definition.
Main Window Status Bar
To change the current HL7 Definition you can click on the definition name and description in the Status Bar below the HTML Viewport in the main window to open the Choose HL7 Definition Window.
Choose HL7 Definition Window
You can also change the current HL7 Definition in the Viewer Settings.
Your Next Steps:
•See Getting Started to play with sample data
•Customize your viewer in the Viewer Settings
•Learn about Importing and Exporting HL7 messages
•Learn About CORE HL7 Definitions and how we use them
