The invention relates to a display and operating unit, for a machine for the tobacco-processing industry, comprising a visual display unit (10) for the display of a graphical user surface, comprising a number of screen representations and a computer (11), embodied for the generation of the graphical user surface, by means of a computer programme, whereby essentially all screen representations comprise at least the following regions: an operating region (20), operated by the operator, for the display of a number of various operating region representations, selectable by the operator with machine- and/or product-related display and operating elements and a message region (21), for the display of machine- or product-related stop and warning messages. The screen representations comprise at least one further region comprising machine- and/or product-related display and/or operating elements which concern the production operation, whereby the representation of the further region is independent of the selected operating region representation of the operating region (20).