Understanding PeopleSoft Browser-Based Applications

You use PeopleSoft applications in a purely internet environment called the PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture. PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture is a server-centric architecture that requires only that a web browser be installed on individual user machines.

Within your browser, sign in to the PeopleSoft system as you would when opening any other website. The PeopleSoft system uses a dynamic drop-down menu for navigation and a universal navigation header that includes these navigation tools: Home, Worklist, MultiChannel Console, and Sign out. This navigation header appears at the top of every page while you are signed in. See Using the Universal Navigation Header.

Your PeopleSoft application is delivered with a demonstration database that includes sample data to help you see how the system works. You can also use the demonstration database to experiment with specific PeopleSoft applications. The product documentation for the various applications frequently refer to the demonstration information to clarify concepts and provide a common frame of reference for examples.

PeopleSoft Terminology

PeopleSoft applications are made up of a navigational structure, components (groups of pages), and pages. Using these elements, you can enter new data or change, delete, and modify existing data in your application. Using a PeopleSoft system is similar to browsing web pages; it provides a simple, intuitive way of working with a database.

Here are some of the basic elements used in PeopleSoft applications:

Field or Control	Definition
Main Menu	This PeopleSoft navigation structure, located at the top of your page, organizes and provides access to transaction pages from which you can carry out actions and modify data. The Main Menu contains menu items; some lead directly to transaction pages and some lead to submenus in a hierarchical format.
Menu pagelet	This PeopleSoft navigation structure, located to one side of your page, organizes and provides access to transaction pages from which you can carry out actions and modify data. The Menu pagelet contains links, some leading directly to transaction pages and some leading to other links in a hierarchical format.
Content reference	A link in the menu that accesses a transaction page or group of pages. A content reference is a reference to a URL for the transaction page.
Navigation path	The collective set of links that appear as you navigate the menu structure; they indicate the hierarchical path to your current location. Sometimes called breadcrumbs, they appear in the drop-down menu header and in the navigation page header.
Keys	The fields, such as EmplID (employee identifier), that uniquely identify one row of data in a transaction. Keys appears as fields on search pages and transaction pages. All information on a page is related to a key, which usually appears at the top of the page and is display-only.
Component	The page or group of pages that appear when you perform a search. Multiple pages in a component must share the same high-level key;
Page	The individual display and data-entry screens for each part of your PeopleSoft application. Pages appear in the browser window.