Insofar as space permits, a panel for the general rule is always displayed in the upper left hand corner of the main menu. Selecting the option r will place the cursor on the bottom line of the rule panel, where the values of the transition function may be entered by typing the appropriate digit. The cursor may be positioned by space, backspace, and the horizontal arrows.
Some programs have tabs, and movement to the ends of the line; others do not. Likewise, the neighborhood may be marked and unmarked in some programs --- those which allow extensive line editing, for the most part.
Space for totalistic rules or semitotalistic rules is allocated in various portions of the main menu, according to space requirements and competing information which may have to be displayed.